Resistance & Resilience

Fascism is a symptom of collapse. People turn to a “strongman” to assure their safety when the “normal” society begins to break down. The fascist leader offers a return to a mythic past when everything was “great,” so that people may feel secure again.

Unfortunately, the promise of fascism is a lie. The past was “great” only because the costs of greatness were hidden or ignored. Our economic greatness has come at the cost of polluting our Earthly home and destroying her regenerative powers. Our national greatness was built on the genocide of Native peoples and the enslavement of African peoples. We have accumulated enormous debts which are now coming due, and we are bankrupt.

Instead of facing reality, the fascist would create a fantasy in which some people deserve to reap the benefits of society and others do not. The scapegoats can be eliminated, the fascist says, while the true members of the nation—the “patriots”—may live at ease. Without shame, Trump and his collaborators want to divide the nation so their idea of “superior” people can subordinate all others: men over women, white people over other races, rich over poor.

We reject this division. Our response to collapse is based on compassion, which includes all humans and indeed the entire community of life. Division is our enemy and unity is our strength.

At this link, I have collected five recent articles with suggestions about how to respond to fascism. Some of them echo exactly our method of responding to collapse. In ’10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won ’, for example, the middle steps are:

3. Grieve

4. Release that which you cannot change

5. Find your path.

Anyone who has been engaged with the Collapse Club weekly meetings will recognize these steps as the heart of our process.

The difference between fascism and collapse is that fascism includes explicit, deliberate cruelty as a method of social control. It is frightening to think that human beings can look hatred in the face and embrace it rather than trying to counter it.

Encouragingly, it seems that there is a common method for dealing both with collapse and with the violent antagonism of fascists: First, do the “inner work” of grief, surrender, and path-finding, and then do the “outer work” of strengthening resilience, building community, and rendering mutual aid. What comes beyond that is not strictly within our control. We must prepare, as much as we can, and we must always be seeking opportunities to be of service.