America and the F word.

“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”

Conservatives actually like to claim that it is liberals and not the right wing who are the real fascists in American politics. One of their more high profile thinkers even wrote a book about it. Yes, as laughable as it might seem, some clown named Jonah Goldberg actually found enough words to fill up a book with this theory.

Anyway, in case you were wondering what makes a fascist, I have found the following characteristics outlined in an article by a respected Doctor who has studied fascism. (Thank you twitter fam)

Read it and tell me who more fits the bill.

"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 homosexuality 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." [Source]

 

America is a constitutional republic, right?

*Pic from addictinginfo.org

 

 

 

Unity?

I caught an essay by right wing writer and attack dog, Jonah Goldberg, in the National Review, and it moved me to write. The article basically attacked the "O" man and his unity message as phony, and drew a line in the sand between patriots and folks who he considers the anti American left.

Now let me say for the record, that I hold Jonah Goldberg in the same regard as I do a Chinese toy inspector. But he is a highly respected writer and thinker on the right, and every now and then it's good to respond to these types of essays.

Goldberg trashes the "O" man for talking about what is to him (Goldberg), a false message of unity. He asks: "What the heck do do these words mean? Unity for what, around what?" He is angry that democrats, and more specifically, Obama, uses the word "unity" instead of patriotism. Goldberg prefers patriotism. He thinks democrats suffer from "anticipatory offense" when confronted about the patriotism issue. He quotes another right wing wacko, Fred Barnes, who calls the democratic reaction to the patriotic challenge, "patriotic paranoia". And he spends a great deal of time and energy ripping one of my favorite quotes: "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." He thinks it's "foolish", and he questions its origins and its relevance. This sarcastic quote from John Sullivan is supposed to drive home his point:"Dissent is the highest form of patriots, treason is the highest form of dissent. Therefore treason is the highest for of patriotism." Ha ha ha ha

Clearly to Mr. Goldberg liberals are not patriots. People who want unity and not patriotism do not have America's best interest at heart. The folks on the left are somehow apologist for the darker more evil governments that populate the world. And to drive home this point, he quotes conservative icon and the newly departed William Buckley, who was appalled that folks tried to compare and find a moral equivalency between Russia and the USA. "If one man pushes an old lady into an oncoming bus, and another pushes the old lady out of the way we should not condemn them both as men who push old ladies around." Okay cute, but I want to know who is driving the damn bus that almost ran down the lady old lady in the first place. If our government had something to do with the driver of the bus, who cares if it was our government that pushed the little old lady out of the way?

Goldberg takes great offense to the left always labeling right wingers as fascist. Fascism, he insists, was not about patriotism, but nationalism. "Hitler himself insisted he was no patriot, but a nationalist. The USA was created as a nation dedicated to limited government and individual rights. Fascist nationalism is almost the complete opposite of patriotism." Unity according to Mr. Goldberg means nothing and has no value or worth (Sorry "O" man). "The only value in unity is strength, strength in numbers, and again that is a fascist value." Hmmmm, Obama the fascist? Because he sure has the numbers. Mr. Goldberg describes the "fasces" symbol as a "bundle of sticks" , and he goes on to describe the types of atrocities that can be created under the bundle: The SS, the Mafia, and the lynch mobs of old.

Yes, but all of these groups came together under a specific and dangerous belief system. Blacks are inferior, honor a blood code even if it means committing crimes, exterminate the Jews. Numbers is fine with the right belief system, it's when that belief system becomes corrupted or co opted by those with ill intentions that unity becomes a bad thing. Jonah, I honestly don't think that there is any evil lurking in the "O" man's heart. Now yours, on the other hand, I am not so sure about.

Goldberg has the nerve to say that Socrates, Jesus, and Thomas More were ostracised in the name of unity. No Jonah, they were ostracized because they were different and they dared to challenge the status quo. Something that many of these faux patriots and right wing bloggers and writers, like you never tolerated. Especially while your leaders were in power.

Jonah thinks that the founding fathers dedicated a lot of thought to unity. And that they thought that it should be viewed with scepticism. Thus, he says, the constitution was designed to "thwart the basic forms of unity" He argues for the divisiveness of the checks and balance system of our government. I agree with him there of course. I just wonder where he was, and why he wasn't writing these types of essays when his party controlled all three branches of our government at once. Wasn't much checks or balances going on then now was there Jonah? But I guess they were all patriots , so it was alright.

Goldberg argues: "Rightly ordered unity in a democratic republic is the end result of ceaseless debates and discussions. But today ceaseless debates and discussions is what many liberals object to". I see, but why should liberals even discuss or debate with you? And why should they compromise their beliefs? You won't compromise yours. Isn't this what this entire beef with the "O" man is about? You think he is asking you to compromise your belief system so that he can promote his far left agenda?

"Obama proclaimed in 2007. 'My problem in this race is not rival candidates, it's cynicism'. His insistence that divisiveness is his greatest enemy is belied by the fact that he is unwilling to repudiate Jeremiah Wright. Meanwhile Obama sees nothing wring with demonizing Geraldine Feraro--or even his own grandmother-- for crass political purposes." Ouch! And on it goes throughout the entire essay. Obama's unity message is an "illusion". Obama's rival, he says, is not the other candidates, but patriotism.

Jonah, you just made a hell of an argument for folks like me who don't want to unify with your ass. Liberty is a great goal, but liberty with a belief in what? And if we have to unify under the banner that you and those of your ilk call patriotism, I think I will pass. So as a result, I will pass on the "O" man's unity message too, because it would mean unifying with you. And it's a shame, because were it not for folks like you on the other side, his message would have actually had a shot.