Democracy (Bush Remix)
Waingroh had heard the word Fascism bandied about recently, and wanted to brush up on what exactly that meant. He found a general description of fascist governments, defined by the Library of Congress,
here. Fascism had always been commonly attributed to tyrants like Hitler and Mussolini, so comparing that to a US president, even the worst president in the history of the US, would surely be going across the line. After all, this is still a Democracy, isn’t it?
Isn’t it?
The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism
by Dr. Lawrence Britt
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism -
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of
patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in
public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or
even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause -
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived
common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities;
liberals; communists; socialists,
terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military -
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the
military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the
domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism -
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce,
abortion and homo-sexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media -
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives.
Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security -
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion.
Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from
government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the
government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected -
The
industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a
mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed -
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or
are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to
higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested.
Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost
limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by
groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to
protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections -
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a
complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their
judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
Shocking how dead on this list describes the current climate in this country; a fascist administration in control of a democratic and free land. Remember, Patriotism is a love of country, a region, a way of life, a people. Nationalism is the blind love of government and unquestioning obedience to leaders.
Be a patriot. Kerry 2004.
