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Reader looks at Trump and defining fascism

Ponoka News reader responds to last week's letter questioning Trump and fascism.
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Letters

Dear Editor,

Is President Trump a fascist?

To answer that question we have to have a definition of what fascism is. Fascism is one of many variants of what is known overall as totalitarianism. The field of totalitarian political systems includes such forms of government as fascism, Nazism, communism and Islamism. There are some general characteristics that all of these governments have in common. Things such as: no recognized limit to government authority, regulation of every aspect of public and private life, no concept of human rights, use of propaganda, state control of mass media and education, economy, political repression, restriction of speech, mass surveillance, single party state, personality cult, dictator.

I believe that if anyone were to look at President Trump’s administration that it quickly becomes obvious that he is not a fascist. Trump wants to decrease government control of the economy, devolve power back to the States, support free speech and freedom of association, wants a free press that isn’t controlled by only a few media outlets, give parental choice in education of children, strengthen individual rights.

The left/Islamic alliance wants to do the complete opposite. They are about restriction of free speech. The evidence for this is seen most recently in the proposed M-103 legislation, which will come before the Canadian Parliament on Feb. 15. This motion is directed at curtailing speech that is considered to be Islamophobic. This motion will elevate one faith above all other faiths by giving a status that is not subject to Canada’s Constitutional laws regarding freedom of speech. What Constitutional right does anyone have to be protected from being offended? It should worry all of those who aren’t Muslim that the government would force on us conformity to these laws which aren’t universal.

In the wake of the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency we are now witnessing calls to boycott all Trump products. Then there is the case of British Olympic silver medalist, Louis Smith, who was disciplined by British Gymnastics after he and a friend participated, outside of competition, in a video that mocked Muslim prayer. It is interesting that there was no action taken though, when the Egyptian judo athlete refused to shake hands with his Israeli competitor at the end of their match.

The stated goal of M-103 is to develop policies specific to the reduction and elimination of Islamophobia in all of its forms.

It seems that only a fascist government can attain the goal of eliminating all offensive speech.

Julian Hudson