The Rise (and Fall) of American Fascism

I've had an article published on Three Imaginary Girls, a local indie-rock 'zine working with No Vote Left Behind to rock the vote.

"Growing up as an American Jew, I was raised keenly aware of the fact that my family was something like half the size it should have been as a result of the last time humanity wrestled with the specter of fascism. Even more oppressive than the thought of cousins who never existed was the simple question of "how?" How could an entire nation of people have allowed something as horrible as the Holocaust to happen, and how could they have done nothing about it?

As I got older, my concept of the nature of the rise of Nazism became more complex, and more a bit more rational. Anne Frank had convinced me that people were fundamentally good, and I became more and more convinced that the German people themselves were victims to the insidious nature of Nazism. They were good, if desperate, people, lulled into slumber and ignorance by faith in strong leaders, and a general sense of security after years of hardship. But I still didn't really understand the how — not completely. How could a smart, caring group of people check out so completely that they didn't question, they didn't push, and they didn't demand answers?

Well, now I know."

Read the rest at:
http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/fascism04may.asp