I appreciate John Kaufman’s right to express his opinions in his letter (online April 22). Disappointingly, he failed to include facts supporting his opinion. I would hope that he, like millions of Trump supporters, may be having second thoughts.

He tosses out the word fascist, calling it rubbish to use that word. No, John. Recently an article discussed how a vast number of Americans read very little after they finish their education. The numbers are lower than when I wrote about it in my college days. I urge John to read a bit about what fascism is and how it manifests itself today.

A lot has been written about fascism. Remember reading “Brave New World” and “Animal Farm?” The authors used these dystopian novels to warn the world about the rise of fascism before World War II. Huxley, in the late ‘50s, wrote an essay noting the West adopted one of Hitler’s propaganda techniques: mass marketing.

One very concerning aspect of Mr. Trump is his use of the very fascist ploy of rewriting/whitewashing history. This relates directly to a book published last year titled “Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future” by Jason Stanley. I haven’t read it; but I’ve read several reviews of the book.

Trump is gutting education, changing what can be taught, erasing the real history of slavery, trying to eliminate honest discussion of equality and so much more.

George Orwell wrote: “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

Rick Meis

Halfway