To the Editor:

I recently came across an article in the New York Almanack that had information of which we should all be aware — whether one is on the right or the left politically, whether one who voted in the last election is now questioning their choice, whether one is a young person who decided not to vote at all because neither party seemed to address their concerns, or whether one just generally doesn’t vote.

The article is a reprint of a 1945 Army Orientation Fact Sheet on fascism at bit.ly/3YKpDsy. Facism is a very inflammatory term, used by both the right and left to attack opposing views. Perhaps, then, it is easier to think of this in less controversial terms as simply a kind of authoritarianism.

The New York Almanack piece is important because it lays out the basic tenets of authoritarian governmental power, and this is especially pertinent now as our current administration makes major shifts in policy direction.

Basic tenets of democracy, like equality before the law, free and fair elections, freedom of speech, independent schools, and freedom of the press are discussed, as are changes in control of economic, political, and cultural norms, increased militarism at home and abroad, significant shifts in our global stance, differing emphasis on ethnic issues, and an increase in the influence of wealth in decision-making at the highest levels.

It seems timely that we become educated on this issue, as there are serious concerns today about this form of political power taking hold in America, just as there were when this pamphlet was distributed in 1945.

Kristin Casey

Altamont