How much closer is our nation to fascism today?

[bobthedrummer]

I ask this question periodically, today it seems especially appropriate.

Consider Alito. Consider the SOTU address. Consider domestic spying and psychological operations. Consider the War on Terror. Consider stolen elections. Consider militarism. Consider the controlled media. Consider corporatism. Consider racism. Consider the neo-conservatives and the shadow government. Consider corruption and profiteering. Consider the false appeals to patriotism. Consider the economy. Consider realpolitik.
Most of all, consider history.

[Inland]

1. We are one terror attack away.

And that includes MIHOP or LIHOP attacks.

Said so for years.

Some people want the strongman so much they can't wait for our congress and courts to stop bothering Bush, for elections to be tightly orchestrated affairs, and all liberties sacrificed for security.

[BayCityProgressive]

2. Devleoping Stealth Fascism

If we just had a few authoritarian conservatives in congress and an ambassador or two that would be one thing. The President and VP are both fascist, the supreme court has at least 3 fascists, corporate media and culture are subverting the democratic process. I think it is coming in stealth because the majority of Americans are still not ready to accept it outright...

[punpirate]

3. Other.... We're already there...

... we just haven't figured it out yet, because there are no jackbooted soldiers marching in the streets. They aren't because there's no need to do so.

[bobthedrummer]

4. I know we could have totalitarian fascism in the near future

we have a new form of it already-there is some opposition, but it's been here for awhile.

[dufrenne]

5. As an Egyptian

who's been there a number of times and still has family there, I would say "not even close." America was no different than this pre-1960 (family values; fewer rights; less dissent etc; more media control). We called it a democracy then. I would invite you to a country of your choice in the middle east and see what you think then. I'm not arguing in the least that Bush is some sort of progressive (lol), but that the very fact that we're sitting here talking about this says a lot about the state of the country. I remember hearing some rule made up by a politician years ago. It went some thing like "the number and level of human rights complaints in a country is inversely proportional to the amount of actual abuse and infringment of freedom. I.e. in certain countries, North Korea, for example, no ody complains - not because they're happy, but because they have no freedom of which to speak. Conversely, in the West, human rights complaints are numerous, precisely because we are permitted to speak up.

We may not like the DIRECTION of the country, but fascist? Nope.