Mark Givler

Jersey Shore

It has occurred to me that a few quotes I’ve come across over the years could well shed some light on the moment in which we now find ourselves.

For starters here is what the great American novelist Norman Mailer had to say about democracy and fascism:

“I really am a pessimist. I’ve always felt that fascism is a more natural governmental condition than democracy. Democracy is a grace. It’s something essentially splendid because it’s not at all routine or automatic. Fascism goes back to our infancy and childhood, where we were always told how to live. We were told, yes, you may do this; no, you may not do that. So the secret of fascism is that it has this appeal to people whose later lives are not satisfactory.”

The second quote is from the notorious 19th century robber baron Jay Gould. The story goes something like this: In 1886 Gould’s railroad operations were threatened with a labor strike. Someone, probably a reporter, asked Gould if he was worried. Gould replied that he wasn’t.

“I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half,” he said.

Are these quotes utterly unrelated or does each, as I believe, augment the other? So, how so? They help us understand that resisting fascism, autocracy, plutocracy, totalitarianism and brutal oppression is a struggle that must be waged at both an individual and a collective level.

The Norman Mailer quote suggests that as individuals we have to struggle with and overcome our natural tendency to obey authority no matter how corrupt or illegitimate that authority may be.

The quote from Gould reminds us that the fight against entrenched and ruthless power must be a collective undertaking. Especially when that power is backed by a concentration of fabulous wealth in the hands of a very few.

On a collective level we must resist being divided on spurious grounds. I submit that racial divisions, urban versus rural divisions, ethnic divisions and even religious divisions are promoted by the oligarchic, plutocratic super minority to keep the rest of us from running things for the common good rather than for their sole benefit.

So what can we and should we do?

First, form common cause with all people who work for a living.

Second, live by a precept common to all major religions and ethical and moral philosophies, that is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” There is no reason why any of us in this country, the richest there ever has been, should have to live homeless, hungry, on the brink of financial ruin and in fear of the authorities. Not to mention without access to medical care.

In short, get off your knees. Grow a spine and identify and act in concert with those whose interests are the same as yours.

Finally, have the nerve to recognize who your true enemies are. As Tupac’s Godmother, Assata Shakur, said, “Only a fool lets somebody else tell him who his enemy is.”