Tree-Huggers are Fascists too.
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Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:
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 display
>>>>>>>>>>>>Just like in WW2. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>During WW2, FDR executed several German spies found in the USA in short order, and interred thousands of Japanese Americans--two things GWB has never done. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>In WW2, the Germans and Japanese were rallied into a unifying frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: Fascist Germans and the Japanese. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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.
>>>>>>>Just like in WW2. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
>>>>>>>>>>>>Just like in WW2, and unlike under GWB, where women have abortion rights, initiate divorces, and are in the highest leadership and advisory roles in government. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to 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.
>>>>>>>>>>We presently have a far more varied media, with voices from all over the political spectrum, as opposed in WW2, when media was concentrated, with the only prominent voices being pro-war, while folks like the despicable Father Coughlin were marginalized--as opposed to now, when MoveOn, Michael Moore, the networks (which feel free to make up lies about a sitting president to try to get him out of office). Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
>>>>>>>>>What an absolutely moronic point--what country is NOT "obsessed" with national security? And in a time of war? Look at the WW2 era, when people were told to be on the lookout for Nazi subs and to collect scrap metal to help defend against invasion. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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.
>>>>>>>>Yeah, everyone was an atheist in the forties. "With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God." --FDR's Pearl Harbor speech.
Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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.
>>>>>>>>>>I don't even have to go into FDR's personal background--he was born into wealth. Despite his anti-business practices, he lived the life of a business aristocrat and worked with among others the wealthy businessman and pro-Fascist Joseph Kennedy. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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.
>>>>Labor unions did quite well under FDR, but they were dying long before GWBush came into office.
http://www.demographia.com/lm-unn99.htm
FDR gets a pass! First time! But of course, GWB gets a pass, too!
11. Disdainfor 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 and letters is openly attacked.
>>>>>>Currently the Bush Administration funds the arts quite well, not to mention having the biggest Federal investment in education--FAR bigger than FDR. The US Office of Censorship did a booming business during WW2. We have nothing comparable to that today. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
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.
>>>> To say that being concerned with crime and punishment means one is obsessed is ludicrous--it's the government's JOB to be concerned with Crime and Punishment. (This is another of the real stretches in this article.)Unlike now, we did not even have Miranda Rights under FDR. Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
13. 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.
>>>>>>>>>>>There have been no charges of corruption in the Bush administration, no trials or subpoenas, other than the usual political bitching from the opposition. As for FDR, he remains along with Harding and JFK is considered by historians one of the prime examples of a president who hires his cronies (which all of them do anyway). Thus, FDR was a Fascist.
14. 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. From Liberty Forum http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?
>>>>>>>>>>>Lucky for us, both FDR and GWB won all their elections fair and square. GWB was not "given" the election by the Supreme Court, the Court merely upheld the law of the land which says--most libs don't know this--elections are controlled by the state legislatures, not the state supreme courts. Even FDR knew that
For anyone too dense to understand, I'm not claiming FDR was a Fascist--merely that this silly and biased piece of propaganda is in itself a tool used by Fascists, and can be manipulated to influence public opinion, something else liberals have in common with Fascists.
Actually, depending on how far left this guy is, he might say, "Yep, FDR was a fascist, too!"
I too love the style of conceding the talking points and then using the "logic" therein to prove that it still doesn't work, but lots of what was posted there is flat-out wrong.
With regard to corporate power, it is no secret that Fascist governments were notorious for Nationalizing vital industries. The Nazis did this quite a bit.
With regard to Religion and Government, Dr. Britt has a lot of explaining to do. Hitler's personal literature shows a great deal of disdain for Christianity. One of the Nazi goals was to establish a non-religious society, because they felt that organized religion was the creation of Jews, ergo the domain of the inferior. It is no secret that fascist regumes all around the world have executed all kinds of people across all kinds of lines. The Nazi regime executed the mentally ill, Jews, Catholics, Gypsies, and, of course, homosexuals.
The notion that organized labor is somehow a threat to fascism is also ludicrous. Unionization did not exist in America for nearly a century of our history, and not even the most extreme on the left argue that we had a fascist government around the time of the founding. By the way, the Native Americans did not have unions. Were the Native Americans fascist? Organized labor may have done many good things for certain groups of individuals, but they did not inherently lead to the prevention of fascism. Indeed, the fascists were largely fueled by the working classes in Germany and in Italy.
I would again return to the key differences between Nationalism and Patriotism in general. The terms are wrongfully used as equals, when in fact they are different. Nationslism is loyalty to a nation, as in race, while Patriotism is loyalty to a country, as in political organization. The implications of the difference here are obvious. Using Nationalism to describe Patriotism is a dishonest attempt to hoodwink the public into believing that love of country is equivalent to racism.
Curiously, Britt ignores the presence of various powerful government regulations in fascist societites that were aimed at bettering the public health. The Nazis were the first to prohibit smoking at certain social functions, for example.
I hardly know where to begin with the "disdain for intellectuals and the arts" business. One would truly have to be stupid to call this a common characteristic, given the famous stories about Hitler's insatiable appetite for collecting art. In addition, it is noteworthy that quite a number of Nazi officials were considered intellectuals in their day. For a group of peple who hated intellectuals and academia so much, the Nazis sure managed to amass quite a number of intellectuals and researchers to do their bidding. Indeed, more than a few intellectuals in America were sympathizers to the Nazi cause, largely because of its anti-semitic appeal. Anti-semitism persists among the intelligentsia to this day in some circles.
The only media we have in America that it predictably controlled by the state and atriculates a constant viewpoint is the NPR/PBS nexus. Ironically, I note that it consistently tilts to the left. The rest of the media has at least some component of diversity to it.
As a final point, quite a number of fascist societies embraced the pseudo-scientific movement known as Eugenics. Eugenics was concerned with the selective breeding of human beings to create physically and mentally superior offspring by design. At its core, Eugenics carries with it the classical elitist undertone that the government ought to be taking action to control the ability of citizens to reproduce. That is what Planned Parenthood was initially about, and one would therefore not be surprised to learn that Margaret Sanger, its founder, was a Nazi sympathizer. Amazingly, everyone remembers Father Coughlin and perhaps even Charles Lindbergh, but they curiously forget about Margaret Sanger.
Tree-Huggers are Fascists too.
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During the war, FDR imposed wage and price controls --- no bargaining for higher wages. He also promised to send in the Army when the UMW threatened a strike in the coal fields. Truman did send in the Army after the war to break a rail road strike.
