Fascism Is Not a laughing matter

One time that I think Colbert went over the line in his parody of a right wing extremist was in his interview with Naomi Wolf, (hat tip to C&L) author of the new book, The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. We needed more Naomi and less Colbert. Her points are historically grounded and her message is important.

Perhaps I've lost my sense of humor when it comes to the rise of fascism in America. Just because I was raised to fear communism with all my heart and soul doesn't mean that we should embrace the complete opposite. I kind of liked being somewhat free for most of my life and not afraid of the government. Our father's fought against fascism- was it for nothing? It is a lot harder to sustain a democracy than to take it down.

Naomi Wolf in an article in the Guardian back in April lays out the 10 steps to fascism in America. We are witnessing democracy erode and if we don't do something, it will surely be gone one day. Most Americans don't even see it because they are too afraid and our educational system is so poor that the majority of Americans don't know anything about the US Constitution. We are witnessing fake history in the making! In fact, when I meet people who tell me that if I don't like America, I should leave, I tell them to read the f*cking constitution and that I am staying... THEY should leave if they don't like it. But I digress.

There is a blue print that would-be dictators use for turning a democracy into a fascist state. History proves it.

Wolf would like us to take a hard look at European and other kinds of fascism in order to identify the fall of America. These 10 signs are spelled out in the article.

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy
2. Create a gulag
3. Develop a thug cast
4. Set up an internal surveillance system
5. Harass citizens' groups
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release
7. Target key individuals
8. Control the press
9. Dissent equals treason
10. Suspend the rule of law

The 14 signs of fascism by Lawrence Britt is also worth another read.