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Ichingcarpenter

(36,988 posts)
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 06:35 AM Jul 2014

Naomi Wolf's 10 step checklist to a fascist America 2007 vs now

From the 2007
Naomi Wolf's book, "The End of America".


I was just looking to see how were doing on her check list........ the orginal article can be seen here
but I wanted to look at an update and hoped we were improving.

Her old article : http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment

1 Invoke an internal and external threat.

We get new ones every year. Russkies, ISIS, China

2. Create a gulag

Once you have got everyone scared, the next step is to create a prison system outside the rule of law
Well this is still going on in Afghanistan, Gitmo
and Diego Garcia

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/13/cia-black-site-diego-garcia-uk-role


3 . Develop a thug caste

When leaders who seek what I call a "fascist shift" want to close down an open society, they send paramilitary groups of scary young men out to terrorise citizens.......

.the militarization of the police and use of swat teams has increased. and abuses and deaths are increasing....



4. Set up an internal surveillance system......

well Snowden and wikileaks showed us what 's really happening.

5. Harass citizens' groups.....

Now got to protect the agri business spying on their hogs never mind fracking, and protecting our water supplies..... call them terrorist

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release

This scares people. It is a kind of cat-and-mouse game.... still going on. I think Occupy movement showed this still happening

7. Target key individuals

Threaten civil servants, artists and academics with job loss if they don't toe the line. still happening

8. Control the press
Over time in closing societies, real news is supplanted by fake news and false documents. Pinochet showed Chilean citizens falsified documents to back up his claim that terrorists had been about to attack the nation.

...any of that happening?....

9. Dissent equals treason

Cast dissent as "treason" and criticism as "espionage'. Every closing society does this, just as it elaborates laws that increasingly criminalise certain kinds of speech and expand the definition of "spy" and "traitor". ....any of that happening?
Well yes just look at the new whistleblowers



10. Suspend the rule of law

well this article came up 5 days ago
America Fails the 'Rule of Law' Test ...

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/how-america-fails-the-rule-of-law-test/374274/

just thinking over my coffee.......All of her stuff was about Bush's government and gave other examples
Too much Coffee?...... well ya know
I like my coffee.

42 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Naomi Wolf's 10 step checklist to a fascist America 2007 vs now (Original Post) Ichingcarpenter Jul 2014 OP
Just reading over my coffee malaise Jul 2014 #1
SWAT Unit Terrorizes Family and Kills Pets Over…Marijuana Ichingcarpenter Jul 2014 #2
Sometimes I think . . . Brigid Jul 2014 #8
Practice makes perfect. zeemike Jul 2014 #12
Yep, have to show you're using all that expensive stuff LisaLynne Jul 2014 #14
Especially the children ReRe Jul 2014 #28
I've been hanging around here for a long time... truth2power Jul 2014 #3
I think she failed in not mentioning increasing economic disparity Ichingcarpenter Jul 2014 #5
You're correct. But my point is... truth2power Jul 2014 #6
I will answer your rhetorical question anyway, IT IS NOT WORKING AT ALL!!! Dustlawyer Jul 2014 #9
Good one Ichingcarpenter Jul 2014 #13
I totally support that idea...and it is the only way things will change. zeemike Jul 2014 #16
I think they are hoping for street protests. woo me with science Jul 2014 #24
Non cooperation with evil was Gandhi's approach. zeemike Jul 2014 #26
I agree to pretty much everything you guys are saying. I was envisioning a continuing thing, but Dustlawyer Jul 2014 #29
Well I think protest no longer work. zeemike Jul 2014 #30
Let me know if you think of something, I sure don't plan on bending over and making it easy for them Dustlawyer Jul 2014 #33
I can only borrow from the past of what worked. zeemike Jul 2014 #34
Interesting discussion RobertEarl Jul 2014 #36
I like it! Dustlawyer Jul 2014 #38
Reporters love talking to people RobertEarl Jul 2014 #40
Local may be the answer to it. zeemike Jul 2014 #39
There is a lot to do that doesn't involve being on the front lines. The hardest part is getting Dustlawyer Jul 2014 #42
Yes, well said and keep saying it. mountain grammy Jul 2014 #17
I've said it before, but thank you for your refusal to be distracted woo me with science Jul 2014 #25
some still insist it's not happening Doctor_J Jul 2014 #22
seems to be working okay hfojvt Jul 2014 #41
Hate to say but such a list BumRushDaShow Jul 2014 #4
Ouch! First thing in the morning? Damn. NC_Nurse Jul 2014 #7
my favorite is "how close are we getting to a police state?" reddread Jul 2014 #10
democracy was designed to fix this shit but the left ignores the fascists' best tool certainot Jul 2014 #11
K&R DeSwiss Jul 2014 #15
Impressive. Not so easy to see. pangaia Jul 2014 #19
Yes. DeSwiss Jul 2014 #21
It is the first time I have seen you post it. zeemike Jul 2014 #27
It's a ''golden oldie.'' DeSwiss Jul 2014 #32
As our politicians become more and more corrupt they follow these patterns rock Jul 2014 #18
K and R geardaddy Jul 2014 #20
We're certainly still checking a lot of those boxes. DirkGently Jul 2014 #23
Kicked and recommended! Enthusiast Jul 2014 #31
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Jul 2014 #35
K&R JEB Jul 2014 #37

Ichingcarpenter

(36,988 posts)
2. SWAT Unit Terrorizes Family and Kills Pets Over…Marijuana
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 06:45 AM
Jul 2014

Perry, who is eight months pregnant, said she was getting ready for work when the raid occurred. She ran to protect the couple’s young sons, ages 4 and 7, who were sleeping on a mattress with Arman:

“The only thing I was thinking was my kids were going to get hit by bullets.”

“The gunshots scared the living daylights out of me, and knowing that they were in such close range of the dog and where we were laying with my kids made it worse. Our oldest dog actually ran back to protect us in front of the bed and they kept shooting her, even though we were laying right there.

“The whole time all I could scream was, ‘Stop shooting, stop shooting!’ ” Perry told PioneerPress.

The family’s two dogs, Mellow and Laylo, were killed:
..........

The net of that raid?

Police took only a water pipe, a grinder that may have had marijuana residue and some clothes, according to Arman. According to Minnesota law, small amounts of marijuana are considered petty misdemeanors, and are punished with at $200 fine.

No one was arrested.


http://www.thedailysheeple.com/swat-unit-terrorizes-family-and-kills-pets-over-marijuana_072014

Brigid

(17,621 posts)
8. Sometimes I think . . .
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 08:07 AM
Jul 2014

MJ is used as an excuse to randomly terrorize and to show off the shiny new military hardware -- just so people know what they're capable of.

zeemike

(18,998 posts)
12. Practice makes perfect.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 09:09 AM
Jul 2014

And the more they do it the more you will fear them...which is the goal...they want a public that complies with anything they want to make them do...it is terrorism.

LisaLynne

(14,554 posts)
14. Yep, have to show you're using all that expensive stuff
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 09:20 AM
Jul 2014

somehow.

I can't imagine how that family will get past this. The terror of your life being in danger like that from forces that will suffer NO repercussions and seeing your pets killed ... I just can't imagine what that would do to someone.

ReRe

(10,597 posts)
28. Especially the children
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 03:51 PM
Jul 2014

I would sue for psychological counseling for the family, especially the children.

truth2power

(8,219 posts)
3. I've been hanging around here for a long time...
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 07:38 AM
Jul 2014

lurking, before 9/11, even.

I remember reading all that, and there was an element here that said it wasn't that bad, and it wasn't ever going to get that bad.

Even saying the word, "Fascism" was ridiculed.

I knew....back then. But the word was that if we just elected more Democrats it would be ok.

How's that working out for us? Just asking.

Ichingcarpenter

(36,988 posts)
5. I think she failed in not mentioning increasing economic disparity
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 07:42 AM
Jul 2014

and more corporatism as one of her 10 signs, otherwise
I don't see many of her signs decreasing

truth2power

(8,219 posts)
6. You're correct. But my point is...
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 07:51 AM
Jul 2014

How is what we're doing improving things?

Ears to hear, and all that...

Dustlawyer

(10,493 posts)
9. I will answer your rhetorical question anyway, IT IS NOT WORKING AT ALL!!!
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 08:31 AM
Jul 2014

We have a window where we have the power to change it! It surely won't be easy but it can be done! They will fight like hell and we must use peaceful means, but Gandhi and MLK were right.

I am calling for protest focused only on getting the money out of our election system. Coupled with Wolf-PAC.com and Mayday PAC we can wrest control of our government from the Shadow government of the Plutocrats (I know, sounds like a spy novel or something, but this is real).

From September 13th - November 4 (Election Day) and beyond we need to hit the streets in cities and towns across America to demand Publicly Funded Federal, State and Local Elections! The more money a candidate raises and spends, the more we will point out that they owe the Big Donors for it! We can use their fundraising against them. What do they have to do for all of that money? Answer: Sell Us Out!

The MSM will donate the time for the campaign ads as a requirement for using our public airwaves under license. It would be an ironic public service requirement. They do PSA's all of the time. In a shortened say 4 month campaign season (called campaign SEASON because it used to last about 3-4 months, now goes for years)!

Need help spreading the word to unions, Women's Rights groups, Environmentalist, Education Groups... THIS CAN BE DONE IF PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO GET OFF OF THE COUCH! Do this for your kids, grand kids whoever. Organize your city/town, get the permits and know your local laws.

zeemike

(18,998 posts)
16. I totally support that idea...and it is the only way things will change.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 09:34 AM
Jul 2014

But i will say this, it will take more than just protest to do it...they have been ignoring protests for years now...have a big protest in DC on Saturday or Sunday (so that working people can attend without losing their jobs)...and go home that day feeling happy because there were lots of speakers at the protest saying all kinds of things...and lots of port-a-potties and equipment and signs.
And monday morning DC goes back to normal and nothing will change.

Both Gandhi and MLK practiced civil disobedience not protest...but then that is the reason for the militarization of the police and the harsh tactics they use, to make you afraid of them...in fact it is all about fear, and fear drives it all.

But until we have the courage to be civil disobedient and risk going to jail or be beaten by the cops they will continue to ignore protests no matter how big they are...and they won't be big if scattered all over the country...and in fact will make an industry out of it by asking for donations to fund the ineffective protest...there is money to be made in it I am sure.

And also be prepared for the distractions that will surly follow to keep our attention split on other issues...real or created by them...they can always drag out a CEO of a company to make a racist or bigoted remark so we protest his company and not the system.

So if we really do want a change then we have to get real...no sacrifice no gain.

woo me with science

(32,139 posts)
24. I think they are hoping for street protests.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 11:55 AM
Jul 2014

They are militarily prepared for them, and they can infiltrate and stage incidents to use them as propaganda against dissent and excuses for further oppression.

The solution is probably going to have to take a new, more creative form, or to involve things like work strikes and passive refusal to participate in the system.

The problem is that they have people desperate and working from paycheck to paycheck just to afford food and shelter, and desperate people waiting in the wings to take jobs from protesters.

I was talking to someone recently who was wishing that we could enlist some millionaires sympathetic to the need for reform, to help make actual wide-scale protests more feasible for the protesters. I have no idea how that would work, but we definitely need to be thinking outside the box.

zeemike

(18,998 posts)
26. Non cooperation with evil was Gandhi's approach.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 01:51 PM
Jul 2014

And it is the only way it will work, because as you say, they are prepared for protest...and have many tools they can use to keep us in line.
What was disturbing to them about OWS was they did not just protest and then go home...they stayed so they had to be broken up.
But create a million man march on DC for a day and they will just take the day off while we get our satisfaction and then return to normal when it is over.
And yes they have made us wage slaves...lose your job, lose your house and everything you own, because you don't really own it the bank does...that is a powerful tool of control.

But yes, thinking outside of the box is necessary if we are to be effective, and I would not put any faith of a billionaire helping us do it.

Dustlawyer

(10,493 posts)
29. I agree to pretty much everything you guys are saying. I was envisioning a continuing thing, but
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 05:03 PM
Jul 2014

maybe an everyday after work for an hour, say 5:30-6:30 and all day on weekends with masses of people (hopefully). Maybe add emailing, robo calling where legal, face book everywhere all the time, Twittering, Instagraming pics of protest signs. I like that you are bouncing ideas, I am too unskilled at social media and think in the Dark Ages according to my 20 something kids.

I know they are ready, but maybe a big protest for a week or two during the campaign season and before the weather gets too bad, plus all of the social media will start enough buzz for polls to come out and letters, calls and emails to Representatives in massive numbers will get the to commit. Mayday Superpac claims to have over 200 politicians pledged so far.

OWS at least changed the conversation, this should be able to do more. What I need are more like you with ideas, skills, contacts and knowledge. If we just got the organizations and groups on all of the issues we see here at DU we would have millions. Hobby Lobby should drive a million or two right there!

What do ya'll think?

zeemike

(18,998 posts)
30. Well I think protest no longer work.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 06:38 PM
Jul 2014

And when you come down to it may never have worked.

The civil rights movement, and Gandhi's movement to get out of British control use civil disobedience not protest...and that is why they were sucessful...it was as Gandhi said, non cooperation with evil.

But that is a problem with a lot of people...in order to do civil disobedience you have to have some people willing to go to jail or get their heads busted...and we don't seem to be that committed to anything right now...too many side issues to attack and be concerned about...and they add new ones every day...and so we will continue to be interested in these issues and ignore the real problem, the system, which will ignore us and go right on working like it always has.

Dustlawyer

(10,493 posts)
33. Let me know if you think of something, I sure don't plan on bending over and making it easy for them
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 07:50 PM
Jul 2014

zeemike

(18,998 posts)
34. I can only borrow from the past of what worked.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 08:26 PM
Jul 2014

The Civil Rights movement sat in, marched when denied a permit to march, got their heads beat in, bitten by dogs and put in jail...and when it was shown what Bull Conner did on the TV it was all over for segragation...not bigotry but segragation...they kept their eyes on the prize and ignored the things they could not change in this generation, and they won.

Then there was the anti war movement...which also did civil disobedence...they publicly burned their draft cards which was a violation of the law...they chained themselves to buildings and other things and got arrested...they had sit ins...and at the 68 DNC they got their heads beat in pretty good, so good the cops their still brag about it...and this helped to make people aware and the popularity of the war fell like a stone...and it finally ended, not with a bang but a slow grown.

The principles of what they did was sound and it would work anywhere anytime...but we have no will for this...where are the leaders for something like this?...
My personal opinion is that we have been conditioned by fear and so there is no one that is willing to take that risk...even the leaders because they see the carrot of fame and fortune before them if they just play the game...and most of them chose the carrot instead of the stick.

I thought that Occupy had a good idea...a leaderless movement, no doubt because the leaders of any group wanting change will be infiltrated, manipulated, bought off and investagated...no leaders no targets...makes sense to me...it eliminates one tool they have to destroy movements.

But I lack the organizational skills to do something like that even if I could...but for the sake of our posterity I hope someone does.

 

RobertEarl

(13,685 posts)
36. Interesting discussion
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 10:21 PM
Jul 2014

Makes me think of what does every small and large town have that is mentioned in the constitution? Meaning the right of a free press.

A 'free press' office. Larger towns have more than one, and that includes newspaper, radio and tv offices.

If we sat outside those offices and made our voices heard, not only would the 'free press' people hear, but everyone who does business with that office also.

We would be exercising our right of free speech at the most concentrated centers of free speech. It seems natural to this old, now retired activist.

 

RobertEarl

(13,685 posts)
40. Reporters love talking to people
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 01:02 AM
Jul 2014

It's part of their job, and they are always looking for ideas for reports. We can be a ready source for them besides making sure they know and understand we want big money out of politics.

I also like the idea that if we allow big money in politics, we find a way to tax it 50%. Then take that 50% and use it for buying ads for the others in the race. That way the media gets its ad buys but the balance of where the money goes is maintained. We could just call it a special income tax. Contributions are income and after a certain level could be fairly, and heavily taxed.

zeemike

(18,998 posts)
39. Local may be the answer to it.
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 12:05 AM
Jul 2014

But local papers and media do have a problem...they rely on ads to stay in busness...and the ad buyers are now mostly corportaions...big corporations...who own most of the medial anyway.
But if it were widespread enough it could get their attention because it would start effecting their bottom line...that is the only thing they care about anyway.

But I like the idea of local...and if it were wide spread it would have an impact on federal elections too.
But I am afraid the young people will have to do it, like you I am retired, and tired...but would do what I could to help them do it.

Dustlawyer

(10,493 posts)
42. There is a lot to do that doesn't involve being on the front lines. The hardest part is getting
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 08:00 AM
Jul 2014

this off the ground! We will need something, some bone for the stations, or it will have to be just so massive they can't ignore. By killing Super Pacs we kill the goose that laid the Golden Egg for them. Some will understand that this cannot last no matter what, but they will be pissed.. Looks like the internets for us!

woo me with science

(32,139 posts)
25. I've said it before, but thank you for your refusal to be distracted
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 12:00 PM
Jul 2014

from this single most important goal.

 

Doctor_J

(36,392 posts)
22. some still insist it's not happening
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 10:19 AM
Jul 2014

And, if you say it IS happening, you'll be called a LIBERTARIAN

hfojvt

(37,573 posts)
41. seems to be working okay
Fri Jul 18, 2014, 01:03 AM
Jul 2014

looking at the list

1 Invoke an internal and external threat.

Going by the 2nd comment "once you have everyone scared". Nobody is all that scared of the Russkies or Isis or whoever. The Russkies aren't even as scary as they were in say 1975. And what is the "internal threat". Not hearing so much about that these days "sleeper cells" and all that were heard about in 2001-2004. Those sleeper cells must all be Rip Van Winkles still snoring away.

2. Create a gulag

So I googled Diego Garcia who I at first thought was shortstop for the Padres or something. And it seems to be a story from 2002 and 2004.

3 . Develop a thug caste

Not seeing that much of that.

4. Set up an internal surveillance system......

I will give you that, although it makes me yawn. Can we use this as the "internal threat"?

5. Harass citizens' groups.....

Hard to tell. Which citizens' groups are being harassed?

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release

Not hearing about a lot of this either.

"7. Target key individuals

Threaten civil servants, artists and academics with job loss if they don't toe the line. still happening"

Really?

Can we name somebody who has been threatened? Or are they all too scared to speak out because of the threats?


8. Control the press

Well, the rich seem to control the M$M, and also the government, but the government itself does not seem to control the M$M. We have neither Pravda nor Izvestia.


9. Dissent equals treason

Again, whose dissent has been called treason? Is "releasing classified documents" really the same thing as "dissent"?


"10. Suspend the rule of law

well this article came up 5 days ago
America Fails the 'Rule of Law' Test ... "

And the article seems to be all about - FOREIGN policy. As in, apparently the rule of law has not been suspended in America itself, but only that America, for some reason, does not follow it in Yemen or Pakistan.

Although I am kinda surprised that the author of that article hasn't been charged with treason. Or at least threatened with job loss.

And perhaps that article itself proves the failure of #8 - Control the press. Or are they just counting on less than 3,000 will read that article so they only control CBS News types with much more impact?

Still, I would expect a fascist state to send some of their thug caste to whoever is writing and publishing such articles and drag them off to a gulag somewhere, just on principle.

BumRushDaShow

(127,312 posts)
4. Hate to say but such a list
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 07:38 AM
Jul 2014

could be applied to the U.S. in 1867 or 1967. It has always been "the American Way".

IMHO we need to get away from the fantasy of "the good old days" and look at the consistent history of this nation without the assumption that this is all new. There may have been brief pauses (for certain groups) but in essence, not much has changed with respect to tactics (other than some technological updates).

NC_Nurse

(11,646 posts)
7. Ouch! First thing in the morning? Damn.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 08:04 AM
Jul 2014

That was kinda depressing...

But so is a lot of the news lately

All good points, I just had higher hopes for Obama. I have to admit I don't hold out much hope for changing things these days. But then, I live in NC....you could say we've had a few bad years...

 

certainot

(9,090 posts)
11. democracy was designed to fix this shit but the left ignores the fascists' best tool
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 08:43 AM
Jul 2014

liberals have to compare the volume and timing of their collective voice against that of 1200 think tank coordinated radio stations getting a free speech free ride from those whose interests they work against.

that talk radio monopoly and hundreds of scripted ignorant blowhards made liberal candidates and single payer and legalized pot politically (practically) impossible years ago. they are louder and they are ubiquitous and unfortunately, liberals and their orgs who ignore that fact are wasting a lot of time and effort and resources.

i'll bet the entire country would go ten points right if the left would get serious about talk radio with picketing of radio stations instead of useless protests at state capitols, getting colleges to stop endorsing hundreds of rw radio stations, and knowing what they'r essaying so politicians and media are shamed when they repeat that think tank bullshit.

those elements of the coming fascism are being sold TODAY from just about every one of those thousand rw radio stations - just turn your local station on and hear how those kids from central america are bringing in diseases, maybe as part of a designed plan from obama's feds.

ignoring rw radio by the left is the biggest mistake in political history

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
15. K&R
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 09:27 AM
Jul 2014
[font color=gray size=3]A Different Perspective[/font]

''No one who lives in error is free.'' ~Euripides
-
"Battle not with monsters - lest ye become a monster." ~Friedrich Nietzsche
-
"To fight the empire is to be infected by its derangement. Whoever defeats part of the empire becomes the empire; it proliferates like a virus... thereby it becomes its enemies." ~Philip K. Dick
-
"When masses are made to believe something negative, they may create what they did not want, which is how for instance the 'N.W.O.' concept works. You are believing it is taking shape, so it will take shape and so-called think tanks and political theorists are major players in helping this take shape by bombarding us with the 'facts' that it obviously is taking shape. Those facts claim that you are giving-in to their power everyday, and they control you more... while in reality you are in full control.

So the people who are 'waking up' to it are the ones who are creating it. They say: ''Resist, the control being forced upon humanity. React, when they do their political manueverings to bring about less sovereignty and greater suffering for the nations of the world.''

But we mustn’t resist and react to this control. As Carl Jung said, ''What you resist, persists.'' What the powers that be want is for us to become that radical element (again it doesn’t matter which side we choose -- [font color=red]they always play both sides[/font]).

We can be either for them or against them. It doesn't matter. If we react and if we resist, we give them the manipulative power to push the agenda along. By resisting and reacting, we are demonstrating that we believe in the underlying, subliminal and hypnotic suggestion of this reality, thereby making it our reality, and the events they wish to occur concerning humanity, and that they wish to appear real, will occur and then it ''becomes reality.''

Do not pay attention to the 'world events', they are all orchestrated to make you pay attention to them. The struggle you should pay attention to is on a personal level.

"The way out, is in."

~The Insider

pangaia

(24,324 posts)
19. Impressive. Not so easy to see.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 09:48 AM
Jul 2014

At the risk of transferring this to..can I say, 'spiritual teachings,' NOT religion, per say, but inner practice, that which is or was at the base of what has become 'religion'...

..this is the real teaching of Christianity.. Wake Up, know thyself, you must Crucify yourself, love your enemies means your inner enemies.

In Islam, jihad really refers to inner jihad,

In the different Buddhist lines, the idea of working to rid oneself of attachment.

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
21. Yes.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 10:05 AM
Jul 2014
- It's a perspective, nothing more. As is everything else ultimately. You know I've posted this three other times. This is the first time anyone's gotten its meaning. (It comes from a series of old essays by Robert Anton Wilson et. al.)

''Reality'' -- is wherever we happen to be looking at the time......

The Navigator’s Way — ''To walk the full length of a path that one truly loves, one needs the passion, courage, imagination, vigilance, discipline, self-awareness, grace, strength, resourcefulness, efficiency, patience, adaptability, and humbleness of a navigator. The struggle of the navigator is not with one’s fellow men. Nor is it with oneself. And it’s ultimately not a struggle. Rather, it’s an acquiescence—to the energetic currents of the sea of awareness in the universe.''

~don Juan Matus


zeemike

(18,998 posts)
27. It is the first time I have seen you post it.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 02:02 PM
Jul 2014

But as you point out the idea is not a new one...in fact it is very old.
But I would kick and recommend it if I saw it as an OP...

rock

(13,218 posts)
18. As our politicians become more and more corrupt they follow these patterns
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 09:40 AM
Jul 2014

Most of the laws you're talking about concern them not the ordinary person.

DirkGently

(12,151 posts)
23. We're certainly still checking a lot of those boxes.
Thu Jul 17, 2014, 10:37 AM
Jul 2014

- As for silencing the press, we're prosecuting whistleblowers for "espionage" at a historically unheard of rate. Demonizing the revelation of government wrongdoing we used to celebrate.

- Guantanamo is still a thing.

- As noted, cops with tanks and grenades assaulting homes as though they were storming enemy barbed wire, to collect, at most, a small amount of some illegal substance. Making sure to execute the family pets as well.

- Everyone is now even more aware that every communication is subject to collection, inspection and storage, legally or illegally, and that precious little will be done about it, Constitution be damned.

Authoritarianism isn't a yes / no question. It exists on a continuum, and we are in a bad place there on several counts.

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