Excellent article, in a way. Gives a lot of subtopics to debate.



Examining the Linguistics, and the INTENT of any message today

is essential.



Then any reader has to very practically, and consistently

do a search on the personal, and political details that are available on the internet about any person that is writing anything that is publicly disseminated

on any platform on the internet, that allows public access, without, and, or

with a subscription.



Look at that sentence that I just wrote. Read it again. I am writing with such

specificity because I think it is absolutely essential in 2019. You can’t assume

anything about anything, especially INTENT of message.



You examine the “intent of message” from a number of different perspectives.

You write that our public discourse is increasingly FASCIST. I disagree with that

statement.



We are beyond dealing with theoretical rhetorical interpretive

problems.



“Populism” is a label of convenience. “Populism” is a label being used

by specific power-groups to separate powerless-sub-groups, regardless of national state organizational forms. “FASCISM” is a label of convenience, that is being used by specific power-groups to separate powerless-sub-groups regardless of national state organizational forms. The movement is really the ELITE that are attacking, and attempting to separate and label the powerless sub-groups. If there is any FASCIST movement, it is the movement by the ultra-wealthy to further subject any normal human engagement by the increasingly poor-demographic-global-groups. Even ISIS are just pawns of manipulators.



““Populism” is an innocuous-sounding description for the xenophobic nationalism that is now sweeping much of the world. But is there something even more sinister at work?”



I am going to address those two sentences of yours.



First:

What are you labelling as xenophobic nationalism? There are significant population groups, especially in France, and Venezuela that are attempting to show their power as human beings. They are powerless? How powerful are you Jason? What can you do by yourself? You can only accomplish your day-to-day survival tasks. Each of us can really only accomplish our day-to-day task actions. What money flows come to you based on your day-to-day task actions? What do you get paid to do? Can these people that are crying out, survive on the money that they receive for doing what they do? They are massing together, because they are powerless. They are essentially swarming, just like “insects”. Who is going to mow them down? What have they done to deserve to be decimated?



Who is essentially acting as FASCISTS? It sure isn’t the demographic groups that are poverty stricken.



The only FASCISTS are the super-wealthy, especially certain individuals in positions of power in Washington DC., and a few other locations. Listen to the messages from Trump’s daughter-in-law. Listen to the messages from Trump’s cabinet and legislative supporters. Listen to Macron, etc. etc. Effectively what has changed in France, Venezuela, and the US in the last two weeks?



In the US, the “wall” dialogue and messaging has been modified. BUT, has

anything really changed? Yes, in the US, up to 80,000 citizens, have been FORCED to work for over 30 days for absolutely no pay. What does that tell you, if you are a citizen in the US?



What does that say about Xenophobic nationalism? Where are the xenophobic nationalists? Who even identify themselves as xenophobic nationalists? Do they even know what a xenophobic nationalist is or isn’t? Are they even nationalists? Are they even citizens? Are they even voting citizens?



In 2019, for 80,000 US citizens to be forced to work for no pay, is that event of any historical or present consequence? What does that event signify to you? Should that event signify anything to any US citizen? Should it just drift into Lalaland, with its 15minutes of fame forgotten, and swept under the rug, of old news?





Due to global merging of cultures, and languages, the word choices

that are filtering into especially the English language, are changing drastically and quickly. The interpretations and conclusions by the general public, and the sub-groups within the global public are changing drastically. As the “FAST CHANGES” are occurring, the general awareness and re-messaging increases the pace or dynamics of the change process. “TIMELINESS” is becoming the “RELEVANCE” marker based on 15 minutes or less. In other words, “TRANSPARENCY” of INTENT in messaging is “PERCEIVED and INTERPRETED” by the viewers, and listeners, although powerless to intervene or change anything in their own personal experiential levels.



INTENT in messaging is becoming the most immediate factor for relevance. What is your intent with your messaging? What are you trying to accomplish with your messaging? If you really think about it, the only war on ideas that is really going on, is that there are no real ideas even being presented to really have any kind of war about at all. It is effectively noise.



What ideas are really being presented? Anything of any consequence? Even the US government shutdown was a shutdown over a distortion of messaging. There is already a border wall. There has always been some type of southern barrier and border wall.



The only fight was over how long one human being was going to be allowed to effectively deny any income to up to 80,000 US citizens, while they were being forced to still spend and deplete whatever money they may have had to show up at work facilities, and perhaps perform some contributory tasks to national operational activities that may or may not directly have any effect on the US economy.



They were forced to perform their actions while being denied and insulted to be identified publicly and worldwide as slave labor. What does that say to you? Do note, my phraseology of “one human being was going to be allowed to effectively deny any income to up to 80,000 citizens”.



Who did the allowing? Who suffered any financial, physical, or psychological loss?



I'll give it to you though, you have taken the "Art of Semantic Warfare", up at least one notch for a few minutes.



I only addressed the first sentence, and this is so long already, I may address that second one about "something sinister" some other time.