All over the western world, we have seen a wave of nationalistic, xenophobic fascism take hold in the last year or so. It is what gave Great Britain its exit from the European Union, or Brexit. It is also what gave the United States Donald Trump. However, as the rest of Europe sees the results and suffering of these tragic mistakes, the tide is turning away from fascistic nationalism and back toward democracy. The Netherlands rejected Geert Wilders, a staunchly nationalistic, far-right candidate who wanted to ban Islam outright from The Netherlands, and who was also endorsed by U.S. Congressman Steve King (R-IA), he of the infamous  somebody else s babies  tweet. The same happened in Austria, where the voters there rejected another right-wing nut. Now, France has become the latest to prove that democracy trumps fascism, as their voters rejoice in the election of centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron over far-right, anti-immigrant lunatic Marine Le Pen.This was no squeaker, either. This was firm rejection of Le Pen s fascistic, bigoted rhetoric and anti-immigrant, nationalistic policies. Macron won with 65% of the French vote, and will hopefully now go quietly into the night now that the she can clearly see that the French people did not want her craziness to become law.There is another side to this, though. Perhaps the French people are seeing what the  change  election has done to us here in America? After all, Marine Le Pen has often been referred to as the French Donald Trump. Hell, Le Pen herself has admitted that Trump s election here in America has given her legitimacy, and she was spotted at Trump Tower in New York City earlier this year. Therefore it should come as no surprise that Trump endorsed her candidacy. They are two of a kind.However, Le Pen s sound defeat should give us all hope. As Trump s disastrous presidency unfolds and his failures mount, perhaps America will come to her senses in 2020 if we happen to survive this, and reject this nationalism and xenophobia. It s the only sensible thing to do.Featured image via video screen capture from Twitter