There is a spectre haunting Europe. [Not only Europe.] It is creeping into visibility in Spain, in Albania, Russia, Poland, France, England and perhaps most immediately, in Greece. It thrives on shadows; the darker places within us all, of fear and insecurity, then it glides in, offering an inevitably cruel luminescence. It moves gradually though, confident in the power of its righteous insidiousness. It makes deals: accept our terms, it declares, and together we can rise. We can triumph over the darkness around us and create a new morning. We can push your doubt away and replace it with certainty. We can erase weakness, and make you strong, it says. We can replace anxiety and make you confident again. Join us, it pleads, and we can help you feel strong again, but now you will be joined in a new family and together, we will restore the Good.
For us, for “our” people.
We have heard this promise before. It’s the cheap allure of cultural purity and nationalist pride, of racial ideology, of religious chosen-ness, and when the rains of social or economic uncertainty fall, somehow everyone else, everyone outside that select group, becomes suspect. Or worse.
Counterpunch
The Rise of Fascism in Greece José M. Tirado | poet, priest and writer finishing a PhD in psychology while living in Iceland (h/t Kevin Fathi via email)