American Fascism
Coverage of the Super Bowl began last night with a patriotic segment featuring various people reading lines from the entire Declaration of Independence. I thought it was kind of odd, since we were about to watch a football game, which didn't really have anything to do with our separation from the king of England. Then I figured out that it must have had something to do with the significance of Philadelphia and New England in the American Revolution (for those who don't know, that's where the two teams playing in the Super Bowl were from). That makes sense I guess, but it was clear that wasn't the only reason. I've noticed that every major sporting event seems to begin with some sort of propaganda lately.There were a couple of people reading from the Declaration who didn't seem to fit with the others (mostly sports figures) who were reading. One person was a representative from the group "Focus on the Family," whose leader, Dr. James Dobson, made headlines recently by warning of the homosexual agenda being promoted by SpongeBob Squarepants. I suspect that he was inserted there as part of a propaganda campaign by the religious right, who want to focus on the use of the words "created" and "creator" in the Declaration as a justification for turning America into a theocracy. They ignore everything else that the founding fathers (who were products of the Enlightenment) had to say about the necessity to separate church and state.
As I was pondering why they might want to insert a propaganda piece just before the big game, I began to think about the dangers of extreme American nationalism. I'm all for patriotism, mind you, but maniacal nationalism can only lead to bad things. We saw it happen with the Nazis, the Italian fascists, and the Stalinists in Russia. Nationalism has a bad habit of leading to imperialism, which by definition leads to war and bloodshed. There is a certain nationalism taking hold in certain segments of America, and it is quite troubling.
Here is a must read article on the potential for fascism in America. This article is from the American Conservative magazine, and the title should tell you which side of the political spectrum they are on. Maybe there are some conservatives capable of being reasonable. hmmm...
One point that the article makes is that the neo-conservatives are willing to destroy democracy at home in order to spread it abroad. They extol the virtues of freedom and democracy, yet at home they do everything they can to stifle dissent and limit freedoms (ever hear of the Patriot Act?). Bush gives speeches at taxpayer-funded events and issues blacklists to prevent any democrats or others who disagree with him from attending.
There are even people out there who feel that people like me should be put in jail for expressing my views about the Bush administration. I am of the opinion that dissent is the greatest expression of patriotism in America. Anyone who feels that people who disagree with the government should be silenced is a traitor and deserves to be executed. Okay, so that's a bit extreme, but it's exactly the kind of thing these rightwing nutjobs would say about me for speaking out against Bush.
To close, a quote from President Teddy Roosevelt (who, might I add, was a Republican):
"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."
"Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star",
May 7, 1918
posted by Skrambled Egghead Reborn @ 2:09 PM
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