With Special Guest....Brian McLain

Posted by Jason Easley on 07.11.2007

Brian McLain continues his examination of the Fourteen Points of Fascism with a discussion of the use of enemies as a uniting force, and growth of militarism.


Editor's Note: Over the next several week's Brian McLain will be examing the "The Fourteen Points of Fascism", and how it relates to the United States today. Part one of his series can be found right here.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause

This tactic has been used constantly and effectively in the United States for decades, and is the single most ruthless destroyer of ideas, freedoms and truth this country has ever been inflicted with. Now if you might have just crawled out from under a rock, allow me to explain:

The first major push, as a country against a scapegoat, one wishing nothing less than the total destruction of liberty and freedom of the American people, took place immediately following World War II. Communism was a great driving force in American policy and constantly pointed to as a monster in the closet that must be fought against. Remain vigilant, strong, and patriotic, people of America. Have trust in your government and its actions against the tyrannical foe of Communism!

However as the Red Scare increased in the minds of the people, so did the incrimination of many who had a little less than the white picket fence American ideals, and Citizens began to see a witch hunt erupt. As the scare's intensity increased and wars raged on, people by mere hearsay were placed in front of publicized Senate tribunals, arrested for holding Communist beliefs, and Communism in general became the single most dirty word in the America language. Most journalists, by the early 60s, had adopted a method of writing invoking their patriotism first in articles in the hopes of warding off possible red implications by mistakenly criticizing an American value or action.

Now we have a new team to root against. We have a new heel to unify a chorus of boos towards at the mere mention of the name: Terrorists. This word is used as frequently by the government to direct certain actions and support for actions by the American people, though thankfully it is not proving as effective as the former Communist scapegoat.

The true danger that exists today, however, is labels and scapegoating that create in-fighting. These labels are used to remove credibility at an astonishing rate, and create a lazy response to any argument the stifles even the slightest amount of debate and instead introduces name-calling as appropriate responses. Let's test my analysis, shall we?

Gauge your mood when I say the word 'Liberal'.

Now let's try 'Conservative'.

'Neo-Con'

'Environmentalist'

Would you ever bring yourself to listen to any of these groups of people, knowing up front what label of viewpoint they tend to represent? Quite often the opposite is the end result. When those listening to the likes of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh hear the word 'Liberal', the knee jerk reaction is to immediately stop communicating effectively and simply pre-judge the person as not knowing what they are talking about. Further, many who have this knee-jerk reaction also discredit in their brain what had already been said upon learning their company's political label.

I know this because I used to be the exact same way. I was a hardcore Conservative and I went over to the other extreme and was a moderately strong Liberal, and in both instances I was pre-programmed to have the knee-jerk, Ann Coulter, ignorant reaction to discredit everything somebody said, will say, and is saying based on the information of one's political leanings. It was not the idea I was repulsed by, but the person's party. This is not healthy actions by members of a republic, in which intelligent debate is the key to its survival and success. It polarizes people, automatically pigeon holes individuals into categories of "likes" and "don't likes", and stunts the free flow of ideas, and it is under these conditions that the mindless masses are easiest to distract and to control.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism

The strength of the military is a bit of a new concept in the United States. Quite frequently the real method of building support against the enemy of the country at the time was building the US as the underdog. Even when we dropped the bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, proving our military superiority in the world, the United States still approached Communism in the 1950s as the monster that we valiantly fight against all odds. The US doesn't parade military strength in front of the people, but loves to parade victories regardless of legitimacy. The need for military strength, however, has always been a point to hit on in this country. More weapons, more bombs, more powerful bombs, the need to constantly monitor other countries through permanent bases such as Korea, Germany and so on.

It was not until President (or as I like to call him, Resident) George W. Bush took office, and a measure of pre-emptive attack was established that the power of our military was flaunted in the form of the ease in which the United States military can overtake a country. In other words, Resident Bush and many on his side acknowledged the American military as the 'sleeping dragon', and frequently used its strength as part of the justification of the pre-emptive strike doctrine. As irony would have it, our military is at its weakest point in decades, however now its strength is being flaunted. I expect the significance of military strength will continue to increase, especially as the federal government enters into a North American Union in an effort to justify the move as a good thing.

I hope everyone had a terrific Forth and I will continue my analysis next week, covering the characteristics of sexism and mass media control. Until then, vote smart, vote often, and above all else participate in the system. You might find you have more of a voice than you think.

Should anyone have the desire to drop me a line or find out more about me, please feel free to drop by my Myspace page or write me at [e-mail].

The Angry Scotsman