Reconciling Fascism with Reality

[flashl]

So what is fascism ? Lawrence Britt, writing in Free Inquiry magazine, Volume 23, Number 2, summarizes fourteen common traits of a fascist society.

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
   
   
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
   
   
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
   
   
4. Supremacy of the Military
   
   
5. Rampant Sexism
   
   
6. Controlled Mass Media
   
   
7. Obsession with National Security
   
   
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
   
   
9. Corporate Power is Protected
   
   
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
    
    
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
    
    
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
    
    
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
    
    
14. Fraudulent Elections
    

Fascist! A word that is thrown around all too commonly in today’s political debates and partisan quibbling that is common among the cable “news networks.” A flip of the channel on any night to CNN, FOX, Headline News or other similar programs reveals time slots devoted to the latest celebrity scandal or any other unimportant story. When not emphatically debating the latest celebrity DUI or child-custody battle, you will frequently see a story or hear a media talking head propagate the fear-mongering about hoards of radical Muslims swimming across both oceans to destroy the very fabric of the North American homeland. Wouldn’t that be an impressive feat of stamina? But these individuals will not be referred to as just fanatics, terrorists or Islamists, but instead the newest trend “Islamofascists.”

Huh, did I miss something? Do these people who spew out rhetoric with that term even consider what fascism stands for or actually means. After all, would you not think that “esteemed” members of the media and their “expert” guests would actually understand what they are saying? Is that too much to ask? Unfortunately, yes. Not only do these individuals not use the term in a proper manner, they purposely distort the term in order to evoke thoughts of fear and insecurity.

Fascism?

So what defines a fascist society? Often times, fascism is subconsciously linked to the grainy black and white pictures of marauding Wermacht and SS troops from the 1940s. However, this shows a mental normalness which is incorrect. While Nazism did have fascist overtones, Nazism is not a form of government. Nazism is political ideology implemented through the use of a fascist government system. It is this system that needs to be understood and not the policy employed through it. This is vital since any form of government – yes, including a democracy – can be operated through a fascist structure. It is not exclusive to a dictatorship. As this article will show, you may be surprised by the results of the analysis.

Full Text

[Perry Logan]

1. There's also the incredible and weird HOMOPHOBIA of America's fascists.

[flashl]

2. Number 3?

Bring the troops together in 2008. Like?

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