When I first become politically
aware during the 1960s
it was not that long since World
War II and The
Holocaust and Fascism
was seen as repugnant by almost everyone and not a view anyone would
express publicly. Fascists existed in the shadows and recruited from
amongst the unemployed and particularly disaffected
youth whom they provided with a sense of community and someone to
blame for their problems by means of propaganda.

With the arrival of the Internet
I naively thought the fascists would lazily they move their
recruiting there to where their prey would have easy access to
information that would counter the fascists arguments.

In the 1960s we had
right and left wing newspapers and radio and TV, but that was
reflected in editorial policy. They all reported the same facts, just
the interpretation was different. I did not foresee the increasing
polarization of media and the trend of people to only watch or view
media that spouted what they already had been convinced to believe.

Then came Fox
News and others like it that were more propaganda outlets than
news media, followed by social
media such as Facebook
and Twitter
(later X), which discovered that designing
their algorithms to promote disinformation and hate was very
profitable. When Twitter became X under Elon
Musk’s ownership the priority changed from profit to propaganda
and the promotion of disinformation and hate and it became Fascism
Central.

At the same time
something was happening largely due to the legitimization of fascist
ideas by these new media outlets that had garnered wide followings,
that brought the fascists out of the shadows and into the mainstream
of society and politics and into elected positions of power.

So what is the
answer.

Some might suggest
making fascism, fascist parties and expounding fascist ideas illegal,
but we must remember whenever political parties and ideas are
outlawed the left is always hit harder than the right. This also
ignores the conflict with established civil
liberties and human
rights such as freedom of belief, expression, and association as
provided in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These conflicts could have the
result of what are usually considered progressive civil liberties
organizations such as the Canadian
Civil Liberties Association and the American
Civil Liberties Union defending the fascists, something they
would no doubt exploit to their political advantage, not to mention
the creation of political martyrs.

What
is to be done ?

In today’s world
where people close themselves off from anything that does not agree
with their predetermined positions converting fascists is almost
impossible. What we have to do is reach people before they are
radicalized.

The best way to do
that is to create a caring multicultural
society like Canada’s
that values and promotes diversity,
and inclusion, particularly in immigration,
one that provides everyone with a liberal
education that teaches and promotes critical
thinking.

That is what is to
be done – provide a better alternative before people can become
propagandized by the hate
mongers.

Postscript – I
put in an unrelated “easter
egg” link
to see if anyone is actually clicking on the links.