Chris Hedges Warns That Christian Nationalist Fascism Has Arrived in America

When I was a kid, there were high profile people who warned that a Christian Fascism was on the rise in the United States. But these ideas were largely laughed at, perhaps particularly because two of the most vocal critics and prognosticators of this Christian Fascism were musicians. In particular, I am thinking of Frank Zappa and Jello Biafra. Thus, it was easy to label (and dismiss) them as "weird."

That pretty much ended the discussion. 

However, their dire warnings back in the eighties, which were so quickly and a little too easily dismissed, have turned out to be largely true. Indeed it feels like Trump's political rise has indeed felt like the de facto rise of a form of fascism. To be sure, it is and looks different than fascism did back in the 1930's. But make no mistake, their are definite strains of that kind of authoritarianism and, yes, fascism. After all, Trump does not even seem all that bothered with charges of being a dictator. During the campaign, he claimed that he would only be a dictator "on day one." Since then, he suggested that a dictator might just be what the American people want (and in this, he might not be entirely wrong, at least in terms of his supporters), and suggested that their thinking translates to if a leader (by which he clearly seems to mean himself) can stop crime, than perhaps he can be a dictator, he can be whatever he wants.

Remember that? 

Of course, Trump's base includes rabidly political Evangelical Christians with an obvious and clearly defined political mission: to make the United States a Christian country, officially. It seems like they want to achieve this by any means necessary. That does not exclude the use of force. Remember when Trump had peaceful protestors outside of the White House forcibly (and illegally) cleared out so that he could have his photo opportunity posing with a Bible in front of a church? Now, we have secret police, with masked agents hiding their badges numbers and any other identifying markers and simply grabbing people off the streets or from their workplaces. 

Indeed, fascism is here. A peculiar brand of fascism, for that matter, one fueled by the support of Christian nationalists.

Nowadays, Chris Hedges has become one of the most vocal and authoritative voices warning of this threat. Below is a video of him explaining it, which I highly recommend:

Chris Hedges: The Rise of Christian Nationalist Fascism Is Here!