The great American author Sinclair Lewis once wrote that if fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the American flag and carrying a cross.           

              The nationwide, radical-right wing Tea Baggers Movement, newly energized with their huge victory in Massachusetts, and making inroads into the Republican Party, is a strong candidate for the fascist organization Lewis envisioned.  They may not necessarily be full-blown fascists at this time, but they're definitely leaning in that direction.

              Here, have a look:           

              The Tea Baggers believe themselves to be hyper-patriotic and they are pocked with religious fundamentalists who believe in Armageddon (and sooner rather than later).  They are filled with fury, hate and fear (while of course, praising Jesus, who was actually a peace lover and confidante of the poor). 

              They rage against immigrants, gays, taxes, “foreigners”, and anyone who does not look, talk, act and think exactly as they do.  They specialize in attacking the weak, the poor, and those in the minority.  They demonize their opponents, resort to intimidation and thuggery to make their political points, and spew invective with reckless abandon.             

               (They were instrumental in turning the public forums on health care reform, held around the nation, into carnivals of ridicule, disparagement and intimidation, and did their best to destroy debate and silence speech.)            

               They’ve brought loaded guns to political rallies to scare opponents.  Many are militaristic, anti-government fanatics who talk about “secession” and “overthrowing” leaders they don’t like.           

               Hope, truth and justice frighten them.  Reality is their sworn enemy.  Facts disgust them.             

               They worship people like the infamous and odious Sarah Palin, who could go from clown to fascist dictator in a heartbeat if enough people let her.  (Hitler started off as a perfectly harmless architect.  Mussolini began as a little-regarded and virtually unknown print journalist.  Neither had a nationwide media platform like Fox News.)           

               Fascists thrive on instability, fear, anger, ignorance and resentment among the people.  Fascism most often rears its ugly head in times of turmoil and great economic difficulty.  Fascism is right-wing populism run amok.           

               It also is most successful when no viable left-of-center populist political group exists as a counterweight, to show the people that a non-violent, non-militaristic alternative to the status quo exists.           

               Do any of these conditions, attributes or characteristics of a society in flux, and with the potential for murder and mayhem, sound familiar to you?           

               In Sinclair Lewis’ brilliant novel, “It Can’t Happen Here”, about the rise of fascism in America, where in his book, it definitely does happen here, one of the most powerful tools that the fascists have in their rise to power, is the belief among more sane-minded citizens that fascism simply couldn’t occur in “our country”.           

               Fascism is never taken seriously enough by responsible parties until it is too late to stop it.  Fascism thrives and grows because most reasonable observers underestimate it, laugh at it, ignore it, or dismiss it.  Until it is too late to stop it.           

               The lessons of history teach us that fascism is like a spark in dry and hungry tinder, which in an instant can engulf an entire society in voracious flames of fire that burn hot and ravenously for a very long and violent time.           

               The only way to prevent such a conflagration from arising in the first place is to douse the ground around it with plenty of cold water.