Fashion and Fascism

Even when I was young the concept of “fashion” seemed bizarre to me. Something looks great one year, but three years later it looks ridiculous? And then something else looks great? I know that people’s individual tastes change, but the herd mentality of following whatever is “in” always struck me as arbitrary and sort of lame. Then there’s “retro”: now we’re allowed to again think that something that looked good a long time ago, and then didn’t for a while, looks good again. And most pathetically, people will literally laugh at and mock others who have tastes that don’t match whatever the fashion fascists say you’re “supposed to” like today. “Ha ha, you’re ridiculous, because you decide what you like on your own, instead of mindlessly following a crowd of people being led around by their noses from one temporary fad to another!”

Well, there is a parallel between fashion and philosophy—or what passes for “philosophy,” anyway. Most people’s “philosophy” comes entirely from watching the news, or hearing what the crowd thinks, or is scared of, or which political scam people are falling for today. In other words, the exact opposite of principles. Most people’s belief systems are a hundred percent reactionary. Screens and speakers tell them what matters, what they should think about, what they should care about, what they should fear, what they should want. And they believe. And then—imagining themselves to be objective free-thinkers—they conclude whatever the mind manipulators wanted them to conclude.

Sadly, even a lot of people who consider themselves pro-freedom and enlightened do the same damn thing. “Oh, the media tells me to be scared of Muslim immigrants? Then I definitely should be!” Anyone living in the U.S. who thinks Muslim immigrants should be his top concern—or in the top twenty—is absolutely a victim of mind-control propaganda. And watching people who at least claimed to be principled before jumping on the Trump bandwagon out of fear of the most recent boogeyman can be rather discouraging. “Well sure, ideally I want freedom, but right now, because people on TV are telling me to be scared of something, I’m going to advocate widespread authoritarian power instead!”

Of course, situations change, and different problems come and go, but that’s kind of the point of having principles: so you can know the best, most moral way to approach whatever problem or challenge might arise. If you toss your principles out the window as soon as the situation changes a bit (or as soon as you imagine that it changed), then you have no principles. That’s like being a pacifist except when you get mad, or being a vegetarian except when you get hungry.

And every single scrap of support for the Orange Fuhrer (Trump) is absolutely and totally the result of unprincipled, reactionary fear. Who the hell would cheer for that pompous babbling blowhard based on actual principles? No one, because he has none. He doesn’t even pretend to be pro-freedom. He advocates various authoritarian and socialist agendas, while complaining about and (supposedly) opposing others. There is no rhyme or reason to his position, except; 1) keep people scared and angry; 2) empower and enrich himself through “political” solutions to the things people get scared of. And that’s the template of every single politician everywhere, always. The specific things they use to scare people changes, and the details of their proposed solutions change some, but the underlying pattern never changes: “Be very scared of these things, and then give me lots of power so I can save you from them!”

And I don’t just mean that’s how every U.S. President functions. It’s how all tyrants, in all times and places, function. It’s why so many Germans enthusiastically cheered for Naziism. It’s why millions of Chinese cheered for Mao’s deadly communist agenda. And so on, and so on. It’s why a lot of people got excited about the Obama campaign. It’s why a lot of people got excited about the Trump campaign. What’s really funny is that those two groups—Obama supporters and Trump supporters—view each other as mortal enemies, when they are almost identical in every way that matters. “My guy may not be perfect, but I’m so scared of those other people having power that I will overlook the authoritarian, unjust, corrupt and evil crap my guy does! It’s an emergency!”

So, as much as they may currently feel cool and empowered, the fashionable fascists who today are proud to be minions of the Orange Fuhrer are just the latest batch of dupes, falling for the oldest trick in the book, thinking they are being rebellious and anti-establishment. And the worst of the bunch are those who had been advocating the actual principles of individual liberty before, only to get sucked back into the immoral, insane game of politics, simply because they let professional liars convince them to be scared—scared of immigrants, muslims, terrorists, “leftists,” “commies,” whatever. Like weak kids who join a street gang, their fears, insecurities and feelings of helplessness made them gravitate towards a thug—a thug who will only end up using, betraying and victimizing them.

Then the political “fashion” will change, and they will do it all over again, licking the boots of some other megalomaniac. Unless and until they choose principles instead. Permanently.