Yesterday or Today

I was reading over some comments made about what happened in Charlottesville last year. Some of them expressed surprise at the notion that the Nazi platform is alive and well today in the U.S. even though Adolf Hitler is dead. These comments made me wonder; what is it like to be a Nazi in 2019? Research indicates that there are a multitude of neo-Nazi organizations in the U.S, today, including what used to be called the American Nazi Party. But, even if an individual doesn’t belong to the Nazi party, he may qualify as a modern-day Nazi. Today’s white supremacists, the KKK, and white nationalists can all be effectively categorized as Nazis. This is true even if they do not go by that name.According to the Sothern Poverty Law Center, The focus on populism and fascism is the defining key. This is because all of the groups mentioned believe in the fundamental traits of Nazism; racism, anti-Semitism, and the exhibition and glorification of political violence. There is a tendency to identify a type of far-right politics with fascism and Nazism. Those who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, including the terrorists associated with them are Nazis, or in today’s terms, neo-Nazis, because they base their thinking in the revival of a failing doctrine. Their first goal is to push their agenda of white supremacy. They push this agenda because it reflects their idealization of America’s horrific past of slavery. The goal of these neo-Nazis is to return to America of the past, a past that is racist. It is one that they can identify with. American Nazis look nostalgically to the way things were here before the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Today’s Nazis also want violence. It can be noted that wherever they appear it is difficult to distinguish them from actual law enforcement officials. Neo-Nazis view the possession and display of their weapons as paramount to their cause and to what they believe is “American, and patriotic.” It is commonly known that paramilitary forces are a big part of a fascist government, and here in the U.S. guns and ammunition can be defined as an expression of the constitutional rights of the people owning them. The goal of all Nazi-Fascist movements is to destroy a democracy that promotes free-thinking and inclusion. Once they have done that they can impose a government that they idealize; one that promotes racism, discrimination, and xenophobia.In order to achieve their goals, Nazis are willing to participate in the democratic process as it helps them ease into their desired position. History tells us that the Nazis were first voted into office under the then-democratic process and moved forward in the system toward their goals.One of the factors missing from the current neo-Nazi movement toward achieving their goal is a leader who has real political power. As of now, they do not have this type of leader. The only popular name within these groups that comes to mind, is David Duke, former KKK leader. But even though he may be more well known than others, he does not have the political credentials to give needed power to his cause.The media’s coverage of current neo-Nazis clearly shows that they support Trump. They express their belief that he is not a “Nazi,” but has the authoritarian, xenophobic views that they hold dear. They often stress that he was elected with neo-Nazi support. Once he was elected, Trump showed he was hesitant to condemn white supremacists, neo-Nazis or the KKK. He apparently does not want to alienate these groups. Remember his remark about Charlottesville? “There are very fine people on both sides.” But ironically the Nazis and white supremacists seem to think he is too soft, even though he has exhibited the traits that they would find desirable in a leader. I read that one white supremacist stated that they wanted “somebody like Trump,” just a lot more racist. The white supremacist ideology in the U.S. today is dominated by the belief that whites are doomed to extinction by a rising tide of minorities unless some action is taken now. Their ideology is exemplified by one of their main slogans, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”The goal of these neo-Nazis is to return to America of the past, a past that is racist. It is one that they can identify with. American Nazis look nostalgically to the way things were here before the civil rights movement of the 1960s.vance. As long as that these feelings of grievance prevail and many individuals feel that they should dominate by virtue of their color, the white supremacist movement has not declined, rather, it is alive and well, and growing in 2019.