Paying Attention

Herein be random ruminations on politics, history, ideas, spirituality, religion, education, media, life, relationships, culture... and Boston sports when I really want to vent.

"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." (ubiquitous)

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and never will." (Frederick Douglass)

"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." (Susan B. Anthony)

"Clearly the trick in life is to die young as late as possible." (William Sloane Coffin)

February 29, 2012 7:54 pm

FASCISM, AMERICAN STYLE

My point is NOT that Sarah Palin is fascist.  Though the “Christian Warrior” church she belonged to in Alaska is certainly fascist… and anyone who would literally wrap herself in the flag is surely shameless.

Nazism was not the only kind of possible fascism.  Each country going fascist would adapt it to itself.  What I saw with the Republican regime of George W. Bush and those who wished to replace him (McCain and Palin) struck me as the closest thing I’ve seen to fascism-in-the-making in America.  (I wasn’t around for FDR enemies like Fr. Coughlin or the Liberty League, so…)  This is just a partial list — not of debatable policies, but of attempts to create monopoly control over politics and information.  Like fascists everywhere do.  To wit:

Identifying your followers as “real Americans” implies that those citizens who differ with you (liberals) are not real Americans or even “enemies of the people.”  (Sarah Palin)

Having a news network dedicated solely to advancing your party and smearing, distorting and flat-out lying about the other party.  24/7.  (Guess who.)

Placing Pentagon officials on network and cable TV news programs posing as expert “civilian” commentators to drum up public support for the Iraq War.

Giving local TV stations free authentic-looking news reports to run (saves the local stations the time and expense of producing their own news) which happen to praise Bush policies.  Secretly paying syndicated news columnists to do the same.

The K Street Project, which used money laundering and extortion to try and  create a one-party system.  (Tom Delay)

Declaring as “Christians” only those who support a laundry list of reactionary positions on gender, women’s sexuality, nationalism, taxes, military, empire, etc.  (Most of the GOP and all of its presidential candidates this year.)

Putting your own power, success and ideology ahead of the interests of the nation.  (The entire GOP and its right-wing media machine.)

I’ll stop here.  Go back and look at the photo of Palin and think about the party and constituency she represents.  It makes Sinclair Lewis seem a little less far-fetched.

  1. habibtilaylaki reblogged this from aliyahloves
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  6. blissandzen reblogged this from arewepayingattention and added:
    has never seemed very far-fetched to me.
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