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The 63 Characteristics Of Fascism And America's Development As A Fascist Nation
by joyfulwalker    Age of Tyranny News
Entered into the database on Saturday, June 24th, 2006 @ 18:06:26 MST


 

Untitled Document

1) Exuberant nationalism: the nation’s greatness leads it to be involved in wars; “a greater responsibility” raises the nation above constitutional law and international law. In the culture, patriotic symbols abound: there is a constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs and other paraphernalia; flags are seen everywhere, flags in public displays, flags on vehicles and clothing.

2) Both a disdain for and the sacrifice of Human Rights. Public officials manifest disdain for human rights. Speeches from government officials often mention the word “sacrifice”; 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 be insensitive to or even approve of assinations, holding individuals without charge, secret tribunals, long-term incarcerations of prisoners and summary executions. Media fails to report torture and people overlook torture as documented in the article: Death By Torture: US Media Ignores Hard Evidence (prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/031205torture.htm).

3) Enemies or scapegoats are identified as a unifying cause of societal ills and turmoil: the people are rallied into a patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat. Foes become racial, cultural, ethnic, religious minorities, liberals, communists, socialists, terrorists, etc. Once a scapegoat or enemy is found, then profiling begins and dragnets implemented to collect and detain the threats. Collective punishment is meted out.

4) Presidential ebullience; The President becomes a Messiah figure who declares a national destiny: the President gives glorious and stirring speeches often using words such as purpose, prosperity, security and freedom. The President speaks in terms of great leadership.

5) The nation is ruled by a Supreme Executive who exercises the supremacy of the president. Anyone who speaks against the President is said to undermine his credibility and places the nation at risk.

6) National Destiny becomes the Nation’s Ethic and the World’s Object Lesson. This is described in the article Arrogant Nation (.axisoflogic.com/cgi-bin/exec/view.pl?archive=93&num=17211).

7) Religious leaders and their institutions are tied together with the Ruling Elite: 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 tenants of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

8) Dearth of independent media; the institutional media suppresses the truth in all unrighteousness with filtering standards, such as refusing to print anything that is pejorative to business or government; war stories and pictures are strictly censored. Also, news managers capitulate to government pressure and turn over names of confidential sources of information. Lacking access to the facts and lacking an independent media, people’s perceptions and convictions are easily molded with the result being deception and people calling “good evil” ,“evil good” , “left right”, “up down” and “down up”.

9) The rule of a democratic leader is substituted for the rule of law: the nation’s constitution becomes considered as a relic of a bygone era; historical law are abandoned; and there is a pyramidal chain-of-command. The will, the word and the way of a “sovereign president” becomes the law of the land; the president exercises “presidential supremacy”.

10) Glorification and supremacy of the military over culture, education and human services; even when there are widespread domestic problems; the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding; military procurement is expanded; and the domestic agenda is neglected.

11) Police are militarized with gear, weapons and technology with that equivalent to the military.

12) Obsession with National Security: there is a consolidation and sharing of previously independent military, police, border, and foreign spy agencies. Both the military, via the Counterintelligence Field Activity, or CIFA, and the super spy agency, National Security Service, employ thousands of workers to maintain dossiers on potentially subversive individuals.

13) Corporations are shielded; corporate power is protected and corporations and government become one: the industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often is the one who puts the governmental leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

14) 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.

15) Disdain for intellectuals and the arts: academics is censored, curriculum is populated with courses developed with government friendly topics; liberal professors are let go or are executed. Arts are not funded. Only authorized text books are used. Eventually home-schooling becomes illegal.

16) Obsession with crime and punishment. Lower income, ethnic, religious and cultural minorities form an ever increasing prison population. Under fascist regimes, police are given extreme law enforcement powers. The people overlook police abuses, and forego traditional civil liberties in the name of patriotism or security. Eventually there is a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

17) Rampant cronyism; and corruption goes unchecked: 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 government leaders to use national resources; treasures and treasuries are appropriated or even stolen outright.

18) Elections are stolen via gerrymandering and ballot tampering: fascist nations typically use their judiciaries to restrict eligible voters or modify district boundaries; the software in voting machines is accessed and voting records changed to manipulate the vote outcome.

19) Doublespeak abounds: leaders say one thing, but their policies bring about just the opposite. For example, President Gorge Bush Speaking in Guatemala on 01/16/2002 said: "Citizens and businesses must know that the town hall is free from bribery, and cronyism and all forms of corruption.” (usembassy.state.gov/guatemala/wwwhfte5.html.

20) Denial of judicial due-process and denial of habeas corpus. An example described in the news article In Terror Cases, Administration Sets Its Own Rules, Eric Freedman, a law professor at Hofstra University who has consulted with lawyers for several detainees, relates that: “the position of the executive branch is that it can be judge, jury and executioner....the courts have given the executive branch substantial but not total deference, often holding that the president has the authority to designate enemy combatants but allowing those detained to challenge the factual basis for the administration's determinations. Currently, as of the date of this journal entry, both US citizen Jose Padilla and several foreign nationals are being held as enemy combatants.

21) Omnipresent surveillance: monitoring of peoples takes place through field or camera observation.

22) Permits become mandatory; permits become less and less frequently issued and they become more involved. A current example is that of construction contractors are fingerprinted and must pay large upfront bonds and fees.

23) On-going newspeak: leaders simply say the same thing over and over again, with the result being their speech is perceived as the truth.

24) Nature tampering: bioengineering. genetic modification, cloning and weather modification become government funded.

25) Government sets up its own news bureau and staffs it with psychological operatives who manufacture an appealing version of reality; propaganda, disinformation or misinformation is the norm; and denial of facts and evidence is commonplace. An example is documented in: Bush Administration Pushes False Propaganda, Condemns It (thinkprogress.org/2005/11/30/false-propaganda); and another example: Military Defends Paying Iraqi Newspapers (prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/011205militarydefends.htm).

26) Falsification of the past; documents are withheld from public viewing.

27) Thought police and snitches: agents go through library reading lists; emails and internet activity is monitored; people are encouraged or paid to report on others; failure to report on others becomes grounds for going to prison.

28) Torture and assination. Torture at Guantanamo was documented by three witnesses: the ACLU, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Many die under interrogation as revealed by the document: 21 Detainees Killed In US custody Overseas, ACLU Rreports. Some die under suspicious circumstances; such as William Colby former CIA Director (arlingtoncemetery.net/wcolby.htm).

29) Secrecy is demanded and becomes normal: The workings of government become increasingly hidden. Questioning of authority is discouraged at all levels of society. Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests are consistently denied (total411.info/2005/12/fbi-again-denies-access-to-pentagon.html). Loyalty to the government and one’s superiors takes precedence over obedience to truth and lawfulness (base.google.com/base/items?oid=8540963829309034437)

30) Cover-up of governmental misdeeds: When misdeeds are discovered, it is only sometimes that the perpetrators are given a public rebuke. Most of the time, the perpetrators are protected, not reprimanded and are often given promotions not demotions.

31) Intimidation of whistleblowers and journalists. Journalists are told to reveal their confidential sources or face jail time. Inquisitive individuals are summarily dismissed and there dismissal cases are not open to review as indicated in the article: Hundreds of Whistleblower Cases Dismissed Improperly, Group Charges (newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2654). Journalists are arrested or turn-up dead.

32) National IDs become mandatory: one must carry and present upon request national citizenship papers.

33) Profiling and screening. An example is, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, that reports that Bush administration policies have “facilitated” racial profiling, despite the president’s vow to eliminate the practice.

34) Patriotism is expected and developed through intimidation or indoctrination. (infowars.com/articles/ps/school_washington_pupils_given_patriotism_test.htm)

35) Subordination of the individual and all social groups to the political machine: Newspapers are bought out by national investment groups or tycoons. Internet servers of independent news media are seized and offices of NGOs are broken into and documents carted-off. Protestors are fenced off and kept away from sites where they seek to demonstrate.

36) Criminalization of dissent beginning with a denial of opportunities for political demonstrations; then as time progresses, protestors are quickly arrested, found guilty of such things as endangerment and unlawful gathering and given hefty fines and prison sentences.

37) Checkpoints are built and internal travel permits are required which over time results in a full blown checkpoint society.

38) Legislative bodies rubber stamp legislation submitted by the executive branch which has been developed through consultation with commerce and industry.

39) Judiciary tends to become active in support of state views.

40) Governmental activities are contracted out to service providers who provide specialized services; and contracts are written so that contractors cannot be sued for injury or misdeeds.

41) Those deemed risks to the state are sought and transported back to the homeland for prosecution; these prisoners go unidentified and held incommunicado; they: have no legal rights ordinarily guaranteed by International Law, are not given defense counsel of their choice or given no counsel, are subjected to torturous interrogation, taken to a kangaroo court, found guild and held indefinitely.

42) The President rises to power and maintains goodwill by soliciting sympathy from military academies, think-tanks and conservative voters. Once in power these lavish honor and enthusiastic support for him at conventions and at speaking engagements. An example is that President Bush received “sustained applause and repeated ovations” while delivering a satellite message to a Southern Baptist convention.

43) An emphasis on the ruthlessness of the enemies in order to justify ruthless treatment of others.

44) Development of collaborative allies, that is a “coalition of the willing,” in order to give the impression of a broad popular alliance.

45) Intolerance of dissenting views demonstrated by eliminationist speech toward political opponents either directly or by proxy. Talk show hosts Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh often come out with eliminationist speech; one article being O’Reilly Threatens Dissenters (.manzellanews.com/id248.htm) and another article: Limbaugh On Kidnapping Of Peace Activists in Iraq: "I'm telling you, folks, there's a part of me that likes this" (prisonplanet.com/articles/december2005/031205Limbaugh.htm)

46) In addition to scapegoats, the government manufactures alleged villains: “penguins” and “bogeymen”. Penguins are villains rise to reputed feats of epic, even mythic, proportions…much aided by various mainstream media outlets; these “penguin” characters become the supposed masterminds of great evil and serve as the basis of dragnets for police-state arrests of their “accomplices”. This is known as the Zarqawi Phenomena and is used to describe the events of one Abu Musab al-Zarqawi described on Alternet at: alternet.org/mediaculture/23359. The article, Who Is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?, found on Judicial-Inc at Judicial-inc.biz/Zarqawi.htm, reveals the alleged terrorist is an Israeli media creation, emanating out of Jordan.

Bogeymen are dissenters who are developed and deployed for nefarious deeds, once used and no longer needed they are demonized and then tracked down by the government.

47) Food Patent and Safety Laws restrict the cultural planting, growing, processing and distribution of indigenous seeds, crops and foods. National and international codes govern and limit dietary diversity; only multinational companies and their food choices are available, and this at a cost substantially higher than the cultural norm.

48) Militarization of the police who brutally and savagely act to quell dissent, meetings and social gatherings.

49) Economic power becomes so utterly concentrated that the bulk of all economic activity falls under the control of a handful of men. These support political action committees which support right wing politicians; and these reduce taxes and regulations on their friends in industry. Corporations purchase influence and obtain contracts through lobbyists as documented in the article: Abramoff, Lobbyists Linked to Troubled Multibillion-Dollar Homeland Security Contract. Thus, through “corporation welfare” a cabal of political and economic power rules the nation.

50) Congress caters to the interests of war-profiteers and energy companies as documented by Corpwatch (corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=176).

51) Criticism by insiders is bought-off via bribes. For example, The Yahoo News Article, Ex-DeLay Aide Cooperating in Bribery Probe, reveals Michael Scanlon, former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, pleaded guilty in a federal bribery probe.

52) Criticism by pastors is bought off either by threat of intimidation or by the tax-free advantages of 501(c)3 non-profit status whereby donations are tax exempt to churches and tax deductible to individuals.

53) Farmland becomes owned by a relatively few and the actual farming is carried out by a landless peasantry or migrant guest-workers.

54) Both mass enthusiasm and mass fear is whipped-up. For example, immediately after 911, development of mass enthusiasm came through Standup For America's patriotic emblems, marches, rallies and merchandise; and promulgation of mass fear via the color-coded terror alert system, the false statements made to the U.N. before the invasion of Iraq.

55) International journalists are restricted from speaking; for example on Sep. 21, 2005, U.S. immigration officials banned Robert Fisk, an internationally renowned British journalist, on his way to deliver a speech in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from entering the United States of America due to incisive criticism of the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war.

56) Security forces become death-squads which carry out kidnapping, torturing, vanishings and executions. Insightful articles include: Riding with the Bad Boys - The rise of Iraqi Death Squads (globalecho.org/view_article.php?aid=6006)

57) A so called “educational system”, which is in reality an “indoctrination system”, dumbs-down individuals so that students ever-study, never coming to a knowledge of the truth. It relegates important topics such as the study of the U.S. Constitution to just one day a year; and it never inculcates critical thinking skills. It substitutes teaching of values-clarification for the development of moral conscience.

58) Heinous Thought Crimes are defined and offenders are extradited from nations around the world; offenders are held in solitary confinement, tried and subjected to harsh sentences as in the case of Ernst Zundel (rense.com/Datapages/zunddata.htm)

59) Mercenaries become more corporate, more visible, and more concerned with projecting a responsible image and form trade groups such as the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA) which describes itself “the most ethical and effective voice of the Peace and Stability Industry.” IPOA spokesperson Doug Brooks says "I think the industry is a huge resource that should be tapped; there are times when government won’t send their own troops, but they are willing to write a check."

60) As greater use is made of alternative media, independent websites and radio programs, government spokespeople marginalize them as having conspiracy-theories or having hate-speech; then they are demonized as reprehensible and finally closed down for “incitement” despite their intended purpose of “insight-ment” as encouraged in the bible which advocates spurring one another on to love and good deeds.

61) People in fascist societies experience “mind blindness.” Lacking investigative desire and critical thinking skills, these “sheeple” simply believe whatever the media, or government or pastor says. Thus they wait to be told what to believe. Without asking or questioning, they take both insight and direction from “the authorities.”

62) As the power of the fascism grows, people's fear of persecution and intimidation increases. Fear acts on he "truth valve" of the mind to turn off a person's investigative reasoning. Thus even logical and occupationally successful people, after doing investigation, will say such things as the Reichstadt was caused by “Communist arsons” or the 911 Twin Towers "burnt down".

63) Patriotic youth are indoctrinated, called to national loyalty and stirred to nationalistic fervor by political speakers

Recognition to Lawrence Britt for his article: The 14 Characteristics of Fascism whose work was seminal in preparing this list: http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

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