Comments from: http://www.aladdin.com/
If you aren't outraged,
you haven't been paying attention.
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Since posting this page on May 24, 2003, we've gotten some
interesting correspondence about it. See http://www.aladdin.com/correspondence.html.
Please note that if you send us any correspondence about this site, you
are giving us permission to post it: we're willing to stand by our
statements in public, so it's only fair that you should be too.
In November 2000, American democracy was hijacked by a gang of lying,
arrogant, power-drunk fascists. Since then, they
have been shredding Constitutional democracy, and Americans' rights and
liberties, as fast as they can ram their legislation through a compliant
Congress with the approval of unprecedently manipulated public opinion.
Few people are still alive who lived through the Hitler era of the
1930s in Germany (they are in their 80s now, at least); but those who
are, and those who have studied and written about that era, see how
similar things are in the U.S. today.
At this point (May 2003), dissent is still theoretically legal, but
the police are increasingly targeting anyone who disagrees with the
fascists' line at public events; and if the horribly misnamed Domestic
Security Enhancement Act ("Patriot II") passes in Congress,
the Feds will be able to take away the citizenship of, and deport to any
place on earth, anyone who "supports" a "terrorist"
organization. So when the Bush gang decide that the Sierra Club is a
"terrorist" organization because it opposes drilling for oil
in wildlife refuges that the administration claims is "necessary
for national security", or that the National Council of Churches is
a "terrorist" organization because it opposes the rounding up
"for security reasons" of Middle Eastern men who have not been
accused of any crime, they can come after YOU.
So read through the article below on the
nature of fascism, think about how it applies to the current occupants
of Federal power, and then get angry and do something about it: write
letters to the newspaper, write letters to Congress, give money to any
effective party or organization working for change, attend
demonstrations, talk to your neighbors and your friends and fellow
members of any groups you belong to. Here are some places you can join
other people who have gotten the picture:
If you aren't familiar with these organizations and what they stand
for, or if you've heard third-party propaganda slamming them but have
never taken the time to find out the truth, go follow some of those
links now.
Meanwhile, you can find our original home page
at:
http://www.aladdin.com/index2.html.
THE IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISM
By Dr. Lawrence Britt
Free Inquiry Magazine / Spring 2003
Dr. Lawrence Britt, a political scientist, studied the fascist
regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto
(Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14
things in common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of
fascism. The article is titled 'Fascism Anyone?', and appears in Free
Inquiry's Spring 2003 issue on page 20.
The 14 characteristics are:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Controlled Mass Media -- Sometimes the media is directly
controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is
indirectly controlled by government regulation, or through
sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship,
especially in wartime, is very common.
- Obsession with National Security -- Fear is used as a
motivational tool by the government over the masses.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 is openly
attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
- 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.
- Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -- Fascist regimes almost
always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint
each other to government positions, and who 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.
- Fraudulent Elections -- Sometimes elections in fascist
nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated
by smear campaigns against (or even the assassination of) opposition
candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or
political district boundaries, and the manipulation of the media.
Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate
or control elections.
This page last updated June 18, 2003.
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