You can envision a peaceful fascism and a successful communism? That’s a vivid imagination.
I don’t really disagree with your description of a fascist government, but the ability to see a fascist government coming is the main issue in this thread. Could you be more specific on that part of it? I see that as the trickier point.
I’ve just read The Anatomy of Fascism by Paxton for a class I’m taking. My opinions aren’t set in cement yet, so I’m not trying to game you here - I’m really interested in outside views.
You do understand that the terms democracy and republic as used to describe a government are not mutually exclusive? And that a governement can be a democracy, but not be a “pure” or “straight” democracy? And that the electorate of today’s republic is much more inclusive than that of 216 years ago? And that with the ratification of the 17th Amendment to the United States Consitution . . . oh never mind.
And as a person whose father ate Dick, have a drink.
Well, I mean to say that it is possible that you could see a ‘fascism coming’, but it’s not a certainty. In the case of Silent Cal gradually changing things, I’m sure at some point it becomes noticable over the course of history that things are changing however if say Bush were to declair marshal law and then swiftly rewrite the constitution if could be over before we had a chance to really see it.
As far as our current government is concerned, I can’t pay serious attention to people who call it a fascism. As long as the political process is as open and free as it is, we are pretty safe. The Patriot act certainly is debatable as to it’s appropriateness in our government, but it alone does not a fascism make.
If we didn’t waste so many of our criminal justice resources on people who are harming no one but themsleves, and sometimes not even themselves (marijuana), we would be better able to deal with real crime – that is, actions actions that harm others.
