A Liberal
Dose
March 3,
2022
Troy D.
Smith
“Russia’s Aggression
and Journey to Fascism”
Most of the world watched in horror this past week as
Russian forces invaded Ukraine, with combat troop mobilization that has not
been seen in Europe since WWII. Even many of the Russian people have been
outraged, protesting against the war in large numbers -despite the steady diet
of false, anti-Ukraine propaganda they have been fed. We have seen many photos
and heard many stories of Ukrainians of all ages bravely resisting and fighting
for their freedom against the aggressive dictator Putin. While a source of
horror and outrage, those of us who’ve been paying attention were not surprised
-though many people too young to remember the Cold War were, and have been
expressing their anxieties about the conflict growing even bigger.
And yet. There is a sizable minority of people in the
U.S. who seem cavalier and unconcerned, and in fact are not only defending
Putin but, in some cases, cheering him on. If any criticism against the war
comes from these corners, it is to cast blame on President Biden for Putin’s
aggression. I have seen a couple of people on the far left do this, perhaps
defending Russia out of habit, but the vast majority of such voices are coming
from the far right. Republican politicians seem more divided on this issue than
any other I have seen in a while, even as Tucker Carlson and his ilk act like
they are Putin’s personal cheerleader squad. This is the culmination of a strange
slide that began several years ago, when a certain orange president -and,
consequently, his most fervent supporters -seemed publicly smitten by the
Russian strongman and effusive in their praise for him. Not every Republican I
know is supporting Putin now -but quite a few are either vaguely defending him,
not talking about it at all, or blaming Biden’s “weakness” and saying Trump
would never have stood for such behavior from the dictator. That last assertion
is especially ridiculous, as we all watched Trump spend four years playing Renfield
to Putin’s Dracula.
This behavior has been puzzling to many Americans. After
all, it was the American right who was always the most opposed to Russia during
the Cold War, and who has crowed about it the most since the Soviet Union
collapsed. Why this strange turnaround?
The right, and the Republican Party, have changed a
lot in the last fifteen years or so… but Russia has changed, too. Last April I
spent a couple of columns explaining the difference between communism and
fascism (you can read them at SpartaLive or tnwordsmith.blogspot.com). Allow me
to recap the official, historic definition of fascism for you.
Fascism is ultra-nationalism, usually led by a single,
charismatic, authoritarian leader who promises to return his country to its
former glory, and who blames his country’s present perceived “weakness” on both
other nations and “corrupting” groups from within. Fascism is the very far
right; communism is the very far left. Either can be authoritarian, though
fascism is by its very definition. Have you caught highlights of Putin’s
speeches over the last week or two? They have been full of paranoid
misinformation about Russian people being persecuted in Ukraine (Hitler used
the same excuse, the defense of German-speaking people, to justify his own
early invasions) and the West’s alleged eagerness to invade and destroy Russia.
He has not only talked about the greatness of Soviet Russia, but has gone back
a thousand years to the formation of the Russian Empire. He has said the West
is trying to weaken Russia by its tolerance of gay people.
Russia has not been communist for thirty years… but, under
Putin, they are becoming more and more fascistic. A lot of Americans on the far
right supported Hitler in the 1930s because they liked how strong he was. When
they realized their mistake, it was too late.
History, friends. Look it up. And don’t repeat it.
--Troy D.
Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at
Tennessee Tech. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.
Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com
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