Rising Fascism in America

We live in very frightening times. I have been very critical of many changes taking place in America since President Bush's "election" and the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Many things disturbed me, as one would expect - me being a liberal Democrat opposed to the Neo-Conservative George W. Bush. But soon, events and actions taken by the administration and its supporters were beginning to worry me in more than a difference-of-ideology way. Dissent of the president's actions were being framed as "unamerican" or characterized as supporting "the enemy". Things seemed to be getting worse with the invasion of Iraq, abuses of prisoners, secret prisons, warrantless wiretapping, harassment of administration critics, usage of mercenaries, and the flagrant disregard of the law and the Constitution. All these things disturbed me. But after reading Naomi Wolf's The End of America, I see all these events not as the isolated excesses of an abusive and incompetent neo-conservative administration, but as part of a disturbing trend leading to the establishment of a totalitarian even fascist regime in America.
I know that some will think that I am overreacting. But Wolf presents a well-reasoned, thorough comparison of recent events in America with the rise of totalitarian regimes and the destruction of democracy movements in 1920s Italy, 1930s Germany, East Germany in the 1950s, Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, Chile in 1973, and China in the 1980s and 1990s. Wolf argues (quite convincingly) that leaders always take 10 steps when their societies become totalitarian closed and undemocratic. These steps are as follows: 1) Invoke an internal and external threat. (This can be real or imaginary. In our case, the threat of terrorism is certainly real.) 2) Establish secret prisons. (Such as the secret CIA prisons that are being operated by the Bush administration. 3) Develop a paramilitary force. (Such as Blackwater.) 4) Surveil ordinary civilians. (This was being done illegally and it continues.) 5) Infiltrate citizens' groups. 6) Arbitrarily detain and release citizens. 7) Target key individuals. 8) Restrict the press. 9) Cast criticism as espionage and dissent as treason. 10) Subvert the rule of law. ( How many laws are being broken - we may never know thanks to the evocation of executive privilege by current and former Whitehouse officials and the "forgetfulness" of administration officials.
The founding fathers of America worried about the rise of an all-powerful executive. We may dismiss this notion "It can't happen in America... ...we overthrew the rule of a monarch and democracy is so beloved here..." But we should remember the lessons of history. In ancient Rome, the monarchy was overthrown and a republic established. The revulsion of the kings ran strong and deep in roman society until the rise of all-powerful executives came to power and Rome came to be ruled by an emperor. In Germany and Italy, Mussolini and Hitler came to power legally - though the use and abuse of democratic governments. Am I worried that Bush will enter Washington D.C. with an army and proclaim himself dictator-for-life? No, but I do worry that the damage that this administration has done to our republic may have closed the door on our open society in the guise of protecting us from a handful of religious fanatics.

A final thought: Right now, just by reading this, your computer activities may be monitored by government officials. Perhaps the words terrorist and September 11 got their attention. You might be added to a list whereby you might not be able to fly on a commerical airliner. When you try to fly, you could be detained, strip searched and held without being charged. If it is the whim of the President (or perhaps even a minor official) you may be labeled an enemy combatant and flown to a secret prison where you could be drugged, sleep deprived and forced to stand for days without rest and put into solitary confinement. (This is not considered torture by the administration.) Your family, friends and employer may wonder where you are as your detention would be classified as a state secret. You could be tired in a secret military tribunal with secret evidence that you and your consul are not permitted to see. Any contact permitted with your lawyer could be monitored perhaps by the same people prosecuting you. An overzealous contractor might "interrogate" you to death without much fear of punishment. This is a real possibility under current interpretations of the law. Does this sound like anything that could happen in a free society? This is truly frightening. This is NOT the America I learned about in school. This sounds more like what could happen to one under a fascist regime...