I’m sure psychology professionals will give this book higher ratings. As much as Beyond The Lies tried to dumb it down for the common man, it had a lot of definitions and jargon to toss at you. It is a thought provoking book and all humans should read the first six chapters. I must confess I’m into chapter three with just three more of those chapters to go while writing this.
Beyond the Lies got posted at my regular blog and I requested a review copy. I was intrigued by the blurb. You know I’ve written about Trump and is impending life in prison many times before. This was actually valid research into the rise and inevitable fall of Donald J. Trump. The how it came to be and the dangers of it happening again. This time there would be no adults in the room. This time the United States of America will become a province of Russia run by Putin’s deepest mole.
Definitions
This book is not a light and easy read. Definitely not a poolside distraction. It hurls a lot of definitions at you up front. The reason it does that is too many people have different definitions for authoritarianism and fascism. That allows too many people to dismiss Trump as “just a whack job with a few nutters behind him.” I’m just going to rip the definitions from the book for you. By themselves they will be enlightening for the common man.
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is defined as individuals and governments who are anchored in the importance of gaining blind submission to authority by large numbers of people, as opposed to supporting individual freedom of thought and action. Authoritarian governments result in political systems that concentrate power in the hands of a charismatic individual or a small elite who do not feel responsible to we the people.
An authoritarian government holds power and makes policies without the consent of the majority of people comprising a nation. Authoritarian governments make an effort to use their power to suppress dissent and exert control over the dissemination of information among the general public.
Fascism
The term Fascism is defined as a far-right political ideology characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society. Fascism rose to prominence in early 20th-century Europe. The first fascist movements emerged in Italy during World War I before spreading to other European countries. As a political ideology, fascism is opposed to liberalism and democracy.
Fascists believe that liberal democracy is obsolete. They value and strive to stimulate the mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state.
A rising fascist state is led by leaders like Donald Trump. Fascism rejects the belief that violence is automatically negative and views political violence as a means to achieve the implementation of an authoritarian state. An example of this fascist violence was exhibited in the failed January 6, 2021 insurrection in the United States capital; an effort to violently overthrow our government.
Psycho-political
The term psycho-political refers to the interaction between people’s mental health, human development, and politics. It denotes the psychological, emotional, and behavioral impact of politics and political
structures, policies, expectations, and governance on healthy human development for better or worse.
End of definitions quoted from Dr. Michael D’Andrea’s book – Beyond The Lies
Without common definitions it is impossible to have meaningful conversations in general, let alone about this book.
January 6, 2021 – The Power of Lies
This book focuses on the rise of White racism and White supremacy in America. These movements are based on racism, bigotry, and the demonization of “Others.” In order for them to start you have to have a cult of personality such as Donald J. Trump or Adolf Hitler.
What made this attack particularly unique was that it was not initiated by foreign adversaries. The January 2021 insurrectionists were loyal Trump supporters willing to obey his orders to “fight and fight like hell or you will lose your country forever,” without any questions asked. Many were members of White supremacist groups and extreme alt-right-wing White nationalist organizations. These are the same groups and organizations the FBI previously announced were the greatest threat to our national democracy, peace, and security.
Dr. Michael D’Andrea
I Think It is Simpler
While I don’t fully agree with the book’s definition of White supremacy, I do agree with some of the conclusions drawn from it relative to the KKK, neo-Nazi, and Evangelical groups. Personally I believe the fundamental fact is much simpler.
White people, not matter how open they think they are or level headed, genetically don’t respect any culture we haven’t fought a war with. It took a cult of personality like Donald J. Trump, whose cult members don’t bother to look up anything via any valid source of information, to get his followers to
hate Mexicans and turn the Southern border into a political issue. Even some of the most racist Red Necks I personally know, had no trouble with Mexicans moving in. Most respected their work ethic. Mexico has been in a lot of wars with European countries and America.
The not talked about truth is that most Mexicans are part Irish (and other European nationalities) today, just like most Americans. Rent One Man’s Hero to learn about this. The Irish that came to fight didn’t leave after the war because they had nothing to go back to. Instead they found work and raised families because by that time much of Mexico was Catholic, just like the Irish that came. They attended the
same churches.
Has to Be Genetic
I firmly believe it has to be genetic. For descendants of European countries, until we’ve tested you in battle we don’t respect you. You’ve all known boys who were outright enemies until they traded split lips and bruised knuckles, then became best friends. If you want to watch a really heartwarming story about it rent St. Vincent. When we learn world history there aren’t many, if any, stories about an African or Indian nation kicking a European nation’s ass.
At least not pre-colonization. They were peoples who were conquered, enslaved, had their countries stripped of resources and only after many years/decades of colonization gained independence. Some gained independence simply because the nation that colonized them was so strapped fighting other wars they had to pull out of the country or so I recall. Still, a human being cannot gain disrespect for a nation as the result of one World History Class in junior high or high school. Nor can they gain respect of a nation because of that same class. Therefore it has to be a genetic trait. The question is does it exist in all humans or only those who descend from European ancestry.
One may wish to say that, “because my ancestors never won a war shouldn’t mean I have to live a beaten down life.” That, however, was the very definition of colonization. You lost and were subjugated/enslaved. At a global culture level, I don’t believe this ever left the species. There is always some subset of a race looking to exploit other races. For evidence you need look no further than the widespread slavery in China.
Ties to White Supremacy
I do like how the book used documented facts like Trump being found guilty of implementing racially discriminating housing policies in the 1970s all the way through to his actions as president tying him to White Supremacy. I do like the formal definitions of the various forms and the examples. Many of us who grew up rural, not around people of color, learned to use “cotton pickin” as a polite curse word where a real curse word should have been used. This is one of the methods of indoctrinating the youth. I do regret the author did not extend the examples to also show how they matched the rise of Adolf Hitler.
Spin forward to the conversation with Edgars at the 24:22 time mark. “How many people do you think actually belonged to the Nazi party” discussion. It’s a good conversation on the rise of fascism and how people “just ride along because they get something out of it.”
Summary
Everyone should read the first 6 chapters of this book. It can be a struggle. The focus on Multicultural Democracy tends to be misplaced. Growing up in Illinois I always liked the idea that happened in Chicago. You could travel the world without leaving the state. Want authentic Chinese or to experience the culture, go to China Town. Greek Town, Little Warsaw, etc. etc. They all popped up because people of a culture like to be together. When you went to the Chicago Loop though, you were either a tourist or an American. Somewhere in the world of academia or perhaps just liberalism, the truth of our country that we all learned in history class got lost.
America, the Melting Pot. You only get to keep your culture in tiny pockets. We will appropriate what we deem “good” and disregard the rest. In a modern Syfy vernacular, We Are Borg
