By Chris Hedges (excerpts from https://www.truthdig.com/staff/chris_hedges) The rise in hate crimes against Muslims and acceptance of hate speech as legitimate political discourse signal the morbidity of our civil society. The amplification of hate by commercial media whose sole concern is ratings and ad dollars presages a descent into the proto-fascist nightmare of racism, violence against the marginalized, and celebration of chauvinism, militarism and bigotry. The attacks on Muslims are only the beginning. [...]