The Trump movement is turning America fascist w/Jeff Sharlet | The Chris Hedges Report

It is very pointed. You finish the ultimate and I don't have time to get into that, but this is a wonderful or incredibly powerful scene with Paul Robeson and the townspeople attack him. I think they almost killed him. I mean, it's pretty dangerous. Yes. A mob of 5,000 people backed by a New York State Police helicopter. Yes. I know, I know, I know. 1949. But that's how the book ends. And it's a little melancholic, it struck me that you sort of said where... And I'm paraphrasing. But I thought the question you raised is where are these people now that we need them?

People like the Robesons, they talk about Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie and all these great radical artists and writers and musicians. And it's not in the book, but let's talk about the Communist Party. The Communist Party was an important bulwark against the rise of our own version of fascism in the 1930s, which is why it is even completely erased and erased from history. I'm not a communist, but they were important. Oh yeah. No, I think this is one of the scariest things. This is a   moment of global fascism. It's not just about the United States. It is all over the world, but there is no force to counteract it.

But my idea of ​​ending that and the mighty Lee Hays, who wrote all the lyrics for those people. I know, go get it. That was incredible. Yes. And it's the same. At first we skipped over Harry Belafonte. The reason I closed this very dark journey with Harry Belafonte, who was in the fight, every one of his days, he died angry at 96 years old, and a good anger, he was in the fight, was because I believe that fascism He wants us to accept this. language of hysterical crisis, that either we are going to win or we are going to lose.

Now the fight is going to happen. What will happen if Trump wins in 2024? Man, I had a heart attack at a very young age a few days before Trump won in 2016. I remember waking up thinking, "Well, fascism is here, but at least I'm alive to see it." And what happens if he wins in 24? We continue. I compose it with those old heroes, those mostly forgotten ones smoothed over sharp edges, the radical edges softened to remind us that the fight is long. That is the hope. The fight is long. Trump could win in the 24th. That's not the end.

We continue forward. We continue forward. We continue forward. Well, that's the moral imperative to keep going, whether you're winning or not. As I have often said, we do not fight

fascist

s because we are going to win. We fight against

fascist

s because they are fascists. The good fight. The good fight. The last chapter is called The good fight is the one you lose. Yes, that is correct. The one you undertake, not because you are going to win, but because of what you do. Yes. Beautiful. Thank you. That was Jeff Sharlet in his new book, Undertow. I want to thank Real News Network and their production team, Cameron Granadino, Adam Coley, David Hebden and Kayla Rivara.

You can find me at

chris

hedges

.substack.com.