What Is Fascism? Understanding the Past, Naming the Present

Fascism didn’t sneak up on us. The right has been preparing for decades. Here’s how they built the playbook—and what it’s looked like through my own lifetime.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

— George Orwell

Fascism is a word we’ve been hearing a lot lately—and not without reason. From book bans to anti-trans laws to calls for a national abortion ban, the authoritarian creep is no longer subtle. It’s strategic. It’s coordinated. And i…