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cover of episode Assembly Required: Rachel Maddow on Winning America’s Fight Against Fascism

Assembly Required: Rachel Maddow on Winning America’s Fight Against Fascism

2025/5/26
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What A Day

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People
J
Jane
帮助人们通过简化财务知识和遵循有效的财务计划来实现财务自由。
R
Rachel Maddow
S
Stacey Abrams
Topics
Stacey Abrams: 我认为了解如何让世界变得更好与了解事情有多糟糕同等重要。我们必须分析攻击,揭示其过程,以便共同应对并构想未来。虽然现在的政治时刻感觉很新,但我们所面临的并非前所未有。美国曾多次面临极右翼法西斯煽动者和反民主的不人道运动,但我们总是能够战胜他们。每一次,美国人民都将自己视为解决方案的一部分,拒绝让问题压倒他们。我们必须从历史中学习,了解如何才能更好地应对当前的挑战。 我担心的是,我们改变对现实的理解和掌握的意愿。特朗普政府正在试图摧毁那些提供服务、捍卫服务以及弥合服务与需求之间差距的组织,以摧毁公民社会。他们正在破坏政府,破坏社会保障等项目,这会伤害到我们国家中最弱势的人群。我们必须保护他们,并让那些破坏社会保障的人付出政治代价。 共和党正在试图重新将权力聚集到一个非常具体的基督教民族主义、反人性的叙事中。他们正在削弱民主问责制,但直接反对选举仍然是一个飞跃。贬低政府、煽动种族怨恨以及敌视专业知识和高等教育都有助于削弱民主。我们必须团结起来,组成一个反法西斯民主运动,共同对抗这些威胁。 Rachel Maddow: 法西斯主义和强人非常无聊,他们在各地都在重复同样的故事,遵循相同的剧本。美国法西斯分子也是如此。我们应该更多地了解人们在其他国家和我们的历史中成功对抗这些人的不同方式。强人总是相同的,这使我们不必过多关注他们的最新挑衅。 当民选领导人试图将所有权力集中在自己手中时,这就是专制。当总统试图边缘化国会并使其无关紧要时,他就是在试图剥夺国会的权力。法西斯主义的一个定义性特征是,专制领导人试图将公民社会和经济纳入其权力体系。法西斯领导人的标志是社会上除了国家之外什么都没有,而国家最终听命于一个人的冲动。我们正在经历专制主义,但公众有权阻止它。 独裁者想要消除法治,以便诋毁、定罪、流放或杀害他们的反对者。独裁者希望使反对他们变得不可能、不合法或不舒服,即使在政治体系之外也是如此。独裁者希望能够为自己夺取他们想要的东西,并利用国家的力量来致富。美国人民喜欢政府提供的各种服务,但专制运动试图消除这些服务。特朗普政府过早地开始破坏政府,导致美国人民反对,并且他们对此没有辩护。 特朗普并不是一个民粹主义者,他只是利用民粹主义的语言来达到自己的目的。他并没有真正为普通人服务,他的政策实际上会损害普通人的利益。我们必须警惕那些质疑我们所见所闻的叙事,因为这可能会导致专制主义的兴起。当真相变得不可靠时,人们只能依靠他们信任的人来告诉他们该相信什么。当人们与真相脱节时,他们很容易被煽动者操纵,并认为他们的邻居是敌人。 我们必须同时采取街头示威、民众阵线、关注腐败、保护法院和记者等多种策略。现在每个人都有责任为国家做一些事情,包括加入组织、参加示威或联系国会议员。我们必须捍卫权威、专业知识和真相的来源。

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Shownotes Transcript

Today, the What A Day team is off. But we’re excited to bring you a recent episode of Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams.

In the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, we’ve watched Republicans erode American democracy with alarming speed. While this political moment may feel unprecedented, it isn’t new. America has dealt its share of far-right movements, fascist provocateurs, and anti-democratic threats. But time and again, heroes have risen to meet those moments. In this episode, Stacey unpacks how we’ve fought fascism before – and won. She’s joined by the host of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism.

Subscribe to Assembly Required wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

  • Be Curious: History can be an extremely useful tool to help us navigate the present. Pick up Rachel Maddow’s book Prequel — now available in paperback anywhere books are sold. Also pick up the Assembly Required Recommended Read: The Dictator’s Learning Curve by William Dobson.
  • Solve problems: The best thing we can do right now is show up and use our voices. There are two key ways to do this. First: call your representatives! Democrat, Republican, Independent — it doesn’t matter. Tell them where you stand and why it matters. Second: get involved locally. Join a protest, volunteer to support a community that is particularly vulnerable right now, donate to a grassroots group in your area. Change starts with showing up, so let’s get to work.
  • Do Good: Not only has Trump waged a war on books, he’s waged a war on independent businesses. So if you’re interested in reading any of the books I mentioned today, or want to pick up our weekly recommended reading, purchase them at a local bookstore. If there isn’t a local option near you, or you just prefer the convenience of online shopping, check out small businesses that operate online — like Octavia’s Bookshelf.