As a Fascist myself, one might say that I have a keen interest in observing and even promoting these fourteen factors, or at least the majority of them. That said, I do not see any American organization effectively promoting a Fascist vision or program for our society, and I think the members of our political class have misused and outright abused the word so thoroughly that it is practically meaningless in normal conversation. Politicians and commentators belonging to either of our two main political parties each accuse the other of supporting "fascism" whenever they see a program that they disapprove of, and our only viable third party accuses everyone of either being "fascist" or "socialist" in more or less equal measure.
Likewise, I do not see the American government moving toward a Fascist system even incidentally. If anything, I would argue that it is generally headed in the other direction and that we are in more imminent danger of societal collapse, though if the government becomes sufficiently ineffective following the collapse we may very well see a resurgence of Fascist thought. The original Fascist governments, after all, were instituted in the aftermath of World War I, the Great Depression, and the rise of International Socialism.
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
OscarB63 said:
We have two significant political parties. We cannot even get a consensus of the members of
either party to agree that American land, American jobs, and American wealth belong to American citizens. I would say the Republican Party has somewhat of an edge over the Democratic Party in this regard, but only barely considering the powerful influence of the Unions in the latter. There is a strong undercurrent of patriotism and national pride among the common people, but it is not reflected in the actions or philosophies of our nation's leaders. It has become trendy to display the flag, but how many people really consider the privilege of being an American something special and unique?
As could be expected, I consider this a positive trait in a healthy nation.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
If anything, I would say that we suffer from an overabundance of concern for human rights. We have expanded the rights of expression and assembly to support nearly any form of public indecency, we have fabricated-- with the assistance of the UN-- all manner of impossible and unreasonable human rights that violate our national sovereignty and in some cases the principles of good common sense, and nearly every political argument in America hinges on some perceived notion of rights or entitlement. The former administration said some disturbing things about the supposed "human rights" of our enemies in the War on Terror, but actual abuses were extremely limited in scale and largely the result of unprofessional individuals, which were duly investigated and prosecuted.
Relating back to the first point, we are so concerned with the "human rights" of criminal invaders and their offspring that we're not even willing to enforce our own laws and our Federal government sues State agencies that attempt to do so.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
Our enemies are too nebulous to properly identify and our leaders keep reminding us that the most likely scapegoats
aren't our enemies. Our leaders are constantly urging us to tolerance.
4. Supremacy of the Military
OscarB63 said:
is this necessarily a bad thing?
The anti-war protesters are a little bit better than they were forty years ago, but military service is still a long way from being a prestigious career. The way they are misused by civilian authorities shows a profound disrespect for military professionalism and prowess, in my opinion. I agree with Oscar that this is not necessarily a bad thing, and indeed I believe that the military should be more involved in the government's decision-making processes. The mishandling of the war in Iraq by civilian officials underlies the importance of giving the military more autonomy in its own affairs and more authority in matters of national security.
There are lingering issues, but overall American society is liberal in this regard. Is this really an identifying characteristic of Fascism, however? It seems to me that all of the definitive Fascist regimes were no more sexist than was to be expected for their time and place. The rise of Italian Fascism took place at the same time that the United States started seriously considering the issue of allowing women to vote.
The mass media is controlled, but certainly not by the government. It is controlled by multinational corporations that are largely not held accountable to State interests.
7. Obsession with National Security
OscarB63 said:
again, is this a bad thing?
Yeah, I would say this is an accurate description of America at present. The World Trade Center attacks really put rabbit's blood in us, far out of proportion to the lives lost or damage done. On the other hand, back to my earlier points... where the Hell is the border security? That's one of the most basic functions of the State and we've dropped the ball so hard we can't even
find it anymore.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
Not even close. Politicians with religious convictions use those convictions to help inform their policy stances, but that is to be expected under any governmental system. There is a worrying trend among religious fundamentalists attempting to infiltrate the military and subvert it to their own evangelical and theological ends, but at this point they do not exert any real control.
9. Corporate Power is Protected
Absolutely. It's been that way since before Lincoln.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
The Unions have so much power that in some States there are actually laws put in place establishing that people have the right
not to belong to a Union. The only piece of serious Union business currently before the government involves whether or not the Unions should be given even
more power.
Personally, I do not see this as a defining characteristic of Fascism as long as the Labor Unions, like the Corporations, are required to operate under the guidance of the State.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
OscarB63 said:
American as apple pie. Once upon a time, there was a group of Americans who called themselves the Know-Nothings as if it were something to be proud of. I would also like to draw a distinction between "disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts" and the much more sensible and practical disdain for the subversives in academia and the disgusting filth that passes itself off as much of modern art. Our entire institution of higher learning was hijacked by anti-American radicals in the Sixties and Seventies and they are still in control of it. It's also worth remembering that nearly every controversial artwork-- "art" that was nothing more than a thinly veiled excuse to assault the sensibilities of the viewers-- was not only permitted and displayed, it was subsidized by the government.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
OscarB63 said:
This one is clearly present. Most Americans would find it nearly impossible to believe that the crime rate is much lower than it was fifty or sixty years ago, and any attempts at reform of the prison system in order to make it a more functional institution-- such as psychologically effective rehabilitation programs-- is dismissed as being "soft" on crime. On the other hand, this principle often rubs up against our overweening concern for human rights, and when the two principles collide, human rights almost always turns up victorious at the expense of lawful order and decent society.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
I'd say this is more a defining characteristic of government than of Fascism in specific. Also, thoroughly present in the American government.
The election process in this country is a farce. Elections have been almost wholly fraudulent since long before I was born. This is, in fact, one of the reasons that I am a Fascist-- because I have seen firsthand the evidence of the fact that democracy does not work.