Copied from http://home.earthlink.net/~eldonenew/fascism.htm, green parts are mine.
"Characteristics of Fascism" by Dr. Lawrence BrittDr. Britt, a political scientist, wrote an article about fascism that appeared in Free Inquiry magazine -- a journal of humanist thought. Dr. Britt 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?', by Lawrence Britt, and appeared in Free Inquiry's Spring 2003 issue on page 20.
The 14 characteristics
1. 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.[Both Democrats and Republicans in the United States exaggerate the flag-waving and flag decorum compared to almost all other countries. Many Republicans additionally revere the traitors' battle flag.]
2. 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. [Disdain for human rights shown by Republicans in cases of caging, torture advocacy, elevating war criminals to campaign props]
3. 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. [Scapegoating is habitual for Republicans; Muslims, brown people, blacks, Hispanics, LGBTQ, and not the least Democrats]
4. 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. [Republicans immediately increased of the already ludicrously high military spending despite budget deficit increase after years of debt hysteria - and did so for no reason. Elevating SEALS above the law. Lots of generals in cabinet-level positions. Cuts to social programs, empty promises on public infrastructure.]
5. 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. [Not really necessary to elaborate, is it? Republicans check the box - their politicians are overwhelmingly white men and they often obsess about things like forcing transvaginal probes on women who try to exercise a constitutional right.]
6. 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. [Republicans: Extensive attempts to promote right wing media sources, independent media cut off from press briefings, interviews. Attacks on critical media as 'fake media', hate campaign against independent media, move against internet neutrality]
7. Obsession with National Security -- Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. [Republicans: check - Migrant caravan is coming! Scary brown Muslims! Seriously, they even used the "national security" argument against steel imports from Canada. "National security" talk has been on an exaggerated level in the U.S. compared to all European countries for many years. The only "National Security" that Republicans are not concerned about is security against Russia's intelligence service campaigns.]
8. 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. [Republicans: Evangelical leaders assert that the lying moron has a mandate from heaven, talk of 'chosen one', the Vice President is a bible humper etc.. Nothing about separating children from parents, taking away food aid, allowing more pollution, hatemongering or mocking the disabled is really Christian. This is a clear-cut case of box checked.]
9. 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. [The only really consistent Republican policy besides fearmongering and hatemongering is pursuit of plutocracy. Big businesses that politically support the lying moron get relief from import tariffs.]
10. 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. [Suppression and cracking of labour unions other than police and firefighters labour unions is a long-standing Republican policy. Republicans only targeted those labour unions for union-busting that were not clearly leaning their way.]
11. 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. [Republicans promote hostility to college-educated people, coastal elites etc - and their dear leader literally claimed to love the uneducated.]
12. 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. [Republicans: Clear cut check the box, particularly in regard to migrants. Most domestic law enforcement is not under federal control, but Republicans sure cheered the 'law and order' types such as the criminal Sheriff Arpaio. Republicans were in solidarity with policemen and deputies who killed citizens for no good reason. Other American politicians play the "law and order" racket as well, but Democrats very largely turned away from it.]
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -- Fascist regimes are almost always 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. [Republicans sure check the box in regard to cronyism and corruption. Accountability is avoided even by obstruction of Congress (not complying with binding subpoenas). The dear leader routinely self-enriches himself through the office by allowing bribes by foreign diplomats paying above-market rates in his Washington hotel, and other scandals]
14. 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. [Republicans are known for gerrymandering, voter suppression incl. voter caging, closing polling places in non-Republican-leaning areas, requiring ID to minimize non-Republican-voter turnout, resisting a law in Florida to withhold voting rights from citizens, rejecting suitable ID to maximise the effect, suppressing a decisive recount, allowing and demanding that foreign governments intervene in domestic elections on Republicans' behalf]
One might add the corruption and perversion of the judicial branch by appointment of hyperpartisan judges and smears against non-compliant judges by the Republicans.
I am past pretending that the United States of America are a Western country under the present president. They have a fascist government.
It doesn't take a 100% replay of Hitler or Mussolini to be fascist*. The characteristics - all of which incompatible with a modern liberal* Western society - are all met by the Republicans who control the executive branch, paralyse the legislative branch and take over the judiciary branch of federal government.
Their fascist government may not be entrenched well-enough to withstand the 2020 elections, but the fascist nature of today's Republican party is evident.
The United States are furthermore a most questionable ally (that habitually disregards its obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty anyway) against the threat that the Russian Federation poses to up to four EU members.
Europe may secure itself AGAINST the Americans in the medium term (3...5 years) rather than with them. America has a (weak) fascist government now. The USA are a THREAT to free Europe in the medium term perspective.
Europeans should stop considering the Americans to be allies at all and prepare AGAINST them. This requires a lot more ship-killing capability (primarily by air power, for the whole USN can only muster a few hundred naval aircraft), so we need to secure our combat aircraft against cruise missile attack and purchase a lot more anti-radar and anti-ship missiles (and not from outside Europe, including not from the UK which still cannot make its mind up whether it's American or European). Europe generally needs to devise and implement a strategy for resilience against precision-guided missile attack (we should simply assume that most missiles hit, regardless of whether they're ballistic or air-breathing missiles).
NO, (not yet).
Keep the alliance on paper, prepare as if it didn't exist for a while until the Europe-U.S. alliance doesn't help to dampen transatlantic conflict any more.
Keep the alliance on paper, prepare as if it didn't exist for a while until the Europe-U.S. alliance doesn't help to dampen transatlantic conflict any more.
This includes kicking all Americans out of European defence planning, keeping them out of multinational HQs in Europe and cutting intelligence ties to the same level of minimal cooperation that we have with the Russians.
Huawei isn't a trustworthy supplier of internet hardware for Europe? Well, neither is Cisco. That's a fairly mainstream remark by now, of course.
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I understand most Americans will hate this post and reflexively think of me as anti-American. That's a very convenient way of avoiding a confrontation with the dark side of the own nation (a side that all nations possess in varying degrees).
Nobody wants to admit that he or she is the bad guy, on the wrong side of history. Historical Fascists didn't think of themselves as the bad guys or on the wrong side of history, either. Yet there's no reasonable doubt that Fascists are both. So if the criteria for Fascism are met - and they are in this checklist and other checklists - then the diagnosis is complete. Change the ways of your nation if you don't want to be with the bad guys (or leave). You may still have a choice (maybe).
S O
defence_and_freedom@gmx.de
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*: By my experience, Americans are clueless about the meaning of political science terminology like this. They don't know what Fascism or Liberalism are. American English has perverted and distorted the meaning of such words.
