OCybrManO
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You all know how much I hate the current state of the governmedia (search for the first time I used that term to get an explanation of it)... but even I wouldn't say we are a fascist regime, yet. I think we are heading toward it (albeit more slowly than most other nations that went fascist in the past). To reach the level of Nazi Germany, at this pace, would probably take at least another decade... but we are already showing all of those 14 signs to varying degrees. I have omitted the descriptions to save on space... read them at the link in the original post if you don't remember what they mean.
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Wow, if anyone disagrees with this one... I don't know what to say. This is the most blatantly visible one.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: This is not talking about gays or abortion. This is how we treat people in times of war. There are very recent, documented cases where some of the top people in our governmedia have approved the use of torture. The Patriot Act allows the government to hold "suspected" terrorists (which requires no evidence) indefinately without any trial. It allows them to keep the prisoner isolated from their family, legal counsil, etc. The new legislature allows them to revoke the person's citizenship. Why do you think they would make a 3000-page piece of legislature? They don't want people (including the ones that voted for it) to read it.
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The administration didn't take the warnings of the intelligence seriously... now they are blaming it for September 11th. Don't forget the attention shift from Osama (the real, current threat) to Saddam and the WMD fiasco. They blame terrorists for international problems including any resistance to our military escapades. "Terrorist" is the new "communist." Also, liberals are blamed for internal problems by the conservative administration as often as possible... but that seems to happen on both sides of the fence. No one ever accepts the responsibilities of their own actions.
Supremacy of the Military: You betcha. This also ties into the one on nationalism.
Rampant Sexism: Indeed.
Controlled Mass Media: Why do you think I call it the governmedia?
Obsession with National Security: Oh, yeah... this is another one of those "if you can't see it get your eyes checked" subjects. Hell, we have a color-coded scale of how terrified we should feel... and it never dips below "ELEVATED" (level 3).
Religion and Government are Intertwined: George W Bush says God speaks to him... and tells him how to run the country. Need I go on?
Corporate Power is Protected: Duh.
Labor Power is Suppressed: You are correct, sir.
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: It's not as blatant as book burning... but it's palpable.
Obsession with Crime and Punishment: The Patriot Act (and similar crap) is a big step in this direction that they tried to sneak in right under everyone's collective nose... by calling it the "Patriot" (as if opposing it would make you unpatriotic) Act and basically saying "it's for your own protection."
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Was there ever any doubt?
Fraudulent Elections: Whether you like or dislike the outcome you have to admit there has been some really shady stuff going on before and during elections... and the fact that you need to have tons of money to have any chance whatsoever is bad enough by itself.
Again, they're not all to equally extreme degrees and some of the categories are a little generic... but it is rather frightening. It's like the 9 (I think) traits of serial killers. You can have a couple and still be normal... but if you have all of them something must be at least moderately wrong with you.
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Wow, if anyone disagrees with this one... I don't know what to say. This is the most blatantly visible one.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: This is not talking about gays or abortion. This is how we treat people in times of war. There are very recent, documented cases where some of the top people in our governmedia have approved the use of torture. The Patriot Act allows the government to hold "suspected" terrorists (which requires no evidence) indefinately without any trial. It allows them to keep the prisoner isolated from their family, legal counsil, etc. The new legislature allows them to revoke the person's citizenship. Why do you think they would make a 3000-page piece of legislature? They don't want people (including the ones that voted for it) to read it.
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The administration didn't take the warnings of the intelligence seriously... now they are blaming it for September 11th. Don't forget the attention shift from Osama (the real, current threat) to Saddam and the WMD fiasco. They blame terrorists for international problems including any resistance to our military escapades. "Terrorist" is the new "communist." Also, liberals are blamed for internal problems by the conservative administration as often as possible... but that seems to happen on both sides of the fence. No one ever accepts the responsibilities of their own actions.
Supremacy of the Military: You betcha. This also ties into the one on nationalism.
Rampant Sexism: Indeed.
Controlled Mass Media: Why do you think I call it the governmedia?
Obsession with National Security: Oh, yeah... this is another one of those "if you can't see it get your eyes checked" subjects. Hell, we have a color-coded scale of how terrified we should feel... and it never dips below "ELEVATED" (level 3).
Religion and Government are Intertwined: George W Bush says God speaks to him... and tells him how to run the country. Need I go on?
Corporate Power is Protected: Duh.
Labor Power is Suppressed: You are correct, sir.
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: It's not as blatant as book burning... but it's palpable.
Obsession with Crime and Punishment: The Patriot Act (and similar crap) is a big step in this direction that they tried to sneak in right under everyone's collective nose... by calling it the "Patriot" (as if opposing it would make you unpatriotic) Act and basically saying "it's for your own protection."
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Was there ever any doubt?
Fraudulent Elections: Whether you like or dislike the outcome you have to admit there has been some really shady stuff going on before and during elections... and the fact that you need to have tons of money to have any chance whatsoever is bad enough by itself.
Again, they're not all to equally extreme degrees and some of the categories are a little generic... but it is rather frightening. It's like the 9 (I think) traits of serial killers. You can have a couple and still be normal... but if you have all of them something must be at least moderately wrong with you.
It's all about gradual changes. They have learned from past failures. You would never see any major changes unless you looked back several years. People accept lots of tiny changes over long periods of time as if nothing has happened. You just have to make sure the people have come to accept the last change before you force a new one on them. That's the secret.Satch919 said:
