(This post was written prior to the horror of ongoing events in the Middle East beginning on October 7, 2023. Once I am personally comfortable in writing about what happened and why, I will do so. Thank you for your patience.)

Many of your friends and/or family probably maintain strong connections with the state of Florida. The weather is warm, taxes relatively low and the scenery tropical. Unfortunately, it is also home to an educational system confined by its own bigotry, and public officials with little in the way of common sense, professionalism, and progressive attitudes. Diversity is gradually being replaced by intolerance which, in turn, increases fear and racism among segments of the population. At the top of this growing pyramid of pending disaster is the state’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, a man who sounds like, and promotes policies similar to, the former Italian Dictator, Benito Mussolini. DeSantis wants to be president, yet behaves like an autocrat. Throughout his tenure in office, he has seeded his state with ideas and policies reminiscent of the Third Reich—Nazi Germany. Thus, one of the state’s pejorative new nicknames: the Fourth Reich.

During the Third Reich, the Nazis discriminated against, and eventually slaughtered, Jews, Gypsies, Gays, and others they considered incidental. DeSantis and his colleagues are directing their discriminatory policies primarily towards the LGBTQ community and, increasingly, Blacks. Negative comments from the Governor about Jewish financier, George Soros, has intensified the move towards making the name Soros a euphemism for the “evils” of “international” Jewry. Because the Governor needs Jewish electoral support, I presume they will remain only a shadow “enemy” for the foreseeable future.

Let’s reflect on some important historical facts: Hitler, and many other autocrats, first assumed power democratically. They were selected as leaders by their colleagues at the parliamentary level, or by voters at the ballot box. They were popular, in part, because they gave their colleagues and the voters what they sought—easy answers. Certain groups or individuals, (e.g. Jews or people of color), could be blamed for systemic problems, allowing them often to be solved by imprisonment or removal.

When DeSantis, et al ban books and the Nazis burned them, the result is the same: access to ideas and information about past history, certain behaviors, etc., are diminished. The Florida Governor and his colleagues even rely upon interpretations of religious doctrine and the Bible to justify their discriminatory actions. After all, didn’t The Jews “kill Christ” and the LGBTQ community are portrayed as Godly “abominations”?

In these cases, such leaders believe that “evil” lurks and must be ameliorated before society is destroyed by “un-Godly behavior.” To adequately deal with such problems, they insist that state intervention may be required.

Today, sadly, Florida and DeSantis are not unique in maintaining their malignant agendas. Tennessee, a state largely controlled by far-right Republicans, is on a similar path. Greg Abbott, the Texas Governor, is also moving his state in the same direction. Yet, thankfully, paths remain to advance enlightened, salutary policies, primarily by-way of the ballot box. But, fair elections require candidates that truly promote freedom and justice. That will only happen when more people get involved in the candidate-finding and nurturing process.

In sum, the evil in many of our states will require significant resources and efforts geared to make things right. False news had its day; autocrats have no place in America. Trump and his acolytes must be confronted now, and far into the future, with truth and justice promoted by the American people and their institutions. Otherwise, it may soon be too late.