Can fascism happen here?

Are we in a rush to give up our individual rights in order to "exalt nation and (often) race above the individual." Are we headed toward "severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition?"*

"To those who pit Americans against immigrants and citizens against noncitizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of goodwill to remain silent in the face of evil."

Phantoms of lost liberty? A man is refused passage on a flight because he's carrying a controversial environmental book. A teacher, already in trouble for the heinous crime of showing his students the film Schindler's List, is interrogated 5 hours because of his anti-war views. These are not phantoms; these examples are real.

Substitute "the German people" for the word "Americans" and the statement above could have been mistakenly attributed to many dictatorial leaders, instead they come from the US's own Attorney General John Ashcroft.

It can't happen here, of course.

Let's see: social regimentation? What if a school forbids traditional Halloween costumes and are permitted to wear only patriotic fashions to school on Halloween. It happened recently in Topeka.

Forcible suppression of opposition? Besides the examples above, there's the man who happened to mention that he opposed president Bush and his policies. The FBI interrogated him at length over this expression of opinion, as they did others:

The FBI, you will recall, has begun knocking on the doors of an estimated 85 people in the Bay Area who are among 5,000 in the nation singled out as "potential witnesses." [Article]

These may be little things. But they're not trivial. Still, why shouldn't we ordinary citizens be diligent about defending our liberties, the freedoms we cherish but all too easily rush to give up in the heat of the moment?

*Items quoted in the first paragraph above are from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.

How easy is it to create a fascist state?

Ron Jones created a fascist state in his classroom in a mere week's time. How'd he do it? Here's a short outline (Click on a flag icon for examples):

• Reverse the academic order, in this case by requiring classroom answers be given in three words or less. Thus the academically challenged can rise to the top, while prohibiting those with the ability to express complex thought a platform for their ideas. This form of censorship allows the dictator to control access to ideas while not actually eliminating freedom of speech altogether.
• Create a sense of "belonging" for the new elite through exaggerated discipline and community; codifying behavior unites the participants as members of a select group; they will chose to wear unique uniforms and adapt different modes of speaking or greeting. This separates the loyal and obedient drones from the other. Constant vigilence (spying) for speech contrary to the narrow "community" interest (and punishement or re-education) insures success of the "community."
• Gain the compliance of the spirital or religious community. It's not that hard, actually, even considering the fact that Jesus Christ was certainly conveyed as an intelligent rebel himself hunted down by an oppressive regime.
• Create a common enemy to give legitimacy to the exercise. All that separates the "new wave" of disciplined drones from the perfect life is the elimination of this foreign group. Dissenters of the "new wave" are lumped with this group and eliminated.

Read Ron Jones' own short account of his experiment: The Third Wave.

Jones' book, No Substitute for Madness: A Teacher, His Kids, and the Lessons of Real Life is no longer in print, but you might be able to snag a used copy. A novel based on the experience called The Wave is available. The German version is evidently required reading in German Schools.

Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, Germany's justice minister has recently been quoted as saying, "Bush was going after Iraq's Saddam Hussein to divert attention from domestic problems, adding: "That's a popular method. Even Hitler did that." She is claiming that her remarks were taken out of context.

Still, the context is clear. Hitler came to power when the Nazis learned of a Polish Communist's plan to burn the Reichstag. Knowing that the building couldn't be dammaged all that much with the planned deed, the Nazis themselves placed bombs in strategic places to help the process along. They were successful in creating a common enemy in the Communists who "were out to get them." Now the people could start giving up their freedoms so that the government could have the power to deal with the "problem."

Could the Twin Trade Towers been the government's Burning of the Reichstag? You may want to read the following articles to make up your own mind.

Seismic Evidence Points to Underground Explosions Causing WTC Collapse

New York Firefighters’ Final Words Fuel Burning Questions About 9-11

And just in case you believe that the bombing won't start in Iraq until war is declared: U. S. Bombing Watch.

And why didn't the Government protect its people? Why did our president do absolutely nothing when he heard about the tradgedy of 911? Why didn't an "Oh, shit" escape his lips?!
The Most Comprehensive Minute by Minute Timeline On 911

Information and links compiled by jrmartin

More Links:

Lamentations on the Certainty of a Distant War

911 Censorship in America

Read. I beg you. That'll set you apart from the current scoundrels in office, who are only interested in reading the dirt on you.

Free Expression After September 11th - An Online Index

FIRE and the Aftermath of September 11

Bill of Rights - Know your rights!

"National Security" Toll on Freedom of Expression

Access to Government Information Post September 11th

ACLU civil liberties briefing on the Patriot Act (pdf)