Today I had a nice conversation with Healthcare for All PA founder, former U.S. Senate candidate, and historian Chuck Pennacchio on Democracy in Pennsylvania and the U.S. He has written for Oped News on ways to fight fascism. We discussed a variety of topics such as the state of democracy in Pennsylvania and the U.S., ways to fight fascism in the U.S., generational divides on the left, and efforts to establish a Medicare for All system in Pennsylvania and the U.S.
He spoke of an upcoming Intergenerational Justice Summit on Nov 19, 2022. Their website states:
“the goals of the Intergenerational Social Justice Summit include recognizing the challenges and opportunities that wrap around all of our lives; creating deeper understanding, trust, and connection across age, race, class and gender/gender identity lines and, based on shared vision, values, and strategies, putting into motion the structure and process for building the inter-generational power to achieve Transformative Justice for All.”
The next site Chuck discussed was American fascism 2.0. This is an effort to educate Americans on the warning signs of fascism and how to combat it. It can happen anywhere. Its three cornerstones are: state corporatism, white supremacy, and religious nationalism.
The last site that Chuck discussed was One Payer States. It is a conglomeration of 40 statewide organizations advocating for a single payer healthcare system (aka Medicare for All) in their states. This is the way that the Canadian Healthcare system came about. The system was first established in the province of Saskatchewan and then spread to the rest of the nation.