A reader from Independent Moderateville writes...
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Date: Sun, 05 Nov 95
From: paul <snip>
Subject: US Conservatives vs Nazis
To compare US mainstream conservatives with Nazis:
Is idiotic. I am fully aware of the new conservative mainstream, as well
as the ideas stated by Limbaugh and Gingrich. Modern mainstram
conservatives do not blame gays or Jews or blacks or Hispanics or the
poor or the elderly. They blame the well-intentioned but philosophically
flawed and ineffectient/mismanaged welfare state, a state which has
wasted billions only to make behaviors worse.
Conservatives have a class of victims which they are trying to protect:
all Americans who work and pay taxes.
As a white male, and an independant moderate, the voice on the right is
more attractive because it is trying to tackle these critical issues.
But frankly, more cleaning house would be in order because the left
has bequethed us a justice system which is a joke.
You ought to listen to them more closely, because they are only saying
what most Americans already know. In fact, the only reason for their
success is ideas, because no current leader on the right has the
hypnotic effect that Hitler had on the Germans. I listen to Rush
religiously, but I hope he never runs for office and I certainly
wouldn't sacrifice anything on his behalf.
I think you need to reassess your analogy, because it is deeply flawed.
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Dear Paul,
Thanks for your letter. I imagine most Americans would find your comments
more reasonable than my own on this subject. But that's exactly why I'm
writing about fascism, because fascism is managing to take over while
staying "under the radar" -- a stealth attack, as it were.
A key phrase in your letter is "they are only saying what most Americans
already know". Yes, the ground has been very well prepared for the
destruction of democracy. For more than a decade we've been bombarded with
propaganda myths about government corruption, decline of values, and the
virtues of the free market. With such preparation of the public mind,
there's no need for a charismatic leader to push the agenda. After years
of preparation, people "know" the myths are true. As Hitler said, if you
tell a big enough lie, and tell it often enough, people will believe it.
It is difficult to speak out against this propaganda campaign, becuase it
is so pervasive. The very terms in which people think, and the way they
phrase problems, are conditioned by the media. Speaking truth in such a
climate is like trying to de-program Moonies. I imagine you find my
attitude arrogant, and I apologize for that, but I can only call the shots
the way I see them.
Why do you refer to America as a "welfare state"? Its social benefits are
among the lowest in the industrialized world. Most other modern countries
offer some kind of universal medical care and much more extensive
unemployment benefits. If too much welfare were the cause of America's
problems, then you'd expect to see its problems more advanced in Europe,
for example. But you don't. Yet the corporate media beats the "welfarism"
drum over and over, so people believe it.
Consider the issue of unemployment. Are you aware that that the official
financial policy in the U.S., as set down by the Federal Reserve, is to
maintain a high level of unemployment? ... and that this high level of
unemployment creates a downward pressure on wages in general, thus
increasing corporate profits? Isn't it obvious that "institutionalized
unemployment" contributes to despair, social decay, and crime? I'm not
saying it's the _only_ cause, but can't you see that when the media _never_
emphasizes unemployment as one of the primary causes of social decay, that
this omission is deceitful propaganda?
You say: "Conservatives have a class of victims which they are trying to
protect: all Americans who work and pay taxes." Really? What are they
doing to help working Americans? They're increasing your tax burden by
decreasing corporate taxes. They're dismantling laws which protect worker
safety and fair employment practices. The fact is they're dismantling
government services in general, not to help you, but to increase corporate
profits. They are certainly making life harder for those who can't find
jobs, but that's not the same as improving the lives of working citizens.
The media itself is not a neutral reporter, and it is certainly not
dominated by "liberals" or "leftists". It is owned by corporations, and it
pushes the corporate propaganda line, even if liberal-sounding
personalities are hired to do the pushing. That's why corporations are
never pointed to as being one the primary causes of our problems. And
that's why what I'm saying now seems so bizarre to you... "What's all this
ranting about corporations? What do they have to do with anything?", you
may be thinking.
We're like the fish who has no idea of what water is, because to him that's
all there is. We don't realize we live in a sea of corporate propaganda,
because that's all we ever encounter. And we don't see that government is
dominated by corporations, not by liberals or conservatives. Just like the
fish, we're submerged and see only a small part of the world.
Try to imagine yourself outside the fishbowl, and look at things from a
longer term perspective. Look at which things the media attacks. It
attacks Congress, it attacks the Bill of Rights, it attacks trial by jury,
it attacks our whole constitutional democracy. If our whole system of
government is so bad, then why has it done a reasonably good job for the
past 200 years? Why has America become such a powerful country?
The fact is that our system of government isn't the problem. The problem
is that the corporate elite is tired of sharing power with others in a
give-and-take democratic process. They want to dismantle democracy, and
replace it with corporate feudalism/fascism, so they can run the government
and the country without interference. Therefore democracy and government
are being blamed (successfully), and are being rapidly dismantled.
Here's one of the major ironies of this situation. Government corruption
is one of the strongest arguments used to undermine our current system.
But the most obvious fact is never mentioned: what government corruption
really amounts to is the illegal interference by corporations in the
governmental process.
You might say corruption is when the corporate fox gets into the public
henhouse. The government is supposed to be the wire fence to keep the fox
out. The media blames the holes in the fence (corrupt politicians) for the
lost chickens, and the fox itself is never mentioned. A bit of an
oversight, I'd say! In light of this fox-blind propaganda, the proposed
solution is to tear down the henhouse altogether! So the fox can simply
eat all the chickens! Wake up!!
The alternative to democracy, in the current American context, is fascism.
Make no mistake. Why do you believe that dismantling representative
government is going to increase your freedom and your control over your
life? Why can't you see that the rapid decline in American life since
Reagan came to office is _because_ of so called "new conservatism", not in
spite of it?
Cheers,
Richard
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Posted by Richard K. Moore <•••@••.•••>
Wexford, Ireland (USA citizen)
Editor: The Cyberjournal (@CPSR.ORG)
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