Madeleine Albright's warning about fascism

Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright says fascist tactics are becoming more prevalent and threaten the balance of peace and justice more than at any time since World War II.

Her new book, "Fascism: A Warning," is near the top of the New York Times best-seller list.

In a recent appearance at the Commonwealth Club of California, Madeleine Albright said one of the symptoms of a possible rise of fascism is "dissatisfied people who feel they aren't getting the attention they need."

Also typical, she says, is scapegoating, disrespect, propaganda and an "us versus them" rather than a "community" viewpoint.

She sees current fascist tendencies in Hungary, Turkey, the Philippines, and Venezuela.... but "the only country I've said actually is fascist, is North Korea."

Could fascism come to the United States? Albright said, "I'm not calling Donald Trump a fascist. But he's the most undemocratic president in modern American history. Calling the press an enemy of the people is stunning to me."

She added that President Trump is exacerbating the divisions among Americans, and "forgetting that our constitution begins with 'we the people'."

Albright said Trump's rallies are "making an atmosphere that brings people out in anger," and that there is "no respect for people that have different views, and he has this disrespect for any democratic institutions, especially the judiciary."

Albright worries about Americans "normalizing what's happening," and quoted Mussolini who supposedly said "if you pluck a chicken one feather at a time, nobody will notice."

She stressed the importance of activism, voting, speaking out, and listening. "We don't just need tolerance, we need to respect other views."

Madeleine Albright spoke April 27, 2018 with Commonwealth Club of California CEO Gloria Duffy.