The New Fascism
Recently, there have been some chaotic and somewhat violent demonstrations in our country in which leftist demonstrators call themselves the “Antifa,” or anti-fascists. Supposedly, those whom they oppose are fascists.
There is a problem with this categorization in that fascism is a leftist ideology. As historian Paul Johnson wrote in 1989: “From a historical viewpoint, fascism belongs with communism on the far Left end. It is a Marxist heresy, invented by Mussolini when he broke away from the communists during the First World War. With its cult of violence, the worship of the state and its totalitarian urge to control every aspect of life, it has more in common with communist practice than with any other political system.”
The Nazis, for example, banned home schooling in 1938, a law which still stands. Hitler wanted to one day forbid smoking and make vegetarianism compulsory. Mussolini was a life-long Marxist and socialist. So too was Hitler, who said in 1927: “We are socialists. We are enemies of today’s capitalist system of exploitation…” Yes, the Nazis fought the communists, but this was an internecine quarrel. The Nazis were race-socialists and the communists were class socialists. Both hated Christianity. World War II began when Germany and the USSR attacked Catholic Poland from opposite directions and shook hands, as it were, over the dead body of Poland.
Both communism and fascism are totalitarian forms of government. Under communism private property is not permitted, whereas under fascism private property and private businesses are allowed so long as they do what the government dictates. The Affordable Care Act is a fascist law in that it requires citizens to purchase health insurance and dictates what insurers must cover, including contraceptives and abortifacients.
After World War II, the word “fascism” had a bad ring to it. Two Marxists from the Frankfurt School, Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, sought to deflect its association with Marxism by redefining it. They portrayed capitalism, Christianity and the “patriarchal” family as oppressive, authoritarian and totalitarian institutions imposing “fascism” on society. Many academics have bought this lie and passed it on to their students.
Marxist philosophy has deeply penetrated our society. Whether it be sanctioning the killing of the innocent unborn, treating sexually aberrant behavior as normal, redefining marriage, assigning collective guilt, judging others by their race or class--- one could say the U.S. beat the Nazis and commies, but is losing the war.
In April 2017, Fr. James V. Schall wrote an article titled “Why No Civility Is Possible Today”. This paragraph describes our present situation: “…what we have today in this country is an unbridgeable disagreement about what the family is. Misunderstand the family and all its coherent complexities, what follows is that nothing else will go right. We have no common judgment about the transcendent meaning of our lives. One division maintains, with no real proof, that man has no given nature. Logically and politically, step by step, consequences, that are not accidental, follow. We legalize contraception, then, when that does not work, abortion, euthanasia, fetal experimentation, homosexual marriages and adoptions. We can even decide if we are male or female. A “family” is configured as we wish it to be. These practices have all become “rights” under positive law. They are systematically enforced. No criticism of them is allowed, no matter how scientifically or reasonably based it may be… In such a world, power alone decides.”
Christianity opposes this assault on truth. It’s supra-political. Jesus’ kingdom “is not of this world.” We are a human family with a Father in Heaven. We are all fallen creatures, sinners, but also brothers and sisters. We love others not because of what or who they are, but sometimes despite who they are, because they are made in the image and likeness of God. This doesn’t mean condoning sinful acts or legalizing acts that destroy society.
Our duty as parents, as Catholics, is to share our faith, to teach the faith to our children, to restore a true understanding of the family so that one day we may all meet in the New Jerusalem where there will be no more sorrow or mourning, and every tear will be wiped away. Your station is part of this effort and we ask you to support it prayerfully, by telling others, by volunteering or with a financial contribution.
Viva Christo Rey!