This morning marked the third day that Pittsburgh has been in a “Code Orange” for air quality. For those who are unaware, code orange is defined as “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” While there are a multitude of factors including seasonal weather and topography, one of the largest factors for the Monongahela Valley is Clairton Coke Works.
Even though I am not in one of the defined sensitive groups, I had trouble breathing when out and about yesterday and today. The thick haze that has covered my city has made me want to stay inside and find distractions.
I cannot think of a better analogy for how I have felt politically over the past four years.
Photo retrieved from airnow.gov
I imagine democracy as a large factory. Day to day most people just go about their daily lives, not paying much attention to everything that is happening in the factory. But every four years we come together, as a collective, to say what should happen to the whole factory. Should we change what we make? Is what we are doing still working for everyone?
In 2016 the democracy factory decided to “Make the factory great again.” Even though the majority of people in the factory didn’t want to go in that direction, the rules to win were written in a convoluted way that a minority could still win. A lot of decisions might have helped some people in the short term. But the checks and balances we have to reduce pollution were ignored or intentionally broken. This pollution started to collect in large enough concentrations that most of us in the factory were able to see it.
Photo courtesy of Andrew Rush. Retrieved from Post-Gazette.com
For four years people in the factory were arguing over basic facts. Is the factory even causing pollution? Some would point to the haze over the city that was causing breathing problems, while others would say “Well, I have alternative facts and there is no haze.”
On November 3rd we decided as a collective to return to what we were doing from 2008-2016. “The haze is actually harming people, and we need to return to a time when the haze wasn’t here.”
Like pollution, fascism can exist in a variety of concentration levels. Over the past four years the concentration levels of fascism have been high enough that a lot of people can see it. It affects how they breathe, how they live their lives.
The highest concentration of fascism we have seen recently was the Nazi Party. This doesn’t mean that every case of fascism will look like the Nazi Party. That political party was influenced by the time and place it was in. Just as American fascism is uniquely American.
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.””
But what exactly is fascism? Laurence W. Britt studied seven distinct fascist regimes and noted 14 similarities.
Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. Make America Great Again, America First, the 1776 Commission
Disdain for the importance of human rights. Kids in cages, denying asylum, saying BLM is toxic propaganda
Identification of enemies/scape-goats as unifying cause. Mexicans as rapists, liberals are stealing the election
Supremacy of the military/avid militarism. United States spends the most on military in the world and is roughly the same amount as the next seven largest militaries combined.
Rampant sexism. Grab her by the pussy, nevertheless she persisted
A controlled mass media. 40% of news on TV is owned by the same company.
Obsession with national security. Build the wall, the War on Terror, using drones as a military strategy
Religion and ruling elite tied together. National Prayer Breakfast, Under God added to the pledge in the 1950s
Power of corporations protected. Corporations are people, giving our National Parks to corporations
Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Union Buster Ronald Reagan, Minimum wage would be $24 per hour if it had kept pace with productivity.
Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Disregard for experts on health and climate
Obsession with crime and punishment. Blue lives matter, US has highest incarceration rate, War on Drugs
Rampant cronyism and corruption. The three most recent Supreme Court Justices were on the legal team of Bush v Gore, blocking a supreme court nominee for 293 days
Fraudulent elections. Bush v Gore, voter suppression in 2020
Like the haze over Pittsburgh, the large concentration of fascism will dissipate. But not everything on the list above happened over the past four years. Drone strikes, keeping minimum wage low, and packing the courts have been around for decades.
Last night I listened to President Elect Biden give a victory speech for winning the 2020 election. While there were parts that I was excited for, some parts deeply troubled me. Even though we have separation of church and state, politicians insist on saying “God bless the United States of America.” Politicians also glorify our military even though it commits and carries out war crimes to this day.
During 2008-2016 I had become accustomed to the levels of pollution in our democracy. Not a code orange, but a code yellow (which is ironically called moderate). I didn’t see our policing or justice systems as inherently racist. I supported our military without question. The pollution has been hazardous for many in America for a long time, but I couldn’t see it until it became a haze.
Even with the haze dissipated we have a lot of work to do. There will be at least one Republican in Congress who publicly supports QAnon. Many were evicted due to Covid-19. We still have kids in cages. On top of all of this, we have to figure out what we are going to do about the biggest issue of our time: the climate crisis.
Vote in every election (not just every four years). Have hard conversations with those around you. Call out the fascist pollution whenever you see it.
I was brought up that America was the greatest country in the world. I still believe we can be, but we have a lot of work to make our ideals of liberty and freedom a reality for all.