WHAT IS FASCISM?
The meaning of Fascism can be defined in three simple words:
MIGHT MAKES RIGHT
When the President of the U.S. delivers his State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress, he does it flanked by two golden Fasces.
These Fasces are mounted on the wall behind the Speaker's platform of the House of Representatives.
The Fasces, a bundle of wood rods and a headsman's axe bound with a ligature, remains an official symbol of the government of the U.S. (as well as being used by various other Modern Fascist movements).
The metaphorical meaning of the bundle of rods is the idea that the group is greater than the individual; that while one rod can be broken it would be very difficult to break the bundle.
The other, more direct, meaning of the rods is simpler & related to the axe. The rods are used to beat transgressors and the axe is used to kill them.
To expand on the might makes right concept; THE POWER OF THE STATE COMES FROM ITS ABILITY TO PUNISH & KILL ITS OPPONENTS. It is no coincidence that Executive power is based at the Capitol & Execution is Capitol Punishment.
The fasces was the symbol of Republican Rome; of the Senate & of the Army, predating Imperial Rome. Eagles were a favored symbol of Emperor & his Legions.
Fascism does not require a Dictator, what it requires is the unmatched power of the State against its own citizens.
I would contend that our Nation's first steps towards Fascism occured in 1794, during the Whiskey Rebellion, when the President of the U.S. led an Army against American Citizens. The Civil War was also an act of Fascism (I am neither pro-Confederacy or pro-slavery) due to the U.S. insistence of Union at any cost (despite the desire of the majority of the citizens of certain States for succession) and the application of violent force. The Confederacy was also essentially Fascist due to the use of violence against slaves & dissenting citizens alike.
Even though our record of protecting the rights of our citizens is mixed, we have been somewhat protected by the rule of law in this country. But recent events whereby fundamental principles of law (such as Habeus Corpus, coerced confession or inability to face one's accusers) are repealed or ignored bring us much closer to full blown Fascism.
MIGHT MAKES RIGHT
When the President of the U.S. delivers his State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress, he does it flanked by two golden Fasces.
These Fasces are mounted on the wall behind the Speaker's platform of the House of Representatives.
The Fasces, a bundle of wood rods and a headsman's axe bound with a ligature, remains an official symbol of the government of the U.S. (as well as being used by various other Modern Fascist movements).
The metaphorical meaning of the bundle of rods is the idea that the group is greater than the individual; that while one rod can be broken it would be very difficult to break the bundle.
The other, more direct, meaning of the rods is simpler & related to the axe. The rods are used to beat transgressors and the axe is used to kill them.
To expand on the might makes right concept; THE POWER OF THE STATE COMES FROM ITS ABILITY TO PUNISH & KILL ITS OPPONENTS. It is no coincidence that Executive power is based at the Capitol & Execution is Capitol Punishment.
The fasces was the symbol of Republican Rome; of the Senate & of the Army, predating Imperial Rome. Eagles were a favored symbol of Emperor & his Legions.
Fascism does not require a Dictator, what it requires is the unmatched power of the State against its own citizens.
I would contend that our Nation's first steps towards Fascism occured in 1794, during the Whiskey Rebellion, when the President of the U.S. led an Army against American Citizens. The Civil War was also an act of Fascism (I am neither pro-Confederacy or pro-slavery) due to the U.S. insistence of Union at any cost (despite the desire of the majority of the citizens of certain States for succession) and the application of violent force. The Confederacy was also essentially Fascist due to the use of violence against slaves & dissenting citizens alike.
Even though our record of protecting the rights of our citizens is mixed, we have been somewhat protected by the rule of law in this country. But recent events whereby fundamental principles of law (such as Habeus Corpus, coerced confession or inability to face one's accusers) are repealed or ignored bring us much closer to full blown Fascism.
posted by jaycubed at 2:38 PM
1 Comments:
THE POWER OF THE STATE COMES FROM ITS ABILITY TO PUNISH & KILL ITS OPPONENTS.
To be a purist, that is one of it's powers. Think about it; if that were a state's only power, what would it be good for? Revenge? Inciting revolutions? The state has other powers, which are ultimately backed by the threat of force. Power of taxation, power of legislation, power of judicial authority, and so forth. Also "opponents" is not quite the right word IMHO; "people who are in the way", or "people who are where the state wants someone else to be" often receive the violence the state has to offer.
Post a Comment
<< Home