At War With Fascists, Again

This is a bit of a different post here on Electric Cable Car. As news organizations around the country have failed to find their spines, inspired by their billionaire owner’s cowardice, I have been thinking a lot about the role of Electric Cable Car and what I am trying to do here. The focus of this blog is mountains, and trails, and running. This would easily allow me to avoid taking a stand and avoid becoming “all political on here”. (As if that is somehow a bad thing. As if we actually have the luxury to avoid any of this.) So I’ve been sitting here thinking and wondering if there’s something worth writing about that’s not just parroting others. Something that’s fitting for this blog and fitting for who I am as a person, and human being.

In general I’m a positive guy. One could call me an optimist. I try to approach business decisions, big life decisions, even small decision with of a positive spirit. I rather hesitate and slow down than let negative emotions rush my judgement. I think overall this has served me well so far.

So, how about voting, should I apply the same principles here?

I’m German and I want to frame my answer to this question by sharing two interlinked events that shaped my worldview in a fundamental way.

• The first: Germany was defeated in World War 2. And thank fucking god for that. Where would I be? What would Germany be like today? What would have happened to the world if the Allies wouldn’t have come together and collectively recognized the evil that was Hitler’s reign? Would we still have humankind if the Allies wouldn’t have decided that the right thing to do was to focus on this one single issue. Going to war meant sacrificing much else in order to put a stop to this evil empire and its ugly and destructive world views and even more cruel and inhume actions. Of course, I wasn’t alive back then but growing up I was acutely aware of the actions of my grandparents. In school and in popular culture one could barely escape the heritage Germany was shouldered with and takes very serious still today. WE did this. THIS happened in our country.
• And this brings me to my second point: As a teenager I was taught that I do play a role in this. I’m not responsible for the past, but for my actions in the present. What I speak, how I think and how who I vote for affects others and can affect the course of history. I wasn’t filled with fear but with a sense of responsibility. “Wehret den Anfängen” we call it in Germany. “Resist the beginnings”. This call to action was impressed on my throughout my youth. What it means is a responsibility Germans own, encouraged even from the highest leaders of the land that can be summarized as: “This (what happened in World War 2) can NEVER EVER happen again on our watch.

Today, and the here and now

I’ve heard the phrase that voting isn’t a wishlist submitted to Santa Clause but rather a game of chess. You position your players for decisions in the future. This is correct, but somewhat abstract. I want to submit another phrase: Voting is War. Sounds too strong? Maybe. I grew up hating war, avoided military service in Germany and declared I was a pacifist. As the optimist I claimed to be earlier, this phrase sounds dark and negative. Who wants to go to war, voluntarily? War is bad, always. But. What if war comes to you? What if you have no choice in the matter and your hand is forced? Do you fight? Do you prioritize survival to protect the people around you? Do you do the right thing in a moment like this? There are countless stories, depicted in movies that tell the heroics of people doing the right thing when faced with the unfathomable. We see ourselves being these people that instinctively know how to do the right thing.

This is that moment

What we’re faced with in this country and in almost every western country is that fascists have taken the mic, bankrolled by obscene amount of dark money and an army of online trolls, and they are waging war. The words they speak, the lies they spew, the friends they keep and enemies they declare, and the visions of a world they portrait. This is war. A war against democracy, against civil liberties and the rule of law, against individual autonomy and the freedoms so many before us have fought and died for.

In some ways my ‘Wehret den Anfängen’ example isn’t even relevant anymore. That was meant for 2015 when that orange fascist walked down the escalator of his tower. Back then I was told to not be hysterical and that he would mellow out and become presidential. That IT couldn’t happen in this country because of the systems we have in place. The balance of power and the laws, and all that stuff that didn’t work at all. Now it’s 2024 and we’re still fighting this evil menace and it’s worse than ever before. At least they don’t hide anything anymore. There’s no amount of sane-washing the media can do with these latest rallies, these hateful speeches speeches, and these angry antics by billionaire edge lords.

War has come to our doors and it wears a fascist hat. Our action is therefore simple. Punch the nazi and vote to defeat the fascists. While we still have elections were this might still be a nonviolent tool to defeat the enemy.

There are no alternatives

• We could argue over the dumb reality here in the US that effectively forces a two party system.
• We could balance the books and look at every issue and see how the candidates and the parties they represent compare.
• We could debate the nuances of the various policies proposed.

But none of this matters. We’re at war. Wartime is no time for nuance. The task is simple, the choice is clear. The way this country has chosen to setup its system and the way things have taken shape we’re in a situation where only one person can prevent absolute and utter disaster. That person has to be elected to succeed and voting for Kamala Harris is the only task asked of each and every one of us. No need to go to literal war. No need to literally take up arms. Just take your constitutional right seriously and vote. Stand in line, fill out that ballot, send it in, but, whatever it takes, fucking vote. It’s our only chance and our last one.

I didn’t see myself ever in a place of comparing any life situation to a war. And god forbid I never want to be in one where bombs and bullets fly. I don’t do it lightly. But the situation we’re in is different. War has been brought to our doorsteps and it’s up to us to respond. What will you do?

I hope, for all of us, that I can return to my regular content soon.