If you really wanted to be taken seriously with a list like this, you might try and actually score the U.S. and a bunch of other countries on these criteria. I think you would find that China, Russia, most of the Middle East, most of Africa, big chunks of Asia and most of Latin America fare far worse than the U.S.
On 6/3/06, Vivec wrote: > > > [14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism: > > 1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism Not just of fascism, but of traditional nation-states in general. 2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights No. We have entire organizations dedicated to doing nothing but policing the government for potential abuses. 3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause ?? 4. Supremacy of the Military The military serves the civilian political authority. It is up to Congress and the President to tell the military what to do, not the reverse. 5. Rampant Sexism Come on, that's just ludicrous. Sexism as a part of fascism? I would argue that most of the world is more sexist than the U.S. 6. Controlled Mass Media What planet do you live on? The media does whatever it likes. Unfortunately for Americans, that means lots of coverage of murdered blond teenage girls and other sensationalist stories. 7. Obsession with National Security I don't remember anyone slamming a jet plane into a building in Trinidad, or anywhere else for that matter. Maybe we're paranoid, maybe the world really is out to get us. 8. Religion and Government are Intertwined Waxes and wanes by administration, but there is no official endorsement or sponsorship of religion, even with the Bush Administration in office. Take a look at any country in the Middle East. 9. Corporate Power is Protected How is a feature of capitalism part of fascism? Once again I think you are mixing issues. 10. Labor Power is Suppressed Stop already, you are so confused. We have unions, but why join a union when there is 4.6% unemployment and there are plenty of jobs in the market. Unions have been in decline for decades. They served their purpose in the early 20th century. 11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts Not true. We have a huge arts community in the U.S. We have lots of stuff for intellectuals- newspapers, magazines, books. But we also have a true market economy, and what ends up being popular is lowest-common denominator fare like "American Idol". 12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment This one is somewhat true. I chalk that up to foolish "law and order" Republican policies which fail to address deeper societal issues. 13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption Far less than other places, e.g. our neighbor to the south, Mexico, or China, or India, or Russia. I could go on. 14. Fraudulent Elections] You read too many left-wing blogs. The Democrats want to whine about fraud but it always seems to be heavily Democratic precincts where all the dead people vote. -- --------------- Robert Munn www.funkymojo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:208061 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
