5 Ways to Build a Fascist-Proof America

[katty]

5 Ways to Build a Fascist-Proof America

By Sara Robinson, Campaign for America's Future. Posted August 27, 2009.

If we want to build a fascist-proof America for the long haul, we must stand up now for everything we believe and everything we are.


EXCERPT:

http://www.alternet.org/rights/142250/5_ways_to_build_a_fascist-proof_america_/

The first question is depressingly easy. This is precisely where 40 years wandering in the right-wing moral, cultural and economic wilderness has left us -- and, in fact, where it was always intended to lead us.

A liberal democratic society is a complex system that's designed to be very resilient and self-correcting in the face of all kinds of extremism. But the health of that system -- especially its natural immunity to would-be attackers -- ultimately depends on just one factor: It cannot survive without people's ongoing confidence in a functioning political contract.

When it's working right, this contract guarantees the upper classes predictable, reliable wealth in return for their investments. It promises the middle class mobility, comfort and security. It ensures the working classes fair reward for fair work, chances to move ahead and protection against very real risk that they'll be forced into poverty if they can't work any more.

Generally, as long as everybody gets their piece of this constantly renegotiated deal, everybody stays invested in keeping the system going

[Peace Patriot]

1. She names a number of things we need to do, but no way to get there.

1. Pass health care reform to establish what a good democracy we really are, to keep the working class on board with the "social contract."

2. Re-establish the rule of law. Hold corporations accountable. Abolish the "war on drugs".

3. Get serious about investing in education. End the fascist tax revolt. Teach civics again. (Yes!)

4. End inequality. Reform immigration.

5. Restore our basic liberal institutions.

To quote re #5: "We need to focus on restoring our basic liberal institutions. In 2005, Chris Bowers noted that progressive ideology has always been disseminated through four major cultural drivers: the universities (and related intellectual infrastructure); unions; the media; and liberal religious organizations. Knowing this, conservatives set out back in the 1970s to undermine all four of these institutions -- and over time, they've largely succeeded in blunting their historic capacity to disseminate and perpetuate the progressive worldview.

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I don't know about you but I'm real tired by the end of this list. It is relentless with regard to what we need to do--to prevent a fascist putsch in America--but provides not a single practical, strategic action, or course of actions, to accomplish any of it. She does mention a few bills in Congress--GI Bill, and the labor bill. That's it.

I don't disagree with any of her goals, but I strongly object to laying out elaborate, difficult goals such as these, and not specifying any nuts and bolts by which they can be achieved. Also, she leaves out the single most important reform for restoring democracy in the US and putting the fascist nutballs back into their rightful minority dustbin, and that is ELECTION REFORM, starting with ridding our election system of 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by a handful of rightwing corporations, in all of our voting machines and central tabulators, with virtually no audit/recount controls.

"TRADE SECRET" vote counting isn't the only thing wrong with our election system, but it is the biggest bar to serious reform, and the most outrageous and undemocratic development in our history.

It is also something that can be achieved--and, indeed, has to be achieved--at the state/local level, where control over voting systems still resides, and where ordinary people still have some potential influence.

So that's my advice. You want to start restoring our liberal democracy? THROW DIEBOLD, ES&S AND ALL 'TRADE SECRET' VOTING MACHINES INTO 'BOSTON HARBOR' NOW!

That would be a real tea-bagging.

Just a note of encouragement: Latin America has worse corpo-fascist 'news' monopolies than we do. So, how have all these leftist presidents been elected mostly over the last five years, who, together with their people, are transforming Latin America's political landscape for the better? Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala--all with leftist governments. An amazing peaceful democratic revolution! They had the media almost universally and venomously against them. They had treasure chests of money--local and US tax dollars--against them. How did they do it?

Election reform.

[troubledamerican]

5. If Obama is Allende

(and I don't think he is, but there are situational similarities), then I think Obama knows that his first step is:

Stop the Cheney Sleeper Cells.

This explains Stanley McChrystal, for example: Obama is dividing the right against itself, co-opting key authoritarians who have fascist tendencies but are not necessarily card-carrying Fifth Column Underground Reich NSDAP.

In addition, a narcotrafficking view of U.S. history suggests that Afghanistan is a lynchpin of the Bush Cartel and of Neocon power-strongholds deep inside rogue factions of the intelligence community. It may be no accident that the Pentagon is (yesterday) urging a withdrawal.

Obama may, in fact, be striking at the very core of Bush Cartel power.

None of these options that Obama is pursuing are good ones, or even likely to be successful. A failure in any of the enterprises will almost certainly strengthen the Neocons. Pragmatically speaking, Obama may be inviting disaster if he fails.

But the media is fully co-opted, the courts are packed with Cheney Sleeper Cells, the State Department is packed with Cheney Sleeper Cells, the Pentagon is packed with Cheney Sleeper Cells, Mueller is an Ergenekon mole, and fascism is already in place, softly and quietly waiting for its moment.

[Cobalt-60]

6. The machines are pretty heavy

So let's bring the tea to them!
A liter of grandma's sweet tea into the data port really hits the spot!

[indepat]

2. Problem is 'puke mantra dictates the upper classes to be rewarded with predictable, reliable wealth

in return for their investments, but also a wholly obscene compensation for the highest echelons of management while workers' pay languishes, and a highly regressive tax scheme which further aids and abets the much further concentration of wealth among a relative few and: the spineless Dem's just roll over and let the 'pukes stick it in all the rest of us. :P

[Stevepol]

3. I agree the 5 things she names are necessary, but the most necessary is left out!

RESTORE DEMOCRACY BY DEMANDING A VERIFIABLE VOTING SYSTEM.

Without the assurance that we the people can actually elect the people we vote for, the five ways she mentions are meaningless.

Why can't people see this? Until people writing articles like this can always list voting reform as THE top priority, the US will remain always one short step from a complete fascist take-over.

The GA election in 02 was completely determined by machines. Do we want some future election to be determined in the same way?

Maybe if we get the 5-way wish list given, the atmosphere will change enough that we can actually enough of an informed electorate to restore democracy.

We can hope.

[snake in the grass]

7. I say the following:

1. Paper ballots. Even though we live in a society that preaches instant gratification, we can wait a day or two for all votes to be counted.

2. End corporate personhood now. And I mean right now!

3. Public campaign financing.

All other suggestions will die in their cribs if we don't free ourselves from the corporate shackles.

[winyanstaz]

8. excellent point....thank you

[troubledamerican]

4. "Fast buck" fascism prevails over "responsible citizenship"

Sorry. It's time to pack bags. Some DUers care, but the vast majority of sheep want to be led. The runaway train will not be stopped.

[Peace Patriot]

9. I don't agree with your dire prediction. I do agree that we are in big trouble--

and I think the very biggest danger is 'TRADE SECRET' vote counting, with virtually no audit/recount controls--our present system--which makes it EASY for a handful of rightwing corporations to determine election results.

I can't stress enough how much danger I think we are in. But I do NOT predict that the corpo/fascist scenarios for a second junta will succeed. My reason is mainly my study and research into the leftist democracy movement that has swept most of South America and half of Central America. These countries felt the boot end of US corpo/fascism for decades, in its most brutal form, and, more than recently, with "free trade for the rich" combined with World Bank/IMF policy (big time looting of public services and natural resources), and the US "war on drugs" (enforcement mechanism for "free trade"--providing heinous governments like the one in Colombia with BILLIONS of US taxpayer dollars for military and police enforcement of rightwing/"free trade" policies).

All of this hideousness has been overturned, in most Latin American countries, in less than a decade's time, by long hard work, by many people, on democratic institutions, especially transparent vote counting. If Latin Americans can do this--after all they have suffered-- so can we.

It's that simple. I am lucky to have paid attention to this peaceful revolution to the south. It gives me an example--a template--for how it can be done here. It gives me hope. We may be facing lot of trouble and suffering before we get our country and our democracy back, but ultimately the corpo/fascists can't win, because the overwhelming trend in this hemisphere is democratic, and also because of the deep tradition of democracy in this country. Our people are currently a bit mystified by the practical aspects of democracy, because we have always taken it for granted, and also because a huge effort of brainwashing has occurred--aimed more than anything at inducing feelings of powerlessness. (The fascist blatherers are not aiming to convince the majority; they are aiming to demoralize the majority.) Latin Americans--perhaps because their democracy movement has been influenced by the indigenous, whose motto has to be--in my opinion--"endurance"--and whose organizational idea is communal and spans generations (thinks long term)--have been much more practical, and more "communal," than we are, at present. Odd that we think of Latin Americans as impractical (--a stereotype--dreamers, romantics, emotional). They are the exact opposite when it comes to counting their votes. Total realists. We need to learn how important that is. It is the fundamental condition for democracy. And once you are able to establish it, change becomes possible. Not inevitable (that takes yet more practical work)--but possible. And without it, change is impossible, and the looting and the wars will get worse. That's WHY our system was privatized and rendered almost totally non-transparent.

It will take time, but possibly far less time than we might imagine. It really did happen in Latin America in an amazingly short time--5 to 10 years. Bear in mind also that they still have very bad corpo/fascist 'news' monopolies, in some ways far worse than our own. Yet they have elected leftist governments in country after country, in spite of the terrible media. Transparent vote counting. And "communal" or community organizing. And endurance--faith, strong spine. Don't let them demoralize you or anybody else. Resist demoralization!