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opinion
50¢ corn dogs are romantic
KANSAN.COM/OPINION | MONDAY, FEB. 20, 2017
Vodka is just fun water.
I used to be addicted to soap but I'm clean now.
It's a beautiful day to sit inside and play video games.
Without A/C, someone in my lecture shouted "I'm melting!"
I'm always here for bodily freedom.
You know you've had a rough night when you look at your phone and say, "Wait, when did I drop this?"
Masculinity does weird things to people
Most interesting part of my day so far: found a poptart crumb in my eyelashes when I was doing my mascara.
Seeing family always sounds so nice until I actually see my family.
"I've seen a lot of weird stuff at the bull, but never in my life have I seen a full banana unpeeled on a urinal" a real tweet I found.
Just move to the back of the bus already. To: all you people on the 43 red
That awkward moment when your date finds an empty box of condoms under your car seat
If I didn't know you, and see you wearing a bro tank, I'm assuming you're a Trump vater. I will leave it at that.
WeRateDogs $ ^{\mathrm {TM}} $ joining Snapchat is what I needed this week.
If the library is open until 8 pm, then keep the cafe open until 8 pm! It is 3:30. People still get hungry and thirsty in here from 3:30-8.
What ever happened to the Teletubbies?
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Uri: Warnings in the rise of the far right
▶ IKE URI @IkeUri
President Donald Trump caters to the so-called alt-right, surrounding himself with those whose views go far beyond the consensus-building party that former president Ronald Reagan defined. The extreme demagoguery that Trump and many of his supporters spew has normalized anti-immigrant rhetoric as well as speech that attacks, both covertly and openly, members of minority groups.
This change is not isolated to the United States; across Europe, members of anti-immigrant conservative parties are gaining political
Illustration by Erica Gonzales
traction. We must be wary of the many ways that these trends resemble those that swept Western Europe and much of the world in the 1930s.
Following World War I and economic collapse, fascism, along with other antidemocratic ideologies began to gain popularity nationwide, including in the United States, where fascism gained some popularity in the 1930s. Fascist governments gained power in much of Europe during the Second World War, and these totalitarian systems persisted well into the 1970s in Portugal and Spain.
The atrocities of World War II committed by fascist regimes ended its widespread popularity, as democratic countries worked to dismantle totalitarian governments and prevent the development of future fascist regimes.
Fascist movements, evidenced in countries ranging from Brazil to South Africa
and the United Kingdom to Norway, were inspired by reactions against the supposed failures of democracy and socialism. A perceived sense of loss of national identity, exacerbated by the significant geopolitical effects of the First World War, influenced movements that sought to reinvigorate a sense of national belonging. These efforts often discriminated against minorities, or, as in the case of the Holocaust, persecuted with the ultimate goal of purifying the citizenry through extermination.
We are not living in Nazi America, and Donald Trump is not a new Hitler. However, the tactics of the far-right in America and Europe resembles, more closely than any major political effort in decades, the rise of the extreme nationalism that developed into fascism. Just as Mussolini, Franco, Tojo and Hitler indoctrinated using propaganda, the executive branch of our federal government is now issuing propagandistic
"alternative facts" to the media, eerily similar to the false news that George Orwell's fictional government issues in "Nineteen Eighty-Four."
Lies shouted from podiums and issued in memos from government offices fuel a xenophobic and anti-immigrant stance, which has become so vocally prevalent in American and European society. These demagogues paint a clear picture of the homogenous land they envision, where all citizens are white and Christian.
Similar stories are playing out across Europe, where, following Brexit and surging nationalism, we can no longer count extreme candidates as unelectable. In France, Marine Le Pen leads the National Front, who wants to pull France from the European Union and restrict immigration. In Germany and Austria, Frauke Petry of the Alternative for Germany Party and Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party envision similar goals. Feelings, brewing for decades in Europe and United States, are increasingly made manifest by these leaders, who embolden citizens, uncomfortable with people who are not like them, to become active.
We must realize just how delicate the foundations of our political systems are. Fascism took hold through democratic elections before bringing humanity to its most despicable low. As nationalism and propaganda come to the forefront of society, we need to take caution in order to preserve the long-lasting principles that undergird our political system.
On Feb. 15, 29 days into his presidency, Trump began his 2020 campaign. We must be careful, not just to guard our immediate political future, but also to insure that we do not slip down a more dangerous path toward true political extremism.
Ike Uri is a senior from Concordia studying sociology.
Kassebaum: Change, action go together
▶ NELLIE KASSEBAUM
@nelliekudk
Change, and I mean big change, goes hand in hand with action. If you want change, you'll have to act, and if change occurs, you must actively adapt, resist or react in some way.
Change came to me in the early hours of Nov. 9, 2016, after the election of Donald
Trump. Change came to me again Dec. 16, when I cut off (most of) my hair. Change visits me daily in little ways, like the way the sun sets later and later or the way some songs sound differently when I'm listening late at night.
Intentional action, performed by seeking change, began move-in day August of freshman year. I was ready to escape rural Kansas and move to the big city (pause for laughter). It continued to happen daily in school, trying new things, meeting new people, the whole "college experience." It has become more focused as I learn about the world, and find activities that fuel my fire. Finding something you're passionate about and applying action to
those will prove invaluable not as a student, but as a person with the desire to have an impact.
After the election, and particularly after President Trump's inauguration, the mass mobilization of concerned American citizens was remarkable. This was the exemplification of the relationship between change and action.
Many people were also upset about these reactions. I argue that with such a change, action was inevitable. We should be thankful we can voice our concerns and stand up for human rights.
We should also be thankful we have this ability to change. We should utilize it
more often. If you don't like something, act, and change will result.
"We should also be thankful we have this ability to change."
This means removing yourself from social media and going outside. This means attending your first protest, making your first phone call to an elected official or maybe writing them a letter. You cannot expect small actions to bring about big change.
Conversely, if you are happy about the recent political change, I urge you to
These seem like simple enough suggestions, but we will only see progress if these actions and changes occur. It becomes a dangerous game when we assume our neighbors, friends, or classmates are doing enough. Never underestimate your ability to contribute.
also act. Act by reaching out to friends or family who are hurting. This is what will guide our country toward a more united future, a better America. The one you voted for.
Nellie Kassebaum is a sophomore from Burdick studying English and public policy.
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