The Angry Scotsman: The Fascist States of America Part 1 of 2

Posted by Brian McLain on 08.09.2006

The Angry Scotsman is back from a lengthy sabbatical to do two things, chew bubblegum and kick ass...and he's all out of bubble gum.

Just to get this little, unimportant question out of the way: Scotsman, where the blue hell were you? What with the whole wife and kids thing, getting settled into a new job, finalizing things with school, and getting myself a spot on my district's ballot for State Representative, I was a busy angry scot. I spent my off time preparing this article for you and yours to enjoy and possibly froth at the mouth for.

Well, my friends, I had some personal matters to attend to and quite a bit on my plate.
Perhaps the title of the article really raised your ire, or curiosity, or both. Regardless, you are here for either reason and I am not expecting many shut mouths on this subject. A very damning, but frighteningly real charge I present in regards to the United States, its government, its citizens, and its (de)evolution. Why I make this charge is I have been asked the question, outside of the internet realm and within, as to what our dying republic might be mutating into if the Republic is, in fact, dying. This is the explanation I offer in a two part series.

Where do I begin to explain how the Republic began its unintentional march towards fascism? I begin with the 14th Amendment really. A good amendment to promote stability, though its passage is still in question with some conspiracy theorists and a good chunk of the amendment kept the former Confederate states stuck in the mid 19th century. It established the equality of men, but more importantly to the subject, it took the original confederacy of the United States and formed the unified nation of the United States of America. In other words, pre-Civil War, one might say "We are the United States of America", and post facto the same expression would be changed to reflect the new attitude in looking at the nation: "THIS IS the United States of America". The federal government was now set in sort of a top position above the states, though the only change was jurisdiction of the courts, local governments began to lose its flavor and interest, and the linear form of the governments became more hierarchical. Also out of this shift came a very famous, and to me infamous, slogan: "United we stand, divided we fall". Such a patriotic call that has been used for over a century and a half…and perhaps one of the most fascist statements I have ever heard. You see, it implies that one must stand together in order to create strength, and decent of any kind could only bring collapse to progress. This is a vastly different attitude than the U.S. of old, in which decent was what politics was all about: decent and compromise, discussion and debate. Though a harmless slogan then, from this slogan also such statements as "You're either with us, or your with the terrorists". So are you with the good guys? Or are you with the rebels and anarchists?

Let's go a little further into history, as xenophobia became the order of the day. Even if such folks were citizens, generations from their roots, if you did not act "American", then you were not American. Italians, Irish, freed slaves, Jews, Catholics, Chinese were all very much categorized, discriminated against and were forced (I use this term lightly, no one was really forced at gunpoint or anything) into ghettos, as their cultures were not welcome in the cookie cutter societies. There was a fear that such groups were coming in and taking over jobs and politics, but filling voids were civilized folks wouldn't work (boy this sounds familiar). Americanization was taught in most schools, citizens were required to renounce not only their own home country but encouraged to do the same with their culture. Those who refused to do so, of course, were the outsiders. It didn't quite stop there, however, as charitable efforts to imprisoning and separating from the "stronger" side of the gene pool towards the handicapped, "idiots" (a quote from Justice Berger in a ruling on forcible sterilization of a women seen mentally unfit: "Two generations of idiots is enough"), and any other fitting the societal mold as one unfit to be a good and productive member of society.

As Nationalism grew, a new fear gave the United States a real arch villain to fight against, the Communists. Used much like the "Terrorists" of today, people were imprisoned, tried, scrutinized for any association with the reds. Wars began for the pure reason that Communism was spreading, or attempting to spread, and the United States must make certain that this foe did not consume other peace-loving, democratic nations. With World War II finally over and the impending threat of Communism, a major change took place in the way the United States. Trained militias and their counterparts were out and the full time volunteer armed forces were born in an effort to speed up mobility in the event that the United States was under danger of attack. Fear is one of the most effective components of Fascism, as is the belief that there is a massive entity out there that is out to disassemble the ideals, hopes and dreams of the little, underdog society. Being kept down by these faceless powers that be is a great motivator to a people.

This is the first of my two-part special. Next week I will reference the "14 points of Fascism" in attempting to point out the frightening characteristics exhibited by our government over the past century or so. After this special edition I will continue with normal (?) content such as Scotsman's Mailsack, the Voltron of Bad Presidents, and the Super Search Words of the Week. Until then, this is candidate Scotsman signing off.