It's generally not considered polite to use the f-word. It is generally used by people of low sophistication, who use it primarily to shock their audience when they can't think of anything better. It is used far more often than it is needed, but sometimes things can't be said any other way.
I am talking about fascism.
There is a well organized, well funded, and growing fascist movement in America. It is, as Upton Sinclair once said, "wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross".
First, let us define fascism.
Robert Paxton's definition is both clear and concise, although there are many other good definitions out there.
A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
The "religious right" as it is commonly known is not a religious movement at all, but a political one. It is the American form of fascism and should be recognized as such. Indeed, their goals fit Paxton's defintion of fascism perfectly.
Let us compare Paxton's definition to the goals of the religious right point by point.
Obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or vicitmhood
The religious right is very much obessessed with community decline. Specifically, they are obsessed most with the decline of the family. In fact, one of the major religious right, "Focus on the Family", refers to itself as being the antidote to the decline of the family.
It is not that they do not have legitimate grievances in this area. The family IS under attack. The American family is a victim of a class war which the middle class has been losing for quite some time. Wages peaked in the early 1970's and since then, American families have only lost ground to inflation and de-industrialization. When a single income of a blue collar wage earner would have at one time been sufficient for a family to sustain a middle class lifestyle, now it is difficult for two professionals to maintain the same lifestyle. Downsizing, offshoring, and constant relocation have destroyed neigborhoods and communities.
Furthermore, the traditional political defenders of the middle and working classes have failed to do their job. In the United States, that is the Democratic Party. However, until very recently, the Democrats have been little better than the Republicans in advancing the agenda of corporate America over the interests of working Americans. When the Democrats failed to back working Americans, working Americans failed to back the Democratic Party.
There is also an obsession with humiliation and victimhood. Although public displays of worship are probably at an all time high in the United States, and people are talking more openly about their faith than ever before, the religious right insists that Christians are being persecuted in the US. An isolated incident taken out of context, a foolish bureaucrat, or a judge who was later overturned on appeal becomes the agent of an atheistic goverment out to persecute believing Christians. (The concept of victimhood is often closely tied to the "stabbed in the back" narrative that is used by many in the right to explain the US loss in the Vietnam War, but I digress.)
If the insults and attacks are many, the perpetrators are always the same - liberals, AKA "secular humanists". Much like how Hitler blamed all of Germany's problems on the Jews, the religious right blames America's problems on the liberals. It is the liberals who are destroying America. It is the hedonistic, godless, liberals who are creating chaos in our families for their own amusement. It is the liberals who are after our children. It is the weak liberals who will betray America to her enemies because the do not want to fight. The list of charges against the phantom liberal demon grows larger with no end in sight.
and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity
The cult of the religious right is based on submission to a unifying, male, authority figure. Children are taught to submit to their parents, wives to their husbands (in the misquoted words of St. Paul) and everyone to God. Of course, when I say God, I mean God as interpreted by the leader.
There is also a zeal for conversion that goes beyond the Jesus's "great commission" to "make believers of all nations" as traditionally understood. Every believer is taught how to prostlytize, often times in a very deceptive manner. "Jesus Camp" is a wonderful example of the zealous indoctrination that the movement has for the very young.
As for purity, there is not only the obsessive focus on sexual purity, especially for young females, but there is also an even stronger focus on purity of belief. They have their own media, their own news, their own science, their own schools, (or homeschooling, which is often used to reinforce the notion of submission within the familiy) and their own worldview. In other words, they have their own truth. If the Bible says the earth was created in 6 days, 6000 years ago, then that's the way it was. The earth IS 6,000 years old. Truth is what the leadership defines it to be. It is the followers' duty to believe it.
a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants
The religious right is a mass based movement. Their doors are open and they welcome all who want to follow. They are inflexible in their demands and unyielding in their pressure.
While Christianity is internationalist by it's very nature ("There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" Gal.3:26-28) the religious right movement is strongly nationalistic. America is seen as God's instrument. Americans are seen as God's chosen people, much like ancient Israel. Americans are seen as potential recipients of God's glory or targets of God's wrath.
With this nationalism comes militantcy. The wildly popular "Left Behind" series glorifies killing in God's name. The video game is even worse. The religious right has put serious effort into making inroads into the US military. The Air Force Academy has already had several incidents of religious harassment. Many of the chaplains in the military share many of these ideals, and these are the ones providing spiritual assistance and comfort to our soldiers.
working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites
What better example of this than the relationship between the religious right and George W. Bush?
Bush doesn't really like the religious right and the religious right is uneasy with Bush, but they both need each other.
It is this one point that makes the religious right particularly dangerous. Their cooperation with the traditional elites gives them a blank check to continue their activities. The religious right gives the traditional elites popular support for their agenda.
- Wal-Mart doesn't want to pay for health care? Well, the power of Jesus can cure you! Folk remedies will save you!"
- It is immoral to raise taxes on the wealthy because those are the ones who God has blessed."
- The military industrial complex is arming God's solidiers."
- Most importantly, economics have absolutely nothing to do with the breakdown of the family. Blessed are the poor, right?
- Churches and corporations both want the right to be able to buy as much political speech as possible.
abandons democratic liberties
The religious right's attack on the ACLU is well known and well documented. While I personally do not agree with everything the ACLU does, I understand why they do it, and I respect that they do it to preserve liberty for all, and would fight to preserve the liberty of even those who hate them.
This is unacceptable to the religious right.
Many on the religious right do not only want to legislate morality, they want to take away our basic freedoms. The same people who want the freedom to pray in the classroom are often the same people who would take away the freedom of speech and assembly of those who disagree with them. These are also often the people who support denying of basic human and legal rights of others.
At the extreme end of the religious right are the Dominionists. Not only do they show all the the signs of fascism that the more prominent groups show, they actually have a plan to implement a totalitarian state based on their interpretation of biblical law. They would have a death penalty for homosexuality, a death penalty for witchcraft, a death penalty for adultery (I guess John 8 isn't in their Bibles.) and many other crimes.
It is here that I will say a word about the Catholic right. The Catholic right is not part of the religious right, but they share much of the same goals. They are often a bridge between the traditional elites and the religious right. The goal of the Catholic right is to enshrine the Catholic understanding of Natural Law into civil law. These are the people who are running the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) which is attacking the mainstream Protestant Churches and these are the ones who are providing much of the intellectual weight behind many of the ideas of the religious right. They are very much opposed to democratic liberties, and very much a minority among the members of their own Church.
Like in the 1930's, the institutional Catholic Church is mostly oblivious to the dangers. Once again, they are concerned with unimportant things. In the 1920's, a few blocks of Rome gave Mussolini a lot of leeway with the Church, now the Catholic leadership has an obsession with the single issue of abortion. As for the pope, Pope Benedict is no fascist. In fact, he is almost a pacifist, something the Catholic right does not want you to know. However, the bookish theologian took the wrong lessons from his childhood in Nazi Germany. To make a long story short, he believes it was bad doctrine that led Germany to Hitler, and that good doctrine is the solution, neglecting the economic and spiritual crisis that was necessary for Hitler's rise to power.
pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.
And it is here that it all comes together.
The concept of redemptive violence is a central theme in this fascist movement. The Global War on Terror (tm) is not about protecting America from "terrorists", it is about redeeming the Middle East through violence. American firepower paves the way for missionaries, much like how the Jesuits followed the conquistadores. It redeems Iraq from dictatorship, and redeems the Muslims from the errors of Islam and a certain eternity in hell.
Furthermore, violence redeems America. Religious leaders obsess about the virtues of the military and of military life. It is not uncommon for a leader to talk about how war will bring our familes together as we rally round the flag.
(Meanwhile, the elites say "whatever works".)
International law is irrelevant. Human rights are irrelevant. Constitutional rights are irrelevant. Just war theory is irrelevant. The redemption that is achieved by violence is self justifying.
...and us liberals are next.
What we can do.
Lest we forget, not everyone who is associated with this movement is a fascist at heart. To do so would be a dreadful error. Many of these people are greatly concerned about society and greatly frightened about the future. What these people need is an alternative vision to the apocalyptic and fascistic vision provided by their leadership.
Liberals must remember to stand up for the "little guy" in our society. We must provide our own vision for what this country can be. We must give people a sense of purpose in this society, and a true sense of ownership of what America is and what America can be.
Once before in our nation's history the spectre of fascism reared it's ugly head. However, Americans instead chose a leader who actually backed the interest of the American people and elected him to an unprecidented four terms in office. What America needs is not fascism "wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross", what America needs is a new "New Deal" and a Government that is truly that government of the people, by the people, and for the people.