There are always interests that seek fascist power wherever there are profitable resources. Fascism begins with a greed for power and creeps through organic systems so that it appears as a grass roots movement. We may not suddenly slip into a fascist state or even choose it, but it does find its way slowly and we are better off if we can recognize some of the signs. Below are signs that seem to me to indicate its invasion.
When people vote for a party that has made it clear they have no value for civil society’s democratic institutions then you know that fascism has found roots in your neighbourhood.
When their leader says that people don’t care about their government being found in contempt of parliament then are rewarded with a majority, you know that fascism has deep roots in your neighbourhood.
When peaceful protesters are kettled, imprisoned and intimidated with threats of torture you know that fascism is supported with big money.
When the president of the world’s most powerful nation has to provide a full birth certificate to prove he has the right to be president, then you know that fascism is backed by very powerful big money and that media is its handmaiden.
When media incites hatred towards minorities – racial, religious, gender and sexual orientation, you know that fascism's brainwashers are prepared to invoke violence on their sleepy public.
When wars are organized that cost much more than the social programs being cut to pay for them you know that fascism is well established enough to spread seeds of division and ultimately a contempt for life.
When mainstream religions begin to protest human rights under the guise of some biblical verse you know that fascism has crept into the most sacred institutions of civil society and have turned theology into a weapon.
When the news headline reports a rise in gay bashing, the rape and murder of native women, the killing of spouses and children, the physical and mental abuse of patients, you know that fascism has undermined the mental health of society.
When politicians and economists say socialism must be destroyed and replaced with free markets you know that fascism has invaded the board rooms.
When environmentalists are lambasted and false science is broadcast globally, you know that, unchallenged, everything life depends upon will be destroyed for the sake of power.
This is how fascist power alienates the mind and the body . This is how power makes life redundant. If the fascist can't rule the world, he will destroy it.
But once power is turned around with an interrogation of structures instead of people, a celebration of diversity, expressions of loving kindness, and the majority of thinking citizens engage in the building of their society, fascism dies. Fascism needs humans to feed it with hate and fear in order to survive.
This is the great irony - no matter the extent of contempt fascism has for humanity, it only survives because we give our power to it.
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