By P.S. White
The Sinclair Lewis novel It Can’t Happen Here was released in 1935 and presented an exercise in “what if?” wherein the United States becomes a fascist country. In the book, Senator Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip emerges as an ostensibly straight-talking populist politician and ends up defeating Franklin D. Roosevelt for the Democratic nomination. The cult of personality surrounding Windrip propels him to an election victory, and he immediately begins imposing authoritarian measures on the country. He creates concentration camps for his political enemies, marginalizes Congress, curtails the rights of women and minorities, and organizes shock troops referred to as “Minute Men” to keep the population in line.
If this sounds at all familiar (and it should, except for the party supporting the authoritarian demagogue), it is a clear sign that the lines between fact and fiction are becoming far too blurred in our current political climate. The reality of this situation has been seen before in world politics, and we should know better than to allow it to happen again. When Lewis wrote his book, fascism was on the rise in Europe, with both Hitler and Mussolini having seized control of their respective countries. In addition, fascism was starting to make its presence known in the United States. It was in the early stages at that point, with the German American Bund organizing chapters across the country, but it would be on full display at the 1939 Madison Square Garden rally (see video below). That is something that seems like a scene from an alternate history sci-fi story, but it was all too real at the time.
Lewis was certainly concerned with what he was seeing in a country supposedly pledged to democracy, and he understood that the political and economic situation in the U.S. (several years into the Great Depression) could lead to the rise of fascism, just as the world had seen in Germany and Italy. Public perception of Jewish people was not very high at that time, and segregation was in full force in the country. In addition, there were still many men holding onto outdated gender role perceptions, and they were stinging from the women’s movement that brought universal suffrage in 1919. So, there were plenty of biases and fears that a politician could prey upon to get the people to vote away their own freedoms in favor of the “security” offered by the strongman-type leader favored by fascists.
It Can’t Happen Here is considered a notable entry in the genre of dystopian literature, though it never achieved the same level of name recognition as Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (published only three years earlier) or George Orwell’s 1984. But it was certainly a prescient work and has rightfully received a fair amount of attention over the past few years as we are again faced with the threats of fascist, authoritarian forces taking control of our country.
If the description at the start of this post detailing the events from the novel sounds eerily familiar to the current political environment, give yourself credit for keeping a close eye on what is happening in the United States. And while the specifics of how Buzz Windrip put his iron grip on the country may not be an exact parallel to our present situation, there are far too many similarities. In the book, he plays upon the fears of the populace and spreads enough disinformation to successfully manipulate a significant portion of the population into supporting him. He attacks the pillars of democracy and eventually marginalizes them so that the Executive Branch becomes the primary authority in the country. He also has his own brute squad that enforces his will and suppresses any sort of resistance.
We have seen Donald Trump attack and marginalize groups of people like immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and those who oppose him, and he has tried to spark fears over the threat they allegedly pose to the country. We have seen him regularly attack the foundations of democracy, like free speech, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the election process itself, to instill doubt in the system as he presents himself as the better option to lead the country. We have also seen him whip up a mob into a fury that would go on to attack the nation’s Capitol, then he later defended their actions and called them true patriots. The people like the January 6th insurrectionists, who blindly followed his commands just over three years ago, could certainly turn into Trump’s version of the Minute Men.
So, as we head to yet another election that could hand the reins of power to Trump, we must acknowledge the threat he represents and draw from the lessons we learned from the 1930s political situation, as well as works like It Can’t Happen Here. We have seen it happen before, and we know all of the signs and portents that threaten to open the door to fascism in the United States. We also know what is happening is wrong, and we can’t just normalize this as politics getting slightly out of hand. Should Trump get voted back into the White House, he has given us all the indications that he will go full-on authoritarian and destroy the democracy that has survived nearly 250 years in this country.
The people of the United States should know better than to allow this to happen. If Trump seizes power, he will certainly be a dictator, from the first day and every day thereafter. And he has the support of the majority of the Republican Party on this. But we have the ability to stop that from happening. It Can’t Happen Here acts as a very clear warning, as does 1930s Europe, and there is plenty that we should have already learned. Most important among those lessons is that we should say no to dictators, for one day and every day. Now is the time to step up and ensure that fascism does not take control of our country like it has in so many others, some just recently. We must exercise our democratic rights—at the polls and with our freedom of speech and assembly—to ensure that we keep them and that the United States remains free from the threat of tyranny that looms on the horizon.