The American fascists are most easily recognized by their

“The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism.” So spoke Henry A. Wallace, Vice President of the United States during the fiery years of World War II. His words were a warning not only to his own generation, but to all who would live in ages to come: that the enemies of freedom need not always come with swords, nor march under banners, nor storm the gates with armies. They may instead corrupt the very heart of a nation by twisting truth, by dividing brother from brother, and by sowing lies until unity withers.

The ancients knew that truth is the foundation of order, and that lies are the weapon of tyrants. Plato spoke of the “noble lie” that rulers might tell to bind their people, but history has shown that no lie is noble when wielded to enslave. The perversion of truth has ever been the seedbed of tyranny. When Wallace spoke of “American fascists,” he meant not merely those who admired foreign dictators, but those within who sought power by shattering unity, by amplifying fear, by making men distrust one another. Their weapon was not the sword, but the lie sharpened into poison.

History bears witness to this danger. In Germany, before the rise of Hitler, newspapers and propaganda machines spread half-truths and twisted tales, turning neighbor against neighbor. Jews, socialists, and dissenters were vilified until they seemed less than human. The truth was buried beneath a mountain of lies, and the people, divided and fearful, embraced tyranny as if it were salvation. Wallace, watching these horrors unfold, warned America that the same peril could take root on its own soil—not through invasion, but through corruption from within.

Yet his words were not only for his own time. In every age, there are those who pervert truth for gain. They seek out “fissures of disunity”—racial, religious, economic, or political—and widen them until trust collapses. They know that a house divided cannot stand, and so they labor not to build but to fracture. They cloak their ambition in the garments of patriotism, even as they betray the very spirit of the nation. Wallace named them rightly: fascists not of foreign lands, but of the heart.

Consider also the tale of Rome, whose republic fell not only to legions but to the tongues of demagogues. Men like Mark Antony and others used the perversion of truth to sway crowds, to fan division, to erode faith in the common order. Lies multiplied, unity crumbled, and liberty was lost. Wallace’s words echo this ancient lesson: that the greatest danger to a people may not be enemies beyond their borders, but the corruption of truth within.

Children of tomorrow, take this wisdom to heart. The surest defense against fascism is not only arms, nor walls, nor armies, but the steadfast guardianship of truth. When you hear words that divide, test them. When newspapers or voices of power cultivate hatred, question them. When the facts are twisted, do not be silent, for silence feeds the lie. Unity is not uniformity, but the bond of a people who refuse to be set against one another.

Let your practice be this: cherish truth as sacred. Refuse to spread what you do not know to be real. Stand against propaganda, even when it flatters your side. Seek unity, not by silencing difference, but by resisting those who exploit it. For Wallace’s warning endures: when lies are cultivated, fascism is at the door. But when truth is defended, when unity is preserved, then no tyranny—foreign or domestic—can break the soul of a free people.