Since the American tragedy of November 8th, 2016, I’ve repeatedly viewed a fascinating series by the BBC concerning The Spanish Civil War. Produced in six parts, for a total of 315 minutes, the series offers lessons that must not be ignored, should our country continue its accelerating slide towards fascism.
Part 1: Prelude to Tragedy
Part 2: Counter Revolution and Terror
Part 3: Battleground for Idealists
Part 4: Franco and the Nationalists
Part 5: Inside the Revolution
Part 6: Victory and Defeat
Several years ago, I visited in-laws in Cusco, Peru. One of my wife’s cousins married an Anarchist from Catalonia, and we discussed politics over Cristal and Pisco, which did little to alleviate my severe altitude sickness at his house in the Andes. I asked for recommendations to help me understand Catalonia and Spain. He suggested Federico Garcia Lorca, who became my favorite Spanish poet; Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom The Bell Toll’s, which I had already read and enjoyed; and George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia. The latter immediately became my favorite Orwell composition, and if you see the relevance in the BBC series, you will also come to recognize the importance of Homage to Catalonia
Homage to Catolonia is a nonfiction account of Orwell’s joining the POUM, a Spanish-leftist organization manning the front lines against an advancing fascist front. Until I read this book, I had no idea how close the Grim Reaper came to snatching Orwell, well before his most noted works. Orwell was shot through the neck by a Fascist sniper, in a time and place where surgery and antibiotics don’t quite measure up to today’s standards.
I can not over-emphasize the parallels, the relevance, and the emotional impact of this series. If you watch it, I am sure you will draw your own lessons. For what it is worth, here are some of mine:
Enthusiasm and devotion to a cause, count for little against a well-led professional army.
Infighting doomed the Republican cause (Spanish leftists fought for a Republic, Franco was a Nationalist). Russian-backed Communists prematurely sought to consolidate power, destroying what little enthusiasm and cohesion the varied leftist factions possessed.
The 1930’s Spanish factions on the left and the right, closely mirror our America’s on the left and the right, circa 2018.
Question: What would be the greatest irony or contradiction, should America devolve into Civil War?
Answer: The same country (Russia) that armed and supported the doomed leftists/Spanish Republicans against the fascists in the 1930s, would likely arm and support America’s fascists/Trumplicans in 2018, against us: the leftists/Democrats/Socialists/Anarchists and Progressives of today.
My best advice, pour everything you have into the coming midterms. Without Congress behind us, I don’t believe we can stop this slide into full-blown fascism.
But take note, the leftists (Spain’s Republicans) won their elections. For a brief time, Socialists governed Spain. And yet, Franco still marched, and conquered.
If the worst case scenario comes about, we/you, can not hide. For the vast majority of people who post on Facebook, Daily Kos, and a myriad of other sites, your political leanings are transparent. Why does that matter?
As Franco’s generals advanced on their individual fronts, the prescription for leftists of all stripes was the same — against the wall.