NationStates Jolt Archive

Do not call me a troll, or flamer. Read: This (http://globalresearch.ca/articles/BRI411A.html)

By that definition, then yes, the USA is facist.

The EU had better be more careful about their unification then. Significant portions of Europe went fascist before, and it could happen again.

The 14 characteristics of Fascism are:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism

Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, 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 sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, 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 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 assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

sexism? Nope

Disdain for human rights? Not really. Only in the case of captured foreign fighters. Give this one a maybe.

Controlled mass media? No

religion and government are intertwined? Not really, there are laws that are pretty successful at keeping them appart

Rampant cronyism and corruption? No more than in most nations

fraudulent elections? Not really, not since 2000

We don't really fit all the criteria. We may be going that way though.

fraudulent elections? Not really, not since 2000

Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against
It fits some of the definition given

In my opinion it kind of misses the primary point of fascism: that the state has a much higher priority than the individuals which comprise it.

The original article, by the way, is online here (http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm), and has very little extra substance than is presented at the link Kahta provides. Personally I would say that points 2, 5, 8, and 14 are highly questionable descriptions of the USA.


Oh yeah, as a final point: "faScist".

I think of the points this doctor makes are valid, though in the USA's case, they are mildly true. I think that the strongest points in favour of his arguments would be the sexism element (think about it, sexual education is being controlled and bastardised, abortion rights cut off because some old men don't like it), and religion... I dare you to tell me that there isn't a high level of religion being slung around. The religious right suddenly has a very powerful voice in the US, even though they were not always given such dignity in previous administrations... I could also add that censorship is a lot more present now than it was when Clinton (so he had sex with an intern and lied about it - his private life).

Wow. Have I ever told anyone how much I hate statistics?

Why? Because you can use statistics to prove anything you want. You can manipulate it. You can pick and choose and leave things out.

Sure. If you pick out these little bitsy things. Yeah. You can "prove" that the USA is fascist.

In fact. You can prove that a cat is actually a dog.

You can even prove that a guitar is a real tree.

You can prove anything by picking out what you want from statistics that prove your point.

I hate statistics.

Another reason why I hate statistics?

There's a test that tests for HIV. It is supposedly 99 percent acurate. Sounds great right?

If you go through the statistical process you find out that actually 99 percent of people who test for HIV don't actually have it. So those 99 percent of people have to go out, pay money for a better test to find out they are negative.

Yeah. I guess better safe than sorry. But it still shows that 99 percent acurate isn't always acurate. But then again you use statistics to show that it isn't acurate and there's always an error that could be found there. Are you getting my drift?

Gah. Statistics...>_<

I think of the points this doctor makes are valid, though in the USA's case, they are mildly true. I think that the strongest points in favour of his arguments would be the sexism element (think about it, sexual education is being controlled and bastardised, abortion rights cut off because some old men don't like it),
Abortion is opposed almost equally by men and women. I'm not sure about age, but I think its also opposed about equally depending on the age.

Do not call me a troll, or flamer. Read: This (http://globalresearch.ca/articles/BRI411A.html)
Ok ... how about this ...

You're a troll AND a flammer! :D

Counterpoint:

We were at least as patriotic, had WORSE human rights abuses/policies (arbitrarily putting Japanese-Americans in pens, for one), and were far more religious back during World War Two.. were we fascist then? lmao.

No, wait, we had a Democrat for president, so we couldn't have been fascist.

HEY, I HAVE AN IDEA:

Maybe most, if not all, countries at war can be described by this description of fascism! Think about it, and think if it describes a country in a TIME OF WAR. That is a far better fit.

"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, pull back the curtains, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater."
-- Frank Zappa

Counterpoint:

We were at least as patriotic, had WORSE human rights abuses/policies (arbitrarily putting Japanese-Americans in pens, for one), and were far more religious back during World War Two.. were we fascist then? lmao.

No, wait, we had a Democrat for president, so we couldn't have been fascist.

HEY, I HAVE AN IDEA:

Maybe most, if not all, countries at war can be described by this description of fascism! Think about it, and think if it describes a country in a TIME OF WAR. That is a far better fit.


Wow. We had Roosevelt for four terms - and we would have had him longer had he not died.

Try this (http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=00178&from=pickList)
a standard we set a few years ago. I don't think we fair much better.

Ok ... how about this ...

You're a troll AND a flammer! :D

Agreed.

Notice those are characteristics of a fascism, not the elements of a fascism. The US MILDLY shares some of the characteristics of fascism, but that does not mean it even comes close to a fascism.

sexism? Nope

Disdain for human rights? Not really. Only in the case of captured foreign fighters. Give this one a maybe.

Controlled mass media? No

religion and government are intertwined? Not really, there are laws that are pretty successful at keeping them appart

Rampant cronyism and corruption? No more than in most nations

fraudulent elections? Not really, not since 2000

We don't really fit all the criteria. We may be going that way though.

1. There is a homophobia sweeping the country right now.

2. Roundups in NYC during the RNC.

3. 7 companies control ~85% of the media in this country. It used to be 131, and now its 7.

4. Faith based funding

5. Yeah, I'd say there is. Its fairly well hidden by the 7 major news sources though.

6. Ohio in 2004, and Florida 2004.

Counterpoint:

We were at least as patriotic, had WORSE human rights abuses/policies (arbitrarily putting Japanese-Americans in pens, for one), and were far more religious back during World War Two.. were we fascist then? lmao.

No, wait, we had a Democrat for president, so we couldn't have been fascist.

HEY, I HAVE AN IDEA:

Maybe most, if not all, countries at war can be described by this description of fascism! Think about it, and think if it describes a country in a TIME OF WAR. That is a far better fit.
That would work, except for much the same reason we would rally against these times, we rallied against all of those. Are you saying because we where worse we can't be better?

6. Ohio in 2004, and Florida 2004.
Proof? Democratic counties voting Bush in the Panhandle? :rolleyes:

Definition of fascism.
A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

Doesn't fit the US nearly as much as you think it does. Does it have fascist tendencies? Of course. But that is the nature of government. Part of the reason it has so many fascist tendencies is because fascism is on the opposite side of the spectrum of communism. Both, however, are collectivist. Therefore, I despise both equally.

Heh.

"Liberal minds tolerate everything except a conservative mind."

"Conservative minds tolerate everything except a liberal mind."

"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling power. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing."
--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Proof? Democratic counties voting Bush in the Panhandle? :rolleyes:
You need to look at the records for those counties as to how they voted over many local and nat. elections. They were REGISTERED as democrat. But they tended except for clinton to vote for republican presidents. They also never really voted pure democrat in the local and state elections either.

Fascism - A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

The only one that relates to America is the nationalism.

"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling power. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing."
--President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Great quote.

I love this part of history. When the power of big companies was reduced.

Counterpoint:

Maybe most, if not all, countries at war can be described by this description of fascism! Think about it, and think if it describes a country in a TIME OF WAR. That is a far better fit.

what an interesting point to bring up, the war that america has brought on itself. lets see if i can prove this.
who declared war? america did
who was the only aggressor of the two countries in question? america was

Now, lets talk about other countries in times of war. Did france impose homeland security whist in world war one, two, or in the hundred years war, or in any other war? how about england? Canada? nope, although they did use a war-time act to stop the FLQ, the exception to that is they were a known threat that everyone agreed on. darn thats two points against you. ill give ya some more if needed.

In fact. You can prove that a cat is actually a dog.

You can even prove that a guitar is a real tree.


well my dear, you cant prove that a cat is actually a dog, since the DNA of the two creatures in question are slightly different, i dont know the exact sequences that are different but u can research into that if u want. And a guitar != a real tree, a guitar is inanimate whist a tree is living, the only similarity is that they both contain wood.

whew. i said alot, cuz this is my first post eva on nationstates ;) |_4+3|2 everyone

2. Roundups in NYC during the RNC.
Heh, the irony. Guess what, they ocurred during the DNC too, but guess what the media didn't report on. The "free speech zones" while adopted by the republicans, was first used by the Democrats. :D

Every nation has some level of fascism. And as such every nation will fit a lot of these things, but that doesn't mean that it is totalitarian.

Isn't it funny how people hate power, yet they always strive to get it?

Power doesn't always have to be something huge. Power in words. Power in thought. That's still power.

We hate it. We hate power. We hate people in power. We hate countries with power.

And yet inside we all strive for it. Power over our lives. Power over other people's lives. Power over other people's words. Power to open other people's eyes.

You need to look at the records for those counties as to how they voted over many local and nat. elections. They were REGISTERED as democrat. But they tended except for clinton to vote for republican presidents. They also never really voted pure democrat in the local and state elections either.
Actually if you read the records they voted for Dole too.

But apprenty asking for proof and then having a :rolleyes: at the end of the post can't tip people off that I'M NOT SAYING THEY WERE RIGGED.

Actually if you read the records they voted for Dole too.

But apprenty asking for proof and then having a :rolleyes: at the end of the post can't tip people off that I'M NOT SAYING THEY WERE RIGGED.

Sit back for a second and realize not everyone will understand things the way you do.

I actually saw the same thing that other person did when I first read that.

the face does convey a sense that you might think there's a conspiracy regardless of what you actually meant it to mean.

Just a note.

That, in essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling power. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.

Name one period in ANY major country's history where this wasn't true - where the real power was not consolidated in the hands of a few.

China? I don't think so. Russia? Nyet. UK? Yeah, right. US? Nope. Holy Roman Empire? No. Persia? No. Eqypt? No. . . . ad infinitum.

Agreed.

Notice those are characteristics of a fascism, not the elements of a fascism. The US MILDLY shares some of the characteristics of fascism, but that does not mean it even comes close to a fascism.

Absolutely. If you want to find meaning in something or draw questionable conclusions but refer to them as rock-solid truth, it's not that hard.

Folks who think that America is a fascist nation go way too far in doing this.. vague/wild assumptions based on a vague set of rules.

...just another attempt by the left to give america and president bush a black eye.

They lost most of the meaningful elections this past November so they want to smear the ideas of the majority and the president elected by the majority...

MAJORITY RULE being a key phrase in the making of a DEMOCRACY.

Does a fascist country allow people to vote?

How about gun ownership? Did hitler take Germans' guns? If he did, does that make the UK a Fascist country?

If Bush were a fascist, the first thing he'd do would be to take away the right to bear arms. That way there'd be no stopping him. Has he done that? Does he want that?

Um, nope.

LMAO. This whole line of assumptions really hilarious in its invalidity.

Fascism is government taken to the extreme. Hence, all government is fascism to a mild degree.
The US has a government, so it has certain degrees of fascism. It's higher than usual at the moment, and the neo-cons generally like to set up the old Orwellian Enemy scenario to scare the population, but they've not slipped too far yet. With any luck, once Georgey-porgy puddin and pie is gone and you have a leader who is more than a mindless figurehead, you'll slip back a little.

1. There is a homophobia sweeping the country right now.

3. 7 companies control ~85% of the media in this country. It used to be 131, and now its 7.

4. Faith based funding

5. Yeah, I'd say there is. Its fairly well hidden by the 7 major news sources though.

6. Ohio in 2004, and Florida 2004.
1. Actually, it's not "sweeping the country". It was there and diminishing, but then the whole gay marriage came up, although one can not truly say that is homoPHOBIA per se, seeing as to them because of their religion it is bad, therefore to anyone who believes in a greater power it is not irrational at all. Anyway, the gay marriage bit came up and pissed a lot of people off. If the people pushing it were smart the ywould first have pushed for the ERA(Equal Rights Amendment) to pass first, then you would have had an actual constitutional grounding for the arguement.

3. Yes, but to say they are all or even majority right-wing controlled is laughable. If anti-monopoly laws were properly enforced and complete free markets were allowed it wouldn't be a problem but it is.

4.Moveon.org, who oddly enough, aren't moving on like their name would suggest.

5. There is fraud in every election, and since I doubt Karl Rove is The Emporor to Bush's Vader, it probably isn't orchestrated by him and is committed equally by both major parties. I know for vertain there was major Dem fraud in good old Chicago concerning the presidential election, but I still don't give a shit.

6. I assume you mean florida 2000. It is interesting to note that in the last election Dummicrats were bitching that Gore got more votes nationwide and Bush only won because of the EC. Somehow, I seriously doubt that they would have complained had Kerry won Ohio even though Bush's lead was by quite a larger percentage.

Do not call me a troll, or flamer. Read: This (http://globalresearch.ca/articles/BRI411A.html)


If America was really Fascist we would have a much beter economy. Look at Germany's economy with Hitler for comparison. How much beter they became.

sexism? Nope

Disdain for human rights? Not really. Only in the case of captured foreign fighters. Give this one a maybe.

Controlled mass media? No

religion and government are intertwined? Not really, there are laws that are pretty successful at keeping them appart

Rampant cronyism and corruption? No more than in most nations

fraudulent elections? Not really, not since 2000

We don't really fit all the criteria. We may be going that way though.


Yeah. The USA isn't fascist it's just getting increasingly undemocratic, authoritarian and right-wing. Maybe someday it will become fascist, but not just yet.

Name one period in ANY major country's history where this wasn't true - where the real power was not consolidated in the hands of a few.

China? I don't think so. Russia? Nyet. UK? Yeah, right. US? Nope. Holy Roman Empire? No. Persia? No. Eqypt? No. . . . ad infinitum.

How about the Indians of pre-Columbian North America (esp. Iroquois Confederacy),
or Athens of 5th c. BCE,
or the Kongo, Lundu, and Lunda kingdoms of Central Africa,
or the Gimi people of Papua New Guinea,
or Estonia of the Middle Ages,
or the Inuit of the Arctic,
or the San people of SW Africa,
or the Ogiek of Kenya,

...shall I go on?

i wish we could get through one war without some sort of bullshit restriction on civil rights that gets repealed later. i must say that it does seem to be getting better...
like in WWI the repression was much more severe than the Patriot Act, but it's still crap that someday historians will look back on and say "and ppl were repressed and had their civil rights restricted blah blah blah until ppl saw there was no good reason."
i think i'm going off on a tangent here, so i'll stop before i start complaining about how people try and hide everything behind the mask of patriotism.

I think of the points this doctor makes are valid, though in the USA's case, they are mildly true. I think that the strongest points in favour of his arguments would be the sexism element (think about it, sexual education is being controlled and bastardised, abortion rights cut off because some old men don't like it), and religion... I dare you to tell me that there isn't a high level of religion being slung around. The religious right suddenly has a very powerful voice in the US, even though they were not always given such dignity in previous administrations... I could also add that censorship is a lot more present now than it was when Clinton (so he had sex with an intern and lied about it - his private life).
In the USA discrimination against women is illegal. Women can hold any job, study anything they want in school, and are given preferential treatment in divorce hearings, which by the way, they can and do initiate. Sexist my ass.

Shouldn't "Trying to create an autarky" be on list as well Kahta?

1. There is a homophobia sweeping the country right now.

2. Roundups in NYC during the RNC.

3. 7 companies control ~85% of the media in this country. It used to be 131, and now its 7.

4. Faith based funding

5. Yeah, I'd say there is. Its fairly well hidden by the 7 major news sources though.

6. Ohio in 2004, and Florida 2004.
1 Homophobia is not sexism. Homosexuals are out more than they were 20 years ago and people are getting used to them. The religious right won't be able to keep up the lie of the "gay agenda" forever.

2 Meanwhile there was very little violence, and those rounded up were promptly released. Protestors who didn't break the law mainly found the police to be polite and respectfull with few exceptions.

3 Corporate control of the media is a problem, but it's not government control of the media. Plenty of criticizm of the government gets into the papers and on the air.

4 Faith based funding is unconstitutional, but it's not like the're reinstituting teacher led prayer in school.

5 Show me a government that doesn't have any corruption. Yeah, I admit that it's there, but not at levels that wouldn't be found in most other nations.

6 I haven't seen any data that shows the Ohio vote was rigged. Nor has anyone yet shown me data suggesting that if the vote could be recast and observed by outside monitors Kerry would win.

could it be that a "new" fascism is being created? Let me explain. The definition for Fascism is well known and how can one safely become fascist when there is such a negative stigma attached to it? It is quite simple really you make sure that the definition is readily availiable for comparison. For example A fascist regime is headed by a dictator. The USA is not headed by a dictator as he can be voted out every 4 years a failsafe so to speak.Not so fast. What if ? The National committees knowing this basically offer the same basic man each and every election? Though the name is different they are truly the same expressing the ideals of the national committee. Is this perhaps why the USA is adamant about the 2 party system and does not want to encourage a 3rd party or more?

This will indeed allow the media and other "patriots" to shout we are not fascists look at the definition it does not fit!! There are always ways around systems and propaganda has a way of influencing the mind and creating much bias. I in no way am endorsing that the USA is implementing such, I am only offering a different view, a different way to look at the same thing.Just some random thoughts and ideas.

I think that definition of fascism is fiarly loose, but the USA fits almost all 14 points.

Doesn't fit the US nearly as much as you think it does. Does it have fascist tendencies? Of course. But that is the nature of government. Part of the reason it has so many fascist tendencies is because fascism is on the opposite side of the spectrum of communism. Both, however, are collectivist. Therefore, I despise both equally.
So you're a libertarian?

To be honest, I don't know how you could despise collectivism and statism and support Bush at the same time. Neo-conservative philospohy is rooted in militarism and the military-industrial complex.

the gay marriage bit came up and pissed a lot of people off.
They shouldn't have been pissed off because it is none of their business. As an "anti-collectivist", you of all people should understand this.

Fascism - A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

The only one that relates to America is the nationalism.


Not all Facism is Nazi Germany Facism.

[QUOTE=Daistallia 2104]Since nobody has bothered, here are the 14 points (and my comentary):







That has always been common in the US. However, it is not in and of itself a sign the US is fascist. There is a matter of degree. The US does not do so to the same degree as seen in fascist countries.



Same as above.

Point 1 - borderline (at best).



Nope.



Let's see: protests against the Guantanamo incarcerations and the Patrot act, the FBI and CIA ("secret police") have both said the military has gone too far in interrogations, the SCOUS is shooting down much of what the POTUS is trying to do, etc., etc.

Point 2 - no.



Key-word: perceived.

Point 3 - no.



No, no, and no.



No more so than in any country.

Point 3 - no.



No.



No.



Split.

Point 5 - barely borderline.



No.



Like not showing the military commiting warcrimes on TV?
No.

Point 6 - no.



Point 7 - yes.



Borderline.



Yes.

Point 8 - borderline yes.



No. (And all the socialist rhetoric in the world won't change that.)

Point 9 - no



LOL!

Point 10 - no.



No.



No.



No.

Point 11 - no.



No.



No.



No.

Point 12 - no.



Borderline. The current US regime does seem to be evidencing some cronyism and corruption, but not to the degree of fascist states.



No.

Point 13 - no.



No.



No.



No.

Point 14 - no.

9 "no"s, 3 "borderlines". That hardlty meets the criteria given.

Link here (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=7812079&postcount=107)

Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common.In the opinion of one person these are common (not defining) characteristics of fascism, appyling them to the United States is incredibly misleading.

The US still has a long way to go before it is officially fascist. If it does become fascist it will be in the most PC way imaginable and probably won't be called 'fascist'.

Y'know as in it isn't 'war' it's 'police action'. Women are free to do what they want and be what they wanna be...except for these things. That sorta thing, and a perfectly reasonable justification for each restriction will be given. Everyone will see the restriction as justified and won't question it. That's how I see fascism officially taking route in America (if it happens).

I will admit that a lot of what is going on in America seems like the starting points for some of these characteristics but there is a long way to go yet.

Do not call me a troll, or flamer. Read: This (http://globalresearch.ca/articles/BRI411A.html)

You are a flamer, just becuase of your generalizations. Not ALL Americans fit these criteria.

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism (One of my favorite bands is Anti-Flag. Does that sound nationalist to you?)

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights (I am against the USA PATRIOT Act, for Rumsfeld's resignation, and for the investigation of torture scandals at Abu Ghirab and Guantanamo Bay.)

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause (I consider myself a socialist and have friends who have lived in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and India.)

4. Supremacy of the Military (I am in favor of a huge reduction in defense spending, against the war in Iraq, and no how unglamorous military service is and have turned down several recruiters I have run into in downtown Chicago and at my own high school cross country and track meets.)

5. Rampant Sexism (I support both abortion and gay-marriage.)

6. Controlled Mass Media (I hate Fox News and most major news corporations and instead turn to alternative media sources and am an activist for fair and balanced media coverage)

7. Obsession with National Security (I don't know how many times I have tried to explain to other brainwashed citizens that this is just a tool to get them to do what the government wants.)

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined (I not only believe in spearation of church and state, but that a candidate's religion should have nothing to do with how voters make their choice.)

9. Corporate Power is Protected (I hate big corporations, that's why I vote Democratic or Green.)

10. Labor Power is Suppressed (I'm pro-union and that's one of the reasons I have boycotted Wal-Mart. Also see #9.)

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts (I am in favor of government support of the arts, subscribe to discovre magazine, and my sister studies nothing but the arts.)

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment (I am not willing to overlook civil rights in in the name of patriotism. Also see #2.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption (You're thinking of Republicans, not all Americans.)

14. Fraudulent Elections (Perhaps our election was fraudulant, but I wrote several letters to senators and representatives urging them to stand up and not certify the Ohio vote. I also plan to go to the Chicago counter-inauguraal protest, and, if possible, the big one in Washington, D.C.)

So while fascits may be in power, please remember that not all Americans are fascists.

You are a flamer, just becuase of your generalizations. Not ALL Americans fit these criteria.


So while fascits may be in power, please remember that not all Americans are fascists.

I AM an American.

You are a flamer, just becuase of your generalizations. Not ALL Americans fit these criteria.

BLAH

So while fascist may be in power, please remember that not all Americans are fascists.

Individuals are rarely fascist, even if they are in a fascist country. About the only fascist ones are members of the governing fascist party (and many may have joined because they want to have the benefits of membership to the party and aren't really fascist).

What he was mentioning were government policies and behaviours. Not the behaviour of every individual in the country.

"and no(know?) how unglamorous military service is and have turned down several recruiters I have run into in downtown Chicago and at my own high school cross country and track meets.)"

That is sickening and purely evil to say that. Whether or not you agree with the war, to not support out own countrymen should be considered treason. Their job may not be 'glamorous' per say, but they sure as heck should be respected for what they do.

Honestly, this sounds closer to the US during the McCarthey era than today.