May 07, 2003

Fourteen Principles of Fascism: Recognize Any?

Do you recognize any of these characteristics in the Bush Regime?  You have read about many of these on this site.

From, Fascism Anyone?, Lawrence Britt, Free
Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20.

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. Opposition to abortion is high, as is
homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national
policy.

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 uncomm on
for professors and other academics to be censored or
even arrested. Free __expression in the arts is openly
attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the
arts.

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.

Posted by Elaine Cassel at May 07, 2003 06:43 AM

Total Information Awareness: "Trust Us"

This is supposed to make you feel better:  The Pengaton, the Pentagon (I keep wondering where there power is to spy on civilians) has promised not to look at your health and financial records when it creates this now-described-as-not-so-total information datatbase on you, according to a report in today's New York Times.  No details on how they will pass over those records and look only at your cell phone bill, your charge card charges, your reading habits, everything written by and about you available in digital format....but trust them.

The Pentagon official who came to the Hill in order to, in his words, "help you guys out with your little p.r. problem," said, "we knew that the American public and their elected officials must have confidence that their liberties will not be violated before they would accept this kind of technology."

There, don't you have confidence and feel better?

Posted by Elaine Cassel at May 07, 2003 06:30 AM

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