America, or Fascism Carrying a Cross

A favorite quote of mine - one often attributed to Sinclair Lewis - says that When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. Of course, the idea behind this statement is perfectly transparent: Fascist governments operate under the premise (generally) of dictatorships and dictators gain power (generally) by justifying their creeds using either patriotism or godliness as their platforms.

Perhaps a better summary of the above idea comes from Professor Halford E. Luccock:

When and if fascism comes to America it will not be labeled ‘made in Germany’; it will not be marked with a swastika; it will not even be called fascism; it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism’

So that brings up an interesting point.

According to popular opinion, fascism is a political ideology that's considered extremely right wing and is one that promotes (among other things):

• anti-liberalism
• anti-communism
• the goal of empire
• positive view and use of violence
• extreme stress on the masculine principle

It goes without saying, of course, that I'm not a political pundit: I only convey similarities that I see and so most of my opinions are amateur and rudimentary. Having said that, however, I can honestly say that, given only the characteristics above, Wikipedia's version of fascism sounds a lot like America's version of Republicanism. Note, of course, I've picked and chosen particularly the points that fit my argument, and so it's only fair to point out that fascim is also said to promote anti-conservatism and an economic structure that benefits a variety of social classes.

So the Republican party isn't fascist. At least, not entirely.

No matter the source, however, - and yes, I even delved into literature written by fascists about fascism - it sounds as though American Republicanism is really just some kind of fascism lite.

Assuming you keep any sort of tab on American politics, you'll realize that that there's a very select (shall I say elite?) list of individuals that the Republican party hails as neo-messiah figures (nah - definitely not elite): Names on that list usually include Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole.

And, of course: John McCain.

For those of you who don't know, John McCain - the self-proclaimed political maverick - is really just an old-fashioned Conservative who lives behind the gild of moderation and independence. McCain believes that large companies and wealthy individuals deserve a permanent tax break, that the government should reduce spending in nearly every area except national defense, that the government should be completely absent in issues such as Social Security, Medicare and Health Care reform, that states themselves (and hence, powerful corporations within these states) should decide how much a person's labor is worth, and that the troops stationed in Iraq under false pretenses should remain there until the war has reached a successful conclusion.

Some maverick, eh?

How hard would I have to work to convince you, then, that Senator McCain also voted against gay marriage, against the abolition of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and against prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation?

By nearly all accounts, John McCain's warped view of today's world easily borders on fascism, and the fact that the country was so willing to hand itself over to such rhetoric is sickening to me, personally. But, fret not faithful readers: There is a somewhat happy ending to this particular tirade.

Recently, the NOH8 campaign responded to the enormous trend of gay bullying that's sweeping America by photographing a variety of common household celebrities, each of whom is adorning the NOH8 logo and is hence advocating gay rights and liberties. Many of the celebrities photographed for the campaign aren't inherently interesting in and of themselves; there were a couple, though, that I though deserved an honorable mention.

Cindy McCain

Megan McCain

That's absolutely right, folks: Both John McCain's wife, Cindy, and his daughter, Megan, oppose his views concerning gay rights. Never mind the fact that Cindy later tried to smooth things over by saying that her statements were only made for the sake of publicity: It's obvious to everyone in the world except for poor John himself that his views are archaic, rigid, and just plain discriminatory.

Perhaps Megan McCain said it best: Marriage equality is not just a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a human one. Get with the program, John: You're depriving human beings of their civil liberties much like - dare I say - a Nazi?

But who's really surprised by the fact that the Great White Hope of the Republican party is a bigoted racist with views that haven't been sensible since Deuteronomy was written? The fact of the matter is that John McCain is a great politician - a great advocate of progress - a great American.

When fascism comes to America, it will be called 'Americanism'.



Citations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_John_McCain; http://gaylife.about.com/od/politics/p/johnmccain.htm