Dear Friends,
After having a Facebook presence for about ten years, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to delete my account. If you wish to contact me in the future, you can reach me via www.brianleese.com. Click on the envelope and you will be able to send an “old-fashioned” email. If you are interested in why I have come to this decision, please read further. If not, be well and stay in touch.
Why leave Facebook, you may ask? In all honesty, Facebook has never really been my cup of tea. While I do appreciate the opportunity to see pictures of friends and family, Facebook seems to have an effect of reducing communication to the most banal and superficial level. This, however, was something I could live with. Facebook’s data breaches and tracking, while disturbing on many levels, also seem to be part of the tapestry of the new world we live in and were not necessarily “deal-breakers” for me in and of themselves.
Ultimately, the reason why I have chosen to leave Facebook is because it has become a tool which is being systematically utilized to undermine our democratic system of government. This assault comes as democracy faces greater perils than at any time since the second world war. While President Obama talks about “strongman politics”, I think it is important to call the movement taking place in our country by its true name. That name is Fascism.
Fascism is an equal opportunity system of government which has the potential to cross all cultural and geographic boundaries. American exceptionalism will not save us from this evil. This is because the only true value of Fascism is self-perpetuation. It is the ethos of the bully, ready to adopt whatever -isms serve its purpose at the moment. In one country, it may manifest as religious intolerance, in another as sexism, in yet another as anti-immigrant sentiment masquerading as “law and order”.
Fascism is not rocket science. Throughout history, Fascist regimes in ascension have all followed a remarkably similar playbook:
1) Dissatisfaction with the complexities of the present is stoked to into nostalgia for a “simpler past”. (Make America Great Again.)
2) A narcissistic, god-like leader emerges and informs his followers that only he can save them from this manufactured threat. (Obviously, Trump.Often the existing power brokers believe they will be able to manage and use the demagogue to advance their own interests.(Paul Ryan.))
3) A series of “boundary tests” ensue in which the rising dictator attempts to push the limits of his power further and further. (Stealing supreme court nominations, seperating children at the border, withdrawing from international treaties, innumerable blatant lies.)
4) Power is consolidated through the systematic elimination of opposition, increasingly strict control of information and dissemination of propaganda. (Domination of Trumpian candidates in Republican primaries, labeling of all non-congratulatory media as “fake news”.)
5) Fascist values are passed down generationally, becoming culturally entrenched and increasingly extreme as they are invigorated with the power of youth. (Ask yourself what opinions the children being raised at Trump rallies will bring to our national debate in ten years.)
6) People question if they are living in a fascist state. One of the universal truisms regarding Fascism seems to be that the moment it takes over can only be clearly recognized in retrospect.
It is important to be note that this descent is not due solely to Donald Trump and will not be cleansed based on his fate alone. Fascism is rising worldwide. While Trump serves as a catalyst and role model for aspiring tyrants, it was the pre-existing atrophy of our capitalist democracy which fertilized the dung heap of his movement. It will only be through the resurrection of our democracy into something stronger, truer and more just that Fascism will be defeated and we can hope to inoculate our country against similar threats in the future.
In these increasingly desperate times, in multiple countries and situations, Facebook has repeatedly placed its profit above democratic values. Facebook’s tacit participation in the genocide against the Rohingya people in Myanmar was the last straw for me. I realize that I am but one person, but I will no longer be party to this unethical and immoral behavior.
If you want to learn more about Fascism, I would encourage you to do so. Madeline Albright’s Fascism: A Warning is an excellent (and non-partisan) text, Slate Plus has a detailed podcast series, and if you just want to veg-out with some 80’s soap opera style science fiction, then go watch the original V miniseries, circa 1983. When I watched this at eight years old, I sure didn’t know it was about the rise of Fascism in the United States but now, 35 years later, the message is frighteningly clear and as timely as ever: The Visitors are not our friends. ;)
Stay strong and vote this November!
Brian Leese
Brian Leese
