A Poem on the Real Definition of Fascism: ‘Misdirection’ by Russel Winick The Society September 11, 2020 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry 28 Comments Misdirection Some dictionaries and encyclopedias still define “fascism” as a far-right system of rule. They need to look again. The Party of self-righteousness, Imbued with far-left chatter. Deeds implemented and condoned, Rungs on the fascist ladder. Speech Liberty, Guaranteed, Everywhere. Beware of those Who do not care. Freedom, The heritage Our founders chose. Beware of all Who are opposed. Rights, The bedrock, To speak our piece. Beware the hour It could cease. Mainstream Media The MSM has plainly made Regime change its objective. Sheer bias thoroughly pervades Its wholly false invective. It gave up objectivity For stark one-sided views. And its entrenched proclivity To not report the news. Mr. Winick recently started writing poetry at nearly age 65, after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 28 Responses Joe Tessitore September 11, 2020 Very brief, very powerful, and very much to the point. A wake-up call if there ever was one. Reply Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Thank you Sir, Russel Reply Julian D. Woodruff September 11, 2020 The 4th estate’s entrenched proclivity to not report the news”: a potentially lethal blow to government by, for, and of the people. Fair warning, Mr. Winick. Thanks! Reply Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Thank you. I never imagined, while reading Orwell’s novels as a high school sophomore 50 years ago, that living in my country would ever begin to mirror what he wrote about. Reply Julian Woodruff September 11, 2020 Is what happened to Germany in the ’20s and ’30s happening to us? Elizabeth Valerie Wyler September 11, 2020 Good Morning! The 3rd poem (Mainstream Media) is my favorite because it gave me a strong emotional reaction. No one is perfect, including Trump. However, if you listen to CNN and MSN, their “news” consists almost ENTIRELY of anti-Trump stories, which line up like planes on a runway. A new one takes off every other minute. I suspect that TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) is a job requirement to be employed by CNN and MSN. If an employee becomes cured of TDS, perhaps s/he can go out on disability? Or, maybe s/he is just simply fired. Reply Margaret Coats September 11, 2020 “Planes on a runway, with a new one taking off every other minute” is quite an effective image for this phenomenon! Reply Russel September 11, 2020 Thank you Elizabeth. Today’s cancel culture is vastly different than anything commonly advocated back in my (long ago) liberal days. Scary on many levels. Reply Yael September 11, 2020 Nice. Short, eloquent and to the point. Pretty much sums it all up. Good job! Reply Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Thank you Yael – appreciate the kind words. Russel Reply Cynthia Erlandson September 11, 2020 Good poems, with originality in meter and structure. I especially like that you point out the misuse and abuse of the word “fascism”. I’ve noticed so much language abuse lately, in wrong definitions of the words “justice” and “protest” (used to mean riots, for instance); “science” (so often used by those who don’t know what it is); “essential” (who gets to decide?); “diversity” (excluding those with whom the left disagrees — and anyway, why is it better than unity?) “Fact-checker” now means censor; “emergencies” now last indefinitely; “love” often means perversion. Thank you for these poems. Reply Sally Cook September 11, 2020 Absolutely.People used to know that words mean things; that truth is truth. Today most all is lies, of which the devil is the prince. Reply Cynthia Erlandson September 11, 2020 Thank you, Sally. This is why we who love words have to keep writing. Russel Winick September 11, 2020 You’re very welcome Cynthia! Thank you for the kind words. Russel Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant September 11, 2020 Russel, these three succinct and perspicacious poems say so much about the misconceptions many have in these duplicitous days. I love the way you’ve used this creative medium to make a huge point in an engaging and educative way. I may well print them off and pop them in my pocket in anticipation of my next contentious political encounter. 😉 Thank you and well done! Reply Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Thank you Susan – that means a lot, considering how much I’ve enjoyed your work! Russel Reply Margaret Coats September 11, 2020 Short, effective poems like these can provide good talking points or memorable mottos. I’m going to remember “rungs on the fascist ladder.” Best wishes for a lengthy poetic career, Mr. Winick. Reply Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Thank you Margaret, for your encouraging words! Russel Reply David Paul Behrens September 11, 2020 The heading for this post begins with “A Poem on the Real Definition of Fascism.” I completely understand the sentiments behind this set of poems and I generally agree, but we must rely on common definitions of the words we use in order to communicate. This is why we have a dictionary, which I regard as the Bible of Communication. We cannot go around making up our own definitions or else communication will ultimately be lost. Therefore, in order for the definition of “fascism” to be real, it must be in the dictionary. Reply C.B. Anderson September 11, 2020 But don’t forget, D.P., that the dictionary does not prescribe, but only DE-scribes, when it comes to meaning and pronunciation. Reply D.P. September 11, 2020 Understood. Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Mr Behrens – you are right. All definitions currently limited to “right wing” should be revised to reflect reality. Thanks. Russel Reply David Paul Behrens September 11, 2020 In the realm of political philosophy, the extreme right wing is fascism and the extreme left wing is communism. Both extremes are totalitarian dictatorships and therefore intolerable. Reply Julian D. Woodruff September 11, 2020 Webster’s 3rd is descriptive, which we like: because meanings change, don’t they? (We just have to do our best to see that they change the way we want, right?) Webster’s 2nd is prescriptive, so bad (except for folks like my parents): use the words the way we used ’em back then, e.g., “comprehensive health care for women.” Reply Rod Walford September 12, 2020 If I were the subject of your poems Russel, I would consider myself hit squarely on the head – and fairly too. Great work ! Reply Russel Winick September 12, 2020 Thanks Rod, for the encouraging words. Reply David Watt September 13, 2020 Russell, you have made your point effectively, with a minimum of words. It’s so true that the MSM presents anything but real news. Reply Russel Winick September 13, 2020 Thank you David. I much appreciate your feedback. Russel Reply Leave a Reply to Russel Winick Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Joe Tessitore September 11, 2020 Very brief, very powerful, and very much to the point. A wake-up call if there ever was one. Reply
Julian D. Woodruff September 11, 2020 The 4th estate’s entrenched proclivity to not report the news”: a potentially lethal blow to government by, for, and of the people. Fair warning, Mr. Winick. Thanks! Reply
Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Thank you. I never imagined, while reading Orwell’s novels as a high school sophomore 50 years ago, that living in my country would ever begin to mirror what he wrote about. Reply
Elizabeth Valerie Wyler September 11, 2020 Good Morning! The 3rd poem (Mainstream Media) is my favorite because it gave me a strong emotional reaction. No one is perfect, including Trump. However, if you listen to CNN and MSN, their “news” consists almost ENTIRELY of anti-Trump stories, which line up like planes on a runway. A new one takes off every other minute. I suspect that TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) is a job requirement to be employed by CNN and MSN. If an employee becomes cured of TDS, perhaps s/he can go out on disability? Or, maybe s/he is just simply fired. Reply
Margaret Coats September 11, 2020 “Planes on a runway, with a new one taking off every other minute” is quite an effective image for this phenomenon! Reply
Russel September 11, 2020 Thank you Elizabeth. Today’s cancel culture is vastly different than anything commonly advocated back in my (long ago) liberal days. Scary on many levels. Reply
Yael September 11, 2020 Nice. Short, eloquent and to the point. Pretty much sums it all up. Good job! Reply
Cynthia Erlandson September 11, 2020 Good poems, with originality in meter and structure. I especially like that you point out the misuse and abuse of the word “fascism”. I’ve noticed so much language abuse lately, in wrong definitions of the words “justice” and “protest” (used to mean riots, for instance); “science” (so often used by those who don’t know what it is); “essential” (who gets to decide?); “diversity” (excluding those with whom the left disagrees — and anyway, why is it better than unity?) “Fact-checker” now means censor; “emergencies” now last indefinitely; “love” often means perversion. Thank you for these poems. Reply
Sally Cook September 11, 2020 Absolutely.People used to know that words mean things; that truth is truth. Today most all is lies, of which the devil is the prince. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson September 11, 2020 Thank you, Sally. This is why we who love words have to keep writing.
Russel Winick September 11, 2020 You’re very welcome Cynthia! Thank you for the kind words. Russel Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant September 11, 2020 Russel, these three succinct and perspicacious poems say so much about the misconceptions many have in these duplicitous days. I love the way you’ve used this creative medium to make a huge point in an engaging and educative way. I may well print them off and pop them in my pocket in anticipation of my next contentious political encounter. 😉 Thank you and well done! Reply
Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Thank you Susan – that means a lot, considering how much I’ve enjoyed your work! Russel Reply
Margaret Coats September 11, 2020 Short, effective poems like these can provide good talking points or memorable mottos. I’m going to remember “rungs on the fascist ladder.” Best wishes for a lengthy poetic career, Mr. Winick. Reply
David Paul Behrens September 11, 2020 The heading for this post begins with “A Poem on the Real Definition of Fascism.” I completely understand the sentiments behind this set of poems and I generally agree, but we must rely on common definitions of the words we use in order to communicate. This is why we have a dictionary, which I regard as the Bible of Communication. We cannot go around making up our own definitions or else communication will ultimately be lost. Therefore, in order for the definition of “fascism” to be real, it must be in the dictionary. Reply
C.B. Anderson September 11, 2020 But don’t forget, D.P., that the dictionary does not prescribe, but only DE-scribes, when it comes to meaning and pronunciation. Reply
Russel Winick September 11, 2020 Mr Behrens – you are right. All definitions currently limited to “right wing” should be revised to reflect reality. Thanks. Russel Reply
David Paul Behrens September 11, 2020 In the realm of political philosophy, the extreme right wing is fascism and the extreme left wing is communism. Both extremes are totalitarian dictatorships and therefore intolerable. Reply
Julian D. Woodruff September 11, 2020 Webster’s 3rd is descriptive, which we like: because meanings change, don’t they? (We just have to do our best to see that they change the way we want, right?) Webster’s 2nd is prescriptive, so bad (except for folks like my parents): use the words the way we used ’em back then, e.g., “comprehensive health care for women.” Reply
Rod Walford September 12, 2020 If I were the subject of your poems Russel, I would consider myself hit squarely on the head – and fairly too. Great work ! Reply
David Watt September 13, 2020 Russell, you have made your point effectively, with a minimum of words. It’s so true that the MSM presents anything but real news. Reply
