Anyone read "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis?
Because, spoiler alert, the whole point of the book is, it can. It's beginning to look a lot like fascism here. My rational mind keeps telling me it's not going to be as bad as I'm afraid of... but I'm sure the German intelligencia said much the same thing in '33. Point is, in order for democracy to succeed and for fascism to never take hold, it requires a vigilant populace. Which is not what America has right now. The tenor in America is racism, mean-spirited "I got mineism," religious fundamentalism, and a complete disregard for human life and suffering; people either don't care about police brutality, or are actively supporting it. The climate is bad, very bad. Watch your ass.
= new reply since forum marked as read
you have to differentiate between the Aryan and non-Aryan German people, specifically the Jews.
Fascism in Germany had wide spread support of most Germans, who were pretty happy until they lost the war.
The non-aryan Germans, esp. the religious minorities, included a mixture of people who could see trouble and could leave in time to save themselves,
and those people who saw but could not get away for various reasons, and those people who did not see what was happening until it was too late to avoid it.
Many excellent books have been written describing the whys and wherefores of that very question.
I am in the midst of reading Vasily's Grossman's Life and Fate, and kicking myself for not reading it sooner.
( Huge 
to DU's Tierra_y_Libertad for sharing the books)
( I recommend these 2 links for more info about him and the book:
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/vasily-grossman-loser-saint
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/vasilygrossman)
They Thought They Were Free is a much referenced book about why people in Germany reacted as they did to the years of Hitler's rise to power.
Free download here:
https://archive.org/details/theythoughttheyw027497mbp
One of the most well known parts is this:
This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter . . .
To live in this process is absolutely not to be able to notice it—please try to believe me—unless one has a much greater degree of political awareness, acuity, than most of us had ever had occasion to develop. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that, unless one were detached from the whole process from the beginning, unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’ that no ‘patriotic German’ could resent must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. One day it is over his head.
"How is this to be avoided, among ordinary men, even highly educated ordinary men? Frankly, I do not know.
Excellent piece found in The Daily Kos in 2012
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/29/1125588/-German-s-Thought-They-Were-Free-and-So-do-You
For many many years after the war, people only understood the superficial reasons for what happened in Germany.
But when I read Vasily Grossman, or Hannah Arendt, or Meyer's book, it becomes clear how human nature can be fooled,
how human feelings of denial are indeed "the shock absorbers of the soul".
Here, on DU, for many years since 2000, there have thousands of arguments about how important/serious/deadly the changing face of our country has become.
People who compared the Patriot Act to fascism were roundly booed,. Here...on DU.
Take a look at the Daily Kos article I linked to upthread, the part that starts with Eisenhower Presidential address, and lays out,point by point, where we have come since 2000.
Worse yet, the same gobbling up of people's rights, people's jobs, money and freedom is now happening on GLOBAL scale.
I am not talking about Afghanistan and Iran and Isis..I am talking about Europe, about Spain and Italy and Greece and Ireland and now Scotland.
Counties whose people think they are still living in a Democracy, but who are losing everything.
And yet, how many folks here on DU take the time to scan the international news to follow the pattern?
See how easy it is to be swallowed, bit by bit?
In the context of at least a decade of Republican efforts to subvert representative government--voter suppression, heavy propaganda, gerrymandering, dark money, etc--I can't help but wonder how far they may go to try to guarantee their permanent hold on power.
This sort of thing may be closer than a lot of people realize: Enabling Act of 1933
Even as it means less and less and makes little difference. All this stage play of supporting candidates, volunteering, getting out the vote, arguing with each other over small details is a great way to keep us busy without actually seeing what is going on behind the scenes.
Yes, I will continue to vote. And yes, I will probably volunteer again and again for promising candidates and encourage everyone I know to vote. But deep down I really can't believe our votes really do make a real difference especially at the national level.
That's what it seems like when I am in a depressed and cynical mood, anyway. I might be more hopeful tomorrow or next week. But right now....
it came out.
It's at least a more interesting argument than Britt's "14 characteristics of fascism" that people trot out every week or so...
