I spend a lot of time thinking about that, Reg.  The more I think about the rise in fascism masquerading as Trumpism in our country and reading the competing hypotheses of what has allowed it birth and sufficient oxygen to grow I’ve settled on one myself. The most compelling argument I have read – a synthesis of sociology, social psychology, and politics – is the feeling of social unrest from certain members of the cultural majority that they are losing their grip on the societal and cultural norms they took for granted; namely, that we are primarily a white Christian nation and tolerant and welcoming to minority enclaves as long as that structure stays in place.  In common parlance, many people are having a ”who moved my cheese?” moment.

In a truth serum moment I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people would say something to the effect, “I’m not racist at all and I treat people equally – as long as my country is primarily white, hetero, cisgender, and mostly Christian while every other ethnicity, ethos, etc. is arranged in descending/expanding concentric bands."  The social unrest that comes with losing one’s grip comes out in psychological and theosophical extremism and Trump knows how to play well into that.  And he certainly gives cover for those who feel like the aggrieved majority (“never wrong only wronged”).  What he seems to do better than others as well is play the role of a larger-than-life bulwark to prevent the perceived woke barbarians from crashing through the gate.  Dog whistles can come fairly easily then if you’re skilled at conflating nostalgia with ethnocentric fear.

Peter posited an interesting thought not too long ago about whether we have reached a point we can’t turn back from how society and politicians are now conducting themselves.  I’m too young and too poor a historian to put Mcarthyism in a proper and accurate context but I contemplate the ways it also permanently stretched the norms of societal hysteria, extremism, and fascism.  But my optimistic side also hopes that perhaps there are indeed events and forces that serve as a Hegelian antithesis that can give rise to a higher dialectic in society.  With any luck we’ll have a turning point where the greater whole can acknowledge cultural change is inevitable and we’ll need to adjust how we perceive our society.  You may say I’m a dreamer…