Photo by Ryan Faulkner, Unsplash
Photo by Ryan Faulkner, Unsplash
Trump has started establishing America's "state religion" and his Supreme Court has made it official that skin color is fair game when ICE agents are looking for people to abduct.
Monday was a pretty momentous day here in the once good ol’ U S of A. And not in a good way.
Trump has introduced what he calls his “America Prays Initiative.” Which ostensibly means prayer in public schools is just fine. That is of course, unless some Muslim student unrolls a prayer rug and utters a prayer that doesn’t exist in the Bible Christian Nationalists are familiar with.
Trump insists “religion is under attack.” That is of course, false. It’s also the same nonsensical battle cry that the late Jerry Falwell Sr. promoted to defend his vision of one nation “under God.” Not coincidentally, HIS god. All other gods being “false.”
Anyone who doesn’t worship the god of the Christian Nationalists, by definition, cannot be a ‘true American.’
Also same day, the Supreme Court essentially made official what we’ve known all along: that there is a preferred skin tone under Trump 2.0. And it isn’t brown or black. The Roberts court has in essence made police harassment based on suspicion of non-white lineage legal. Just a small part of making America great again.
So we now have an official state-preferred religion and a state-preferred ethnicity. Forget about what that verdigris-covered old lady in New York Harbor says.
Back in 2003, a political scientist named Dr. Lawrence Britt studied the characteristics of the fascist dictators of the 20th century: Adolf Hitler, Augusto Pinochet, Haji Mohammad Suharto, Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco.
He discovered that their regimes all had the same fourteen identifying characteristics in common.
Per Dr. Britt:
- 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.
- 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.
That was compiled 22 years ago. So my fellow Americans, how are we doing?
Honorary crash test dummy for Hammocks R Us, intrepid toxicity tester for Laphroaig Distillery, mobile Javaslinger, moonshiner in training, part time writer, part time foodie, part time flirt, ponderer of all things Cosmic, hot sauce aficionado, skeptic of conspiracy theorists, challenger of balderdashery, antithetical to all things Trump, Fool Emeritus from Whatsamatta U, three-time champion over corporate evil, downtrodden survivor of the Coulter Wars, psychotic women, cancer, heart disease and my own poor judgement.
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