The
Coming Fascist Surge
By Thomas Riggins
28 February, 2007
Countercurrents.org
How
often have we been told that when fascism comes to the USA it will be
wrapped in the American flag and spouting patriotic slogans and speeches?
I don't want to suggest that that day is near. If anything the center-left
victory in the midterm elections shows that the American people are
turning their backs on the the ultra-right and neoconservative extremists.
These ultra-right forces are not, however, about to give up without
a struggle and the left must not be lulled into thinking that fascist
ideology has no chance to gain formidable support from elements in the
ruling class.
The New York Post, for example,
a paper subsidized by the ultra right, has on its front page for Saturday
2-17-07 a screaming headline for an opinion piece that has all the elements
of classic fascist propaganda, familiar to anyone who has read Mein
Kampf or the work of Dr. Goebbels. The headline reads "TREASON:
Shameful D.C. vote aids our enemies"- by Ralph Peters. Inside the
paper his full article appears under the title "Cowards give up
on GIs-- & give in to evil." Ralph Peters is a retired militarist
who worked in army intelligence (he is a retired Lt. Colonel) and whose
pen is at the service of some of the most reactionary and undemocratic
forces on the lunatic fringe of the right.
What are the basic characteristics
of fascist propaganda that sets it apart from ordinary extreme conservatism.
It has five basic characteristics. First, it is openly antidemocratic.
It attacks institutions and traditions of parliamentary democracy. It
belittles those who are the elected representatives of the people. Second,
it supports a leadership principle, preferring loyalty to a specific
individual rather than to constitutional government (however much lip
service it may give to the latter). Third, it glorifies the military
and war, thinking violence is the way to accomplish its goals. It fosters
a cult of death (it is heroic to die for the fatherland). It
thinks attacking other peoples and nations is just fine. Forth, it fosters
racist attitudes and uses racist ideas to argue for its positions. Fifth,
it has no regard for truth and uses lies and misrepresentation to bolster
its positions.
Almost everyone of these
five characteristics is on display in Peters article and The "Arbiter
Zeitung" would have been proud to have such a writer on its staff.
That a major (although a financially subsidized nonprofit) paper such
as The New York Post is publishing articles that are openly fascist
in tone is something that should be of concern to all democratically
minded Americans progressives, liberals, and conservatives.
Lest you think I am being
an alarmist and unfairly characterizing Peters' article, let me show
how the five above characteristics of fascist propaganda are utilized
by this NY Post columnist.
First, Peters describes the
Congress of the U.S. as engaging in "treason." He writes,
"Providing aid and comfort to the enemy in wartime is treason.
Its not "just politics" its treason." This in reference
to the anti-Bush surge vote. He also calls the Congress members "cowards"
and says they give their "blessing" to the "slaughter"
of innocents. Actually he means the House of Representatives, not the
Congress, as the Senate did not pass a non-binding resolution against
Bush's surge. He writes, the vote is "signaling our enemies that
Congress wants them to win" and this "isn't 'supporting our
troops'."
This is an all out attack
on our representative democracy by the war hawks. The vote is a reflection
of the will of the vast majority of the American people who want this
senseless criminal war stopped and to attack the people's representatives
for voting the people's will is to attack the American people themselves
as being cowards and traitors. This is typical of the first condition
of fascist propaganda as outlined above.
The second condition is implicitly
met when you realize that if Congress is put out of the picture it only
leaves Bush, as commander-in-chief, with any moral authority to prosecute
the war. The Congress has "given in to evil." Bush's popularity
is down to 24 percent in some polls (according to last Sunday's McLaughlin
Group), so while the logic of Peter's article is that we should be supporting
our leader, he doesn't mention Bush by name.
Third, Peters seems to glorify
war and warriors. He writes thusly of attending a welcome home ball
for some troops returning from the war. The ball was "complete
with dress uniforms spangled with awards for bravery. Proud spouses
sat beside their returned warriors." These are not just regular
troops. They "bear the weight of the world on their shoulders"
willingly without any complaints because, unlike the cowardly Congress,
they know their "duty." I want to be clear that I am not trying
to be disrespectful to these troops or to their experiences and their
happy homecoming. I object to Peters using them to further his ultra
right policies which, in truth, will expose these men and women to more
unnecessary risk of death and destruction.
The first thing Peters saw
when he entered the ballroom was the photographs of 34 troops who had
been killed. "Soldiers honor their dead." Of course they do.
And no one disrespects American soldiers or blames them for the folly
of their officers and their commander-in-chief. But the simple truth
is that those 34 troops who were killed, as all the other causalities
in this illegal and criminal war, would still be alive if the Bush administration
had not lied to the American people and to the troops about the reasons
for this unjustified aggression against the Iraqi people. Lets bring
all our troops home ASAP so they can all be reunited with their loved
ones and live in peace.
What about the fourth condition:
racism? In this particular article Peters does not express any racist
attitudes. But in other articles he has. What is to be made of the following
comments. Referring to the disastrous situation in Iraq, one of the
reasons he gives is "The Arab genius for screwing things up."
In another place he opines that it may be the case that "Arab societies
can't support democracy as we know it."
Finally, an example of the
fifth propaganda trait of fascism (disregard for the truth). Peters
knows perfectly well that John Kerry's flat joke about being stupid
and ending up in Iraq was made with reference to President Bush, not
the troops, yet he writes in his article that our soldiers re-enlist
even though they know they will be going back to war zones, "And
no, Senator Kerry, its not because they're too stupid to get a 'real'
job like yours or because they're 'mercenaries.'"
As the ultra right becomes
more desperate at the prospects of regaining power in the coming years,
we can expect to see a surge in emotional, irrational fascist type propaganda.
We must expose it whenever we can.
Thomas Riggins
is the book review editor for Political Affairs magazine and can be
reached at [email protected]