CHILE, 1973. USA….?????

It was suggested to me by a trusted advisor that I write a short post about the parallels between Chile just before the 1973 coup and our country unto this very hour.
I have mulled the parallels over as I mixed and baked honeycake and then challah today. It seems to me that two and maybe three parallels stand out.
First seems to be that, half a century ago, the democratic forces were caught quite flat-footed. Now, at least some of us (including me, I hope and believe) are doing our damnedest to make sure we are not caught flatfooted. How successful we have been, and still are, remains to be seen. And while we can’t see how successful we might be, we’ll keep up the drums to awaken as many who care for democracy as there might be.
The flip side of this, of course, is that we need to be hopeful that we can and will win decisively and conclusively over 21st century fascism. My wife finds it hard to maintain hope and, fairly often, voices that we ought to flee while we can. I snap at her for her Vichyite moanings, even while I wonder inwardly if she’s right.
The DOJ, including the FBI, has a big part to play. The fascists need to be watched like purported ‘Com-symps’ were during the 1950s.
Second, the Chilean democrats didn’t seem to know who their real friends were. I think I read something by Ariel Dorfman a few days ago in which he mentions that Allende considered Pinochet as a sympathizer to his government!
It is imperative that we know who our friends are in the Services, the FBI, and the police forces and those of us who have served in those organizations. We need every single one of them and…