No Place to Go
Before WW2, people in Germany with any sense at all left the country for safer places, concerned Adolf Hitler would lead them into ruin.
He did lead Germany into what many would call, Hell on Earth, as the German people, in their fear of losing whatever being German meant, put their hopes in a psychopath. A void had formed in the fabric of Germany and it was filled by the semblance of security and sanity. Torn by wars that destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, economically stressed to the breaking point, and just tired of being treated as outcasts by the world, Germany was looking for anything promising salvation and hope. It is no surprise they saw salvation in someone who told them what they wanted to hear, someone who promised to make Germany great once more, to restore order and prosperity. Hitler was not so much a great leader as he was someone who filled a void.
In a similar way, the U.S. has done the same thing. White people, afraid of losing whatever “being American” meant and not knowing what to do, led by a group of leaders seeking their personal gain and prestige with no moral character, ran to the void filled by another psychopath who told them what they wanted to hear, someone who promises salvation and hope, someone who will “make America great again” by removing those things threatening to take away the rights and freedoms of “God-fearing, hard working White Americans.”
Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide
Just as those sensible people who fled Germany, many will flee the U.S., not so much physically as mentally, socially, and psychologically, realizing what the future holds. They sought places where individual rights and freedoms were respected, where they might be able to sleep without fear. Many fled to Britain, France, and the U.S.; Jews fled to Israel.
One big difference in the German exodus and the U.S. exodus is that the latter has limited alternatives. Globalization has changed the face of the planet. There are no places to physically flee insanity, no place to get away from it. The world is a much smaller place than it once was and the insanity of a neoliberal capitalist system casts a wide net. No place left to go. 1984 is becoming a reality although a bit later than Orwell predicted.
Do You Fit the Norm?
Just as it was in Germany, if you do not fit the physical, social, and ideological norm, you will find yourself outside the circle of craziness. Such a system does not sit idly by and ignore those who disagree with how it operates. It is equipped with surveillance sub systems that constantly monitor all, looking for those who might “rock the boat” and dealing with them through penalties, punishments, isolating them much like honeybees starve out drones when they no longer need them. Hitler focused his wrath on both Jews and those who held conflicting ideologies. There are really no differences in what happened in Germany and what is now happening in the U.S. The Racial Contract and Whiteness still dictate the terms of acceptance. Normalized White people will overtly and covertly support those systems that have always favored them, afraid to lose their power and privilege, choosing to ignore and even supporting the policies and social systems that exclude the Other. Just as the privileged in Germany chose to close their eyes as millions of Jews—and Germans— were led to their deaths, Whites will close their eyes to the exclusion and extermination of the Others in the U.S. Led by another psychopathic madman, we will travel the same path as borders continue to close, military power continues to grow, and sanctions create a killing field for those who are different.
As the Borg said in Star Trek, “resistance is futile.”
The Hidden Roots of “Being American”
The U.S. is founded on thievery. It is built on stolen land using stolen resources employing the stolen lives of slaves and immigrant workers. The American “culture” is a hodgepodge of appropriated customs and practices. We call it “borrowing” but it is thievery; there was never an intention to return any of those things.
Our social system is built upon privilege of the few and exploitation of the masses. What we have comes from living in a system that gives us privilege and power, advantages in access to resources and opportunities free from fear of retaliation or punishment. We justify our advantages and exploitations by first finding ways to make the Other “less than” then giving our thievery a kind of moral validity; we “deserve” what we have because we are better than those who had it. In that deviated logic, it is ethical to steal and cheat, to appropriate what we need to enjoy life.
It does not take much digging to uncover the skeletons on which the U.S. society is built.