What the Heck Do We Do . . .

. . . with the word fascism? That's the question raised by this article on Daily Kos.

There's no denying that many political and economic trends at work in the United States over the last ten years match up with the characteristics of fascism.

On the other hand, it's also clear that the US is still far from being a full-blown fascist state. And (most significant of all), it's highly likely that even using the word fascism will short-circuit most discussions rather than energize or inform them.

Many Americans will simply stop listening when they hear the word, assuming that anyone who applies it to the US is paranoid or hysterical. Others (especially Jews) for whom the Holocaust is the overwhelming historical association with fascism will be offended by any application of the word to a (so far) less-horrific assault on human rights and dignity. And even those who are open enough to consider the issue objectively will probably require a ten-minute, point-by-point analysis of the historical attributes of fascism before they will concede the similarity. And as we all know, it's awfully hard to get anyone to give you ten minutes of uninterrupted time for anything.

On balance, then, I doubt it helps our cause to lean on the F-word at this moment in history. But it's damn scary that we even need to have this conversation in the United States of America, isn't it?