{"id":8304,"date":"2018-04-07T11:50:25","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T18:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=8304"},"modified":"2018-04-07T11:50:55","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T18:50:55","slug":"will-we-stop-trump-before-its-too-late-by-madeleine-albright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/04\/07\/will-we-stop-trump-before-its-too-late-by-madeleine-albright\/","title":{"rendered":"“Will We Stop Trump Before It\u2019s Too Late?” by Madeleine Albright"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fascism poses a more serious threat now than
at any time since the end of World War II.<\/h4>\n
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By\u00a0MADELEINE ALBRIGHT\u00a0<\/span><\/span>

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On April 28, 1945 \u2014 73 years ago \u2014 Italians hung the corpse of their former dictator Benito Mussolini upside down next to a gas station in Milan. Two days later, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker beneath the streets of war-ravaged Berlin. Fascism, it appeared, was dead.<\/p>\n

To guard against a recurrence, the survivors of war and the Holocaust joined forces to create the United Nations, forge global financial institutions and \u2014 through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights \u2014 strengthen the rule of law. In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down and the honor roll of elected governments swelled not only in Central Europe, but also Latin America, Africa and Asia. Almost everywhere, it seemed, dictators were out and democrats were in. Freedom was ascendant.<\/p>\n

Today, we are in a new era, testing whether the democratic banner can remain aloft amid terrorism, sectarian conflicts, vulnerable borders, rogue social media and the cynical schemes of ambitious men. The answer is not self-evident. We may be encouraged that most people in most countries still want to live freely and in peace, but there is no ignoring the storm clouds that have gathered. In fact, fascism \u2014 and the tendencies that lead toward fascism \u2014 pose a more serious threat now than at any time since the end of World War II.<\/p>\n

Warning signs include the relentless grab for more authority by governing parties in Hungary, the Philippines, Poland and Turkey \u2014 all United States allies. The raw anger that feeds fascism is evident across the Atlantic in the growth of nativist movements opposed to the idea of a united Europe, including in Germany, where the right-wing Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland has emerged as the principal opposition party. The danger of despotism is on display in the Russia of Vladimir Putin \u2014 invader of Ukraine, meddler in foreign democracies, accused political assassin, brazen liar and proud son of the K.G.B. Putin has just been re-elected to a new six-year term, while in Venezuela, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, a ruthless ideologue, is poised to triumph in sham balloting next month. In China, Xi Jinping has persuaded a docile National People\u2019s Congress to lift the constitutional limit on his tenure in power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Around the Mediterranean, the once bright promise of the Arab Spring has been betrayed by autocratic leaders, such as Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt (also just re-elected), who use security to justify the jailing of reporters and political opponents. Thanks to allies in Moscow and Tehran, the tyrant Bashar al-Assad retains his stranglehold over much of Syria. In Africa, the presidents who serve longest are often the most corrupt, multiplying the harm they inflict with each passing year. Meanwhile, the possibility that fascism will be accorded a fresh chance to strut around the world stage is enhanced by the volatile presidency of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

If freedom is to prevail over the many challenges to it, American leadership is urgently required. This was among the indelible lessons of the 20th century. But by what he has said, done and failed to do, Mr. Trump has steadily diminished America\u2019s positive clout in global councils.<\/p>\n