We hold these Truths to be self-evident...
Psychological research demonstrates that large-scale dramatic change can escape attention when the change is unsuspected, unannounced, and agents causing the change act as if nothing is different. Two areas of this cognitive study are “change blindness” and “inattentional blindness.” When we include consideration of “cognitive dissonance,” the rejection of facts when they conflict with important beliefs, we can approach an explanation of how educated citizens could accept fascism when it was unsuspected, unannounced, and the responsible agents fraudulently represented the new government as no different from the old. Cognitive dissonance would deter many people to accept the new reality, even when the facts were clear.
The definition of “fascism” has some academic variance, but is essentially collusion among corporatocracy, authoritarian government, and controlled media and education. This “leadership” is only possible with a nationalistic public accepting policies of war, empire, and limited civil and political rights.
Yes, I am making the argument that the US is no longer a constitutinal republic, but a fascist regime that Americans are struggling with cognitive dissonance, change blindness, and inattentional blindness to recognize. Let’s look to history before we consider the US of the present and if we are afflicted with a kind of cognitive blindness to American fascism.
Fascism in Germany
Historically in Nazi Germany, Hitler wrote of the power of the “Big Lie”:
"All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so are brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes."
- Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf , vol.1, ch. 10, 1925
This psychological factor, combined with German resentment against blame and payment for WW1, the Nazi partial implementation of monetary reform that created full employment and a successful economy in the middle of the Great Depression, set a frame of relative trust in government. Dissent was “re-educated” or crushed in work camps, propaganda and education lauded genuine economic infrastructure improvement parallel to military build-up. The downfall was the result of a critical mass of the public believing their government’s overall trustworthiness, and subsequently their story that the invasion of Poland was defensive against Germany being attacked. Germany framed their War of Aggression as their “War to save Europe;” a noble national defense against Britain and France's determination to keep Germany weak and non-competitive to their goals for imperialistic global domination, and against the rise of Bolshevism in Russia.
The demonized Jews were at first framed as dangerous to German national achievement. Their economic success as a group was framed as parasitism, and influence in the press as self-serving rather than in service to the nation. As a group, they became synonymous to terrorists.
Nazi Germany’s Master Plan
We now know that Nazi leadership’s goals were European domination and partnership with Britain in exchange for non-competition of their empire, and written by Hitler in his unpublished second book in 1928. The Nazi’s saw their goal of a unified Europe under their “superior” governance as a greater good that justified their “creative destruction” of inferior humans. They would lie to the German public as they advanced forward to accomplish what they perceived as a noble future for Germany, Europe, and eventually the world when Britain and Germany’s alliance would eventually absorb or defeat the US around 1980.
Does the US have a similar plan of fascist Nazi Germany for a “superior” American future that is worth wars and lies to accomplish? Let’s explore.
America’s Master Plan?
The Project for a New American Century (PNAC) contributed over 20 of the Bush Administration’s “leadership,” including Vice President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and other key positions in Defense and State Departments.
In 1992, then Secretary of Defense Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz produced a paper for the future strategic goals of the US following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The paper was leaked; among the goals was for the US to expand as the world's Superpower through our military to "establish and protect a new order." The report endorsed “pre-emptive” attacks and ad hoc coalitions for military objectives, but as an unrivaled Superpower should act independent of international agreement if "collective action cannot be orchestrated." The strategy included military plans for intervention in Iraq for US "access to vital raw material, primarily Persian Gulf oil."
In 1998, PNAC lobbied President Clinton for war with Iraq, independent of UN Security Council legal authority. In 2000, PNAC issued its report, "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for the New Century" (summary here). The report stated the goal of a “Pax Americana,” an American “peace” that would achieve US interests by the method of "fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major-theater wars." The US would usurp UN authority: "demand American political leadership rather than that of the United Nations." The US would ensure its dominance through expansion of global military bases, now at over 700.
The report ominously included on page 63: "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event––like a new Pearl Harbor." This would conveniently happen on 9/11; kicking in plans for invasion and hegemony in Afghanistan, Iraq, rhetoric for war with Iran, and now attacks in Pakistan.
How close is the US to fascism?
We’re there; the US is fascist. As a teacher of US government, I spend a lot of time with these basic definitions. Let’s look.
The US was formed as a constitutional republic; a political philosophy of limited government, separated powers with checks and balances to ensure the federal government’s power stays limited within the Constitution, protected civil liberties, and elected representatives responsible to the people who retain the most political power.
The US ideals that we embrace is equality under just laws, freedom of opportunity expressed through inalienable rights of the Declaration of Independence, and creative independence to cooperatively compete for our best ideas to be rewarded.
Is this what we have today? Hardly. Let’s consider the salient evidence.
The US brazenly violates our laws of war, both demanded by the Constitution and the UN Charter, with open invasion of Afghanistan in abject violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1373 and their government’s agreement to help extradite Osama bin Laden upon US presentment of evidence that he was involved in any crime of UN and/or international law. The US refused both the Afghan standard legal requirement of extradition and the UN resolution for cooperation under law and attacked. The new administration of Obama does not acknowledge this illegal history, but expands the invasion and attacks Pakistan. This policy is fascist, not limited by US law.
The US openly lied about reasons to justify an attack upon Iraq, destroying any semblance of argument of “self-defense.” The Obama administration won’t acknowledge the disclosed history from our own House and Senate investigations, and violates his oath of office to prosecute clear crimes. This policy is authoritarian, fascist, and does not hold equality under just laws. It is an un-American policy by definition.
The US tortured, with Obama refusing to prosecute and giving empty rhetoric to end it. The destruction of civil liberties to enforce authoritarian government is fascist, not American.
The US lies for more war with Iran, rejecting inalienable and legal rights for Iranians. Obama continues this policy of unlawful aggression, including official policy for first-strike nuclear weapons upon conclusion that Iran poses a possible future threat to the US and/or our allies. Political leaders and corporate media ignore the ignoble history of US vicious domination of Iranian government through coup and backed invasion. Fascist policy; un-American.
The US violates numerous treaty law with WMD, and hypocritically asserts our war targets' alleged violations justify US armed attack. This rejection of limited government under the law is a fascist empire on the loose, not a law-abiding neighbor. Added hypocrisy is the psychopathic front of American political leaders as Christians.
American corporatocracy is dominated by Enron-like cartels, headed by banks receiving the transfer of TRILLIONS of our tax dollars to pay-off their gambling debts in exotic derivative markets the federal government regulates only in more empty rhetoric. This socialization of corporate-insiders’ losses is fascist, and fundamentally in opposition of the American ideal of cooperative competition on a level playing field. Obvious financial solutions for the public good are ignored in their corporate and not public policy commitment.
While our government's official line is respect for Islam, their wars betray this analysis. If extremists were the small minority, why not peacefully cooperate to marginalize and arrest those in violation of just laws? Muslims as a group are often demonized in US media, and often the entire group is branded as terrorists. For example, consider the segment from the radio talk show of Michael Savage below.
The corporate media will not present such disturbing facts and analysis. Their outright lies of commission and omission are prima facie evidence of a controlled media, supported by revealed documentation from whistle-blowers. American freedom of the press is left to independent websites and those few media outlets who tolerate reporting such as you read now.
I was not rehired as a government teacher for presenting these documented facts in consideration of the most basic definitions among the first lessons in studying government. I am a Harvard-educated and National Board Certified teacher with a history including two Los Angeles mayors honoring me as one of the city’s top few teachers. I present facts far more boldly to a targeted adult journal audience than to high school-aged children preparing to enter adult civic participation. I put the disturbing information of US disclosed facts of war (mostly from House and Senate Committee reports) in writing and submitted it to peer-review to my social studies department colleagues and principal before distribution to students. No factual errors or bias was reported; the department chair and I met for an hour’s conversation of how to bridge expected denial of facts from cognitive dissonance. We concluded our first step to send a co-signed e-mail in affirmation of allowing professional factual discovery and discourse to lead our teaching. Despite having no error in fact or pedagogy reported to me, I was not rehired by the school board (we had moved back to California and as a second-year teacher in that district they could do so without explanation). I was denied any opportunity of discussion regarding the reason for my non-rehire. Although not a federal government example, I think it suggests a de facto control.
This is a good transition to consider cognitive blindness.
The 20th Century German public were well-educated, leaders in cultural achievement, and on the forefront of science. They were duped by emotionally-laden and polished propaganda to support brutal military aggression and mass murder.
We know from the Milgram Experiment and Stanford Prison Experiment that human beings are susceptible to vicious behavior under the veneer of authorized actions.
And we know from the following 4-minute video documenting a form of cognitive blindness, that unexpected fundamental change can go unrecognized when authority pretends nothing changed and nobody is there to point it out.
Policy response: Gandhi and Martin Luther King advocated public understanding of the facts and non-cooperation with evil. I’m among hundreds who advocate:
- Understand the laws of war. These were legislated after WW2 and are crystal-clear that only self-defense, in a narrow legal meaning, can justify war. This investment of your time takes less than an hour and empowers you to legally stand for ending these Wars of Aggression.
- Refuse and end all orders and acts associated with these unlawful wars. Those involved with US military, government, and law enforcement have an oath to protect and defend the US Constitution. Unlawful acts only move forward with sufficient cooperation and public tolerance. Stop cooperating with the most vicious crime a nation can commit: war. Stop tolerating it.
- Prosecute the war leaders for obvious violation of the letter and spirit of US war laws. You can only understand how these wars are specifically unlawful by investing the time to do so. Because the crimes are so broad and deep, I recommend Truth and Reconciliation (T&R) to exchange full truth and return of stolen US assets for non-prosecution. This is the most expeditious way to understand and end all unlawful and harmful acts. Those who reject T&R either by volunteering their name and/or responding when named are subject to prosecution after the window of T&R closes.
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Comments
Carl Herman,
I think that you are essentially correct. The corporate and financial elite have an even more sophisticated grasp of manipulation of popular sentiment than did Hitler and company.
Naomi Wolf wrote on this topic in April, 2007. See for instance her article in the Guardian (U.K.). I would be very surprised if you were not familiar with her work. The ideas she espoused seemed to vanish from public consciousness about the time that Obama took over.
Many likely dismissed her as a nut. I was not in that group.
I find myself linking to excerpts from your writings on a frequent basis, at my blog, The Progressive Mind. It is good that you are writing.
Regards
Mike Zimmer
Are you going to tell me that American colleges aren't fascist to the far left? There's no open forum in those institutions just indoctrination.
And are you not going to tell me that Savage speaks the truth about these subjects? Look at Nadal Hasan and how he was able to stay in the army. Because people are afraid to speak the truth even after he killed 13 people.
The left is far more fascist when it comes to speech. It is they who try to shut down opposition and it is they who mostly control the media and the schools. Wherever thought can be manipulated you will find the politically-correct left.
Tom wrote:
"...American colleges aren't fascist to the far left?"
Colleges are not governments and fascist governments typically align with big business not leftist socialists.
To the author:
Change blindness is a function of visual attentiveness. The experiment shows subjects missing actions that occur in the blink of an eye, not across months or years. While it may be an appropriate analogy, I doubt the experimenters would accept your use of their term as valid.
Tom: I’m going to tell you that you are a propagandist or blind to the significance of living under a fascist government. True, colleges pander to government research money, and seem to have agents to “discourage” challenges to authoritarian power. I’m going to tell you that it’s clear you have no Muslim friends and zero cultural experience. And I’m going to tell you that the damning facts of subversion of Constitutional government is the subject of this article, not your distracting comments.
Are you embracing the fascism of the US government, Tom? Choose carefully; you will have the future of your choice.
Maynard: you can only push analogies so far, yes. But it does make a point that humans can not see massive change right before their eyes.
Thanks, for bringing that up! It is important to know that here is another similarity! The German fascist movement started with a minority terrorizing the majority and the Jews in that country playing the guilt card and have taken over the Government. Just look at the White House staff, it is not just Rahm Emanuel.
More over the Jews act in Palestine as they are a kind of Master Race and America's tax payers money is spend to run ghettos like Gaza and the West Bank.
On 9/11 the Zionist entity attacked America!Nazis or Zio-Nazis are the same, but things are getting worse, because the Zio-Nazis claim their wars as just. They think they can apply the same to torture, theft and murder.
The same Navy group who blow up the levies in New Orleans are now helping Egypt to cut off the supply lines of the Palestinian Ghetto Gaza. America you should be ashamed that your soldiers are using poison gas to murder Palestinians who want to get food in Israels rotten concentration camp Gaza.
Carl,
I am very grateful for your persistence and thoroughness in presentation of facts and history. Written in a coherent manner that an average citizen can understand the message. This is an excellent article I may try to print it and hand it out if that's OK with you. I posted a link on my blog which is a compilation of video and book links with various blog entries. More of my personal scrap book actually I guess. Anyway thank you so much. Don Grinde rankandfilefreedom.blogspot.com
Don G: You may post, print, and hand-out in any non-profit method you wish. Thank you for your commitment to build a brighter future :)
This is the kind of reporting you do so well Carl.
I've looked through the Tand R material and I can't get behind it. Too much crime seems to be "forgiven" for access to Information. How do we know that info would be correct or that the perpetrators wouldn't conspire to fabricate their own "information" against other insiders.
I think Tom had some good points. I have been thinking that there seems to be a poor understanding of Fascism, Marxism, Dictatorship, Socialist Democracy and the relation to what we now call Right and Left. We imply today that Fascists are Rightist. And Marxist/Communists are Leftist. I want to have a broad brush here, because what I'm thinking is that there was more similarity between Stalin and Hitler than differences. In some way our current modern discourse is deflective of the issue of Tyranny into right versus Left.
The more important issue is does the system allow freedom or not. Indeed the issue is Fascist control whether it is Right, or Left.
People would be more willing and less fearful of adopting the views of 911 Truth activists if they felt they were calling for forgiveness rather than retribution and punishment.
The peace movement should call for granting amnesty from prosecution and guarantee of an ample, lifetime pension to anyone who agrees to testify on their roles in the events of 9/11, extending this offer to any members of the US government, foreign governments and/or terrorist groups involved in the planning or execution of the attacks of that day.
Additionally, individuals should step forward and volunteer to spend time working with those who give testimony on crimes they have committed so that they might be reintegrated into society.
Instead of executing Nazi war criminals we should have devoted all the human resources available to us to rehabilitating them, awakening in them awareness of the nature of their actions so that they could have come to understand that they must make amends.
It's too unpleasant to imagine that with all our "freedoms" that we live in a fascist state. Strong countries have always been fascist since the Babylonians. The Romans probably have the most relevant to today's states. Il stato has been here a very kong time. What are you going to do about it?
As a 48 year old 'student' of what is really happening to what was once considered (perhaps foolishly) 'our country,' this is mind expanding beyond belief. I have read info pointing to this theory, but you have proven this to be factual with your expert evidence. But where do we go from here, Carl? What can be done to stop this? Do I sound totally naive for even stating that question? I'm just an average person who is flipping out over the dismantling of any semblance (real or imagined) of liberty.
Spqrusa: It’s not me, it’s us at the level of determining our government. I want humanity unleashed for cooperation, justice, dignity, freedom, and technological breakthroughs that I’ve written in the field of energy are suppressed. What do you want?
Teri s: your question is the exact one to ask! I provide three steps in the article for policy, but I should amend it to emphasize communication to others as appropriate. We’ll learn as we move forward in good faith. It’s kind of like 17 or 18-year-old friends looking out at the world, certain there’s much we need to discover and stepping out with intelligent enthusiasm :)
theCarlWatcher: T&R Commission, part 1 is making the argument. The evidence is overwhelming for prosecution; the method is practiced to “roll-up” to higher and higher levels of planning and executive responsibility. T&R avoids war, provides incentive for truth, removes consequences for the public benefit of for the first time ever having truth to work with rather than vicious lies. And, we hold prosecution as consequence for not taking T&R. My next article on fascism will again show the video “The American form of Government” to provide what I’ve found as useful perspective with what you address on Left/Right paradigm. You can google it to view.
Doesn't fascism mean "bundle of sticks"? Doesn't that mean everyone's a fascist? If you're different you're excluded and it doesn't matter what it is. Liberals don't watch FOX news anymore than Republicans watch MSNBC news.
The Constitution like everything becomes a matter of interpretation doesn't it? It seems that both the left and the right accuse the other of being fascist depending on who holds the power. Both the left/right seem to feel they interpret the constitution properly so what's the point of bringing that up?
You feel like Savage is fascist just the way the right feels Obama is fascist.
Nazi Germany was gassing people based on race/religion whereas both right/left politicians are still letting in Muslims and everyone else from everywhere and giving them jobs and drivers licenses.
It shouldn't matter whether I have Muslim friends or not what matters is that you should call an act of terrorism an act of terrorism and quit being a victim of political-correctness.
Tom: with all respect, you’re being amazingly stupid about this topic. No, as a political ideology fascism doesn’t mean sticks. Your government lies for wars, tortures, takes trillions from us. These are facts. These facts disqualify the US as a constitutional republic. We have other words in political science to describe such a government; fascist being the closest in my professional opinion as an educator of the subject. If we were talking about baseball and you said, “Doesn’t strike mean to hit? Doesn’t that mean missing and hitting the ball is the same?”
We’d rightly ignore you as an idiot or someone disrupting the conversation.
What matters is our choice and your choice, Tom, whether you want American values and government or the fascism that has taken its place.
Choose wisely.
Cheers for the incisive essay!
I agree that the US has degraded into fascism - but people who live under this paradigm see things differently. Zizek may say they're blinded by the promise of violence, whereas Reich thought most people wish to be controlled by fascists.
As for the etymologic basis of the term "fasces", it doesn't reduce to a bundle of sticks. The "bundle of sticks" does represent the people/public, but it's bound by the will of the state. This is the key aspect of fascism - the will of the people is sublimated by the will of the state.
Since urls aren't allowed in comments (which is pretty lame, btw), see "Sophrosyne Radical" for "Media and Fascism in America" and "Games People Play".
It's hard to make a wise choice if I'm an idiot and the only conversation I'm interrupting is the one-sided indulgence that you and your flock are engaging in. You answered none of my points and that is because you don't have any.
So now tell me what choices do we have? Dazzle me with your powers of knowledge. We went from Bush to Obama and by your article we're slipping deeper into your version of fascism.
If you're trying to cure war then give up. Every President has their own version of what lines their pockets and what's more suited to their ideology.
You'd be better off pointing out why you think the war is stupid as opposed to why it's illegal or unjust.
At the risk of being Polyannaish.... I think there are many points of intersection Between Carls' view and Toms'. I sense that you both want a better government here and more specifically that you want the government (and people) to act more along the Ideals that we were founded on. Also I don't think all the posters here are necess. one-sided. I don't trust T&R for instance because I think it ultimately gives an OUT to those who are the very topic of it's implementation...the powerful ALWAYS find a way to scam a system to get out of prosecution. HOWEVER It seems that Carl and every poster here agrees that there are grave crimes being committed now and in the past by these Elites.
Question Carl... I am seeing more and more that Dictatorial control, control by Oligarchs, Control by Bankster Elites as essentially so similar as to be ultimately the same. And the same Fascism whether Right or Left. Do you think This is a truer way to see it than Right vs. Left??
Godwin's Law
Once you drag NAZI Germany into the conversation you lose little buddy.
I do feel sorry for your students.
Michael Savage, in comparing the Koran to Mein Kampf, neglects to also present some disturbing passages in the Talmud, doesn't he?
Further, Carl Herman's article posits the Germans as simply tricked by Hitler's cognitive manipulations. So there's no need to consider the crises in the nation: there weren't any.
Tom: your choice:
1. Government limited under law to protect inalienable rights.
2. Government unlimited and above the law who crush human rights like a boot stomping on a human face, forever.
With respect, I’m saying you’re being stupid because we’re not talking about an interpretation of law: this is abject violation in Orwellian magnitude that, correct me if I’m wrong, you don’t see. I’ll stick to demanding government under just laws, thank you.
TheCarlWatcher: I agree with you that the Dems and Reps are the left and right arms of a singular oligarch.
Mr. Left: Choose carefully the history you ignore, little buddy. Oh, and a bunch of guys like my dad and uncle who fought Nazis, including having their full-sized buddies pay the ultimate sacrifice doing so, would stick Godwin’s law in a place to make you feel sorry in a hurry.
The government feels it's just in being in Afghanistan. You can call it unjust but it's your word against theirs. They feel they're protecting the American people. Isn't that a rule in the constitution?
Prove that it's unjust.
Tom, you speak of feelings rather than what the laws of war mean. Rules have meaning and are meant to be clear. If you want to learn these laws, go to the paragraph on Afghanistan and explore the links. Specifically, the link of “violates our laws of war” will walk you through and prove beyond any doubt that these wars are unlawful. The Constitution has purposes, but the rules limit actions. There is no “protection” rule; in law we call that overly broad because it could cover anything.
Out of all the laws to know in being a responsible citizen, war laws are among the most important. It will take less than an hour of your time to understand.
YES!
1. Government LIMITED UNDER LAW to protect inalienable rights.
And...demanding government UNDER JUST LAWS.
This resonates with how I understand our Constitutional Republic and the Bill of rights.
With respect to Afghanistan, The UN is also there and fighting...Germany, Canada ,UK and the rest. Are they Also doing it illegally or unjustly? Why have they continued to fight there all these years if they saw it as illegal?
TheCarlWatcher:
The way to answer your question is to understand the laws of war. I did my best to walk people through at the article, "US war laws explained, why Afghanistan and Iraq wars are unlawful, how to end them." We know this war has nothing to do with US self-defense from the facts; just as Iraq. What other nations have as their interests to proclaim the US emperor has no clothes, I don't know. But again, the key is to understand the laws of war, which are less complicated than many rules in sports.
As I may have mentioned, Project Camelot is a great place to explore what the biggest context might be. The easy part is understanding what the term "clothes" means, looking at the evidence despite propaganda, and factually concluding, "Hmm. It's true. The emperor does not have clothes. It's a big lie."
This is like listening to some anti-Vietnam War radical magically transplanted from the Nixon era with his claims of a fascist government.
The level of 'scholarship' is abominable; the result is pure propaganda.
But perhaps the most curious part is the rants about 'corporate media' by someone posting on a site owned by one of the most pro-authoritarian, anti-individual rights corpocratic right wingers in the country.
You DO know who you work for, don't you Mr. Herman?
If they had remained alive they would have been a living testament to the transformative powers of forgiveness.
Historians and psychologists especially should come out in favor of preserving invaluable study material in the form of the opportunity to converse with the authors of unfortunate historical deeds.
We must find a solution to the existing state of affairs that would be acceptable to both the accusers and the accused. It should solve the problem it sets out to solve without creating additional problems. It should present itself as an ethical means to an ethical end.
In "The Art of War", Sun Tzu said never to surround an enemy. If you do not leave him an out, he will fight to the last man.
Finally, these ideas do not depend on the media for their dissemination. If you can convince six friends of the merit of these ideas and get them to tell six of their own friends tomorrow, each of whom tells six of their friends the next day, and so on, then the ideas will reach ev
As someone whos written a great deal of academic work on similar subjects I would tend to agree with you, especially when I am told the term 'US Imperialism' is not recognised as existing in U.S universities, which I find rather bizarre.
Also, my grandfather, a ww2 veteran, said on his deathbed that everything he and many others fought for has now disappeared, and had he known what the future under the Allies had been like he would have defected to the Soviets.
I agree with you completely that we are now live under a form of Fascism.
Here are the 14 POINTS OF FASCISM. Some points we have already arrived others we are working towards. I will give American examples for each point. It will take me a few posts because of the 1000 character limit to a post.
1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
American flags shown everywhere, politicians wearing flag lapel pins, demand for unity of support of the military.
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights
Guantanamo bay detention camp, extraordinary rendition, torture.
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause
War on terror, Al Qaeda, Liberals ?
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism
We now spend more money on the military than the rest of the world combined. ?
5. Rampant sexism
We have a continuing war against gays, and are trying to limit women's reproductive rights ?
14 Points of Fascism (continued)
6. A controlled mass media
Not so much on the local level but much more at the national level. One example was the run up to our wars of choice and how little anti war views were given on national news or major news papers. ?
7. Obsession with national security
Homeland Security, Warrant-less wiretaps, tightening of national boarders.
8). Religion & ruling elites tied together
The Christian rights infiltration of the Republican party and so the US government
9). Power of corporations protected
Corporations have been given personhood under the law, and the rights of these "corporate persons" continues to be expanded
10). Power of labor suppressed or eliminated
Attendance in labor unions is way down due to governmental regulations that have been put in place to weaken them.
14 Points of Fascism (continued)
11). Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts
Constant cuts to arts programs, disdain for the "liberal elite"
12). Obsession with crime and punishment
We have the highest documented incarceration rate in the world.
14). Rampant cronyism and corruption
One example was no bid contracts given to Halliburton to which Cheney used to be its CEO.
14). Fraudulent elections
Supreme court deciding the election of G.W. Bush. Privately owned (Diebold) voting machines. The election of Obama who is supposed to be "liberal" but continues with the majority of the previous presidents policies.
Tom From NC,
Thanks for putting up this excellent list of Points of Fascism.
Except for #5, it's a pretty darn good list.
This article rings true on so many levels for those who have woken up, even a little. The comment from AndyUK echos a sentiment seen many times on other sites,except between `45 to`91 Sovjiet was a slave camp, still rough now. It's more than most want to realize, but my reading finds that Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt and HITLER were all BankingPower installed puppets and WW2 was orchestrated to crush Germany.
re the Hitler quote about the big lie, my Mein Kampf, Houghton Mifflin- 1971, p.231, Hitler clearly is accusing the Jews and the Communists of using the Big Lie
Joe webb: The quote references the power of the big lie; not the history of its use. Read what I wrote again. Are you demonstrating your blindness to American fascism by picking on a detail of questionable merit to the subject of the article that you distort, or were you asking a legitimate question that I’m just not getting?
Carl,
I have read a few of your posts, and find your style of writing to be quite fair.
One point of confusion in this article:
You say,
'The report ominously included: "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event––like a new Pearl Harbor." '
It seems that you are referring to the 2000 PNAC report, "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for the New Century." However, I cannot find that quote in the linked version of the report. Admittedly, I only skimmed it, however my internet browser 'search' tool could not find the words 'Pearl Harbor' anywhere.
Perhaps it was omitted? Or am I otherwise confused.
Clarification?
Thanks,
Brendan:
Thank you. I updated that section with the PNAC full report link, a summary, and the page number you requested: 63.
Outstanding article, Carl. You have enhanced my understanding of many of the feelings I now struggle with as I am experiencing the CD you reference. What's truly frustrating for me is to see people continue to be overly influenced by the meaningless distinctions between "left" and "right". To me, there is no real distinction as the end result is the same. I have come to believe that these ideological arguments are simply distractions, keeping the populace divided so that the growth of the oligarchy can continue unfettered. Your characterization of the left and right as arms of a singular oligarch is spot on.
My challenge now is to decide what to do. What can I do to be a part of change? I use to envy those people who lived through the 60's; I was jealous that my life didn't intersect with such interesting times. Faced with the challenges of today, however, I'm intimidated. I hope I'm up to the challenge...
Don:
Thanks :)
One step at a time as best we see is the way forward. I agree that Left and Right are just the two arms of a single oligarch.
(2 of 3)...lofty abstraction for the common media-befuddled person to bypass ingrained cognitive dissonance, and then further to incorporate and respond to the "new" info with new behaviors. I'm aware that your points of focus are very basic and logical to you, and I don't disagree---but this evaluation is merely relative to our educational training & experience.
Hitler, Bush, Churchill, and Rush Limbaugh R/were all well aware that the level at which to reach and control larger masses is the emotional level---whether or not the words/ideas delivered have any deeper ring of truth.
It's clear to me that the basic condition of the masses, or of any of the individuals who actually comprise the mass, is that of unawareness of universal/existential Reality, and unawareness of true self-identity in relation to Reality. And this, to me is the basic damning shortcoming of the American compulsory public mis-education factory system for conformist corporate clones,...
(1 of 3): Gratitude for exposing greater Truth-awareness to public accessibility, Carl. I look fwd to further exchange with you, as you reveal an uncommon honesty which has lifted you above the general academic B.S.(Belief Systems) conclusions and the herdlike compliance of the general media-manipulated public.
I trust that some interaction between our perspectives will mutually strengthen our capacities to communicate in a more potent manner on a number of very essential logical principle points so that even those without academic background/orientation (or, *especially* those without intellectual background, as these are the ones who form the mass continuing support for the war machine at basic ground levels)can understand these principle points in a very powerfully convincing, effective way.
For I am not an academician, so I notice that while much of your expression is valid and on-target, I also often note that is often yet too abstract for the common non-academics..
(3 of 3):...clones, wage-slaves, soldiers and sheeple. The mis-education system is designed to pour all manner of 'factual' educational materials into young minds without first establishing the basic foundation of the nature of Reality and the nature of true Self within that Reality. For this foundation is the bedrock, the crux, the necessary position from which ever after to discern the validity of any bit of information that one percieves or receives.
In other words, there would not be the confused masses of human dough by which to form all the myriad divisive, disempowering limited/false ideologies which cause people to atttempt to fill their inner void by snapping up any limited human identity offered them by society, regardless of its disempowering/enslaving ramifications, e.g., democrat/leftist, republican/rightist, Christian or Muslim, gay or straight, male or female, et al ad infinitum... Persons who know, esp. from early age, the true nature of Reality/identity...
(oops, 1 more): ...who know true Reality-Identity, cannot be manipulated in this manner, cannot be set apart and against one another.
So, the *essential whole communication* we ought strive for is that which touches people emotionally because it is true in Reality, a Reality which abides in the core of each, untainted, regardless of the years of conditioning/training/brain-soiling received from societal upbringing.
This is the Root Reality which is the Root even of all religions, but which religions degrade by their sectarian cultural and geographic identifications...and this is largely why religious emotional conditioning has such a powerful effect on people---because it touches that which is real in them, but doesn't allow them to go all the way to complete unified identification with the inner utterly liberated Self-aware Reality. Our communications offered with an intention to heal these rifts of false identity simply has to have this one prerequisite: our words must be Real
That is, we must know Reality, know the Reality of each our own self, and we must live in that Reality in whole, integrated manner...that all our thoughts, words, and movements in life be integrated, loving expressions of that Real core of being. Until we move from this inner place of awareness being, we shall continue in very meaningless, unhealthy directions, and as the old Chinese proverb states: "If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed." And, to stand on the shoulders of Thoreau, 'There are millions hacking at the branches of darkness(ignorance)---in endless frustrated futility---for every one who has exposed the inner roots of darkness(ignorance) to the light of Truth.
PureTruth=Liberty: well said! I’m hammering the facts and look for video to do my best in this format of touching emotions. I find PuppetGov to be awesome for artistic communication. Hopefully, comments such as yours helps.
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
JohnB: what are you talking about?
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