A Fascist America: How Close Are We? Essay

The First and Second Red Scare of the United States paved the way for a long standing fear of communism and proved to be one of America’s largest periods of mass hysteria. Throughout the years authors and analysts have studied and formed expository albeit argumentative books and articles in an attempt to further understand this period of time; the mindset held during this period however is shown to be completely different compared to now.

In the duration of one year, 1968, the American national mood shifted from general confidence and optimism to chaotic confusion. Certainly the most turbulent twelve months of the post-WWII period and arguably one of the most disturbing episodes the country has endured since the Civil War, 1968 offers the world a glimpse into the tumultuous workings of a revolution. Although the entire epoch of the 1960's remains significant in US history, 1968 stands alone as the pivotal year of the decade; it was the moment when all of the nation's urges toward violence, sublimity, diversity, and disorder peaked to produce a transformation great enough to blanket an entire society. While some may superficially disagree, the evidence found in the Tet

During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under the presidency of Truman and Eisenhower. America underwent another era of good feelings as they thought themselves undefeatable and superior over the rest of the world. Communism was the American enemy and American sought to rid the world of it. Because of the extreme paranoia caused by Communism, conformity became an ideal way to distinguish American Culture from the rest. Conformity became a part of every American Life to a large extent. It became evident through the medium of culture, society and politics throughout the era of the 50s.

September 11, 2001 sparked many different feelings into the hearts of Americans. People sprang into action to seek revenge and protect America’s precious soils from another deadly attack by reinforcing America’s strength through her government. The men and women of Congress retaliated to the terrorist attacks by drafting and passing the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001, which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” The bill was moved through Congress with amazing speed and little hesitation. After the passing, the unsuspecting citizens of America were bombarded with many new rules and regulations that

After World War I, a new threat flooded into the minds of the American population. Communism was on the rise and it was causing a lot of concern within the American populace. The Red Scare was the nationwide hysteria in America, caused by the spread of communism in the 1920’s. This fear of communism bled into many aspects of American life. It caused the U.S. government to target any American who’s patriotism was in question, and it contributed to Americans' negative attitudes towards foreigners in the 1920’s. In addition to “suspicious individuals”, the U.S. government also challenged labor unions and intimidated liberal constituencies. The Red Scare led to a range of actions that had a far-reaching and enduring effect on U.S. government and

Joseph McCarthy claimed that, “[the secretary of state] has lighted the spark which is resulting in a moral uprising and will end only when the whole sorry mess of twisted, warped thinkers are swept from the national scene so that we may have a new birth of national honesty and decency in government” (Communists in the State Department) . In the twenties and fifties, fear struck the hearts of many americans. They were afraid for their lives, liberty and their pursuits of happiness because they felt they were being threatened by outsiders, communists, anarchists, and many more. When mass hysteria took hold the country during the red scares of the 1920’s and the 1950’s, the citizens of the united states started thinking out of emotion instead

The sixties seemed to challenge basic American assumptions; the value of hard work and of traditional family values. “Middle” America formed 55% of the population, earning between $5000 and $15000 p.a. They lived between the city slums and the affluent suburbs, and were usually up to their eyes in debt. They wanted the law to protect them and their property. They believed in good manners, in respect for authority and the flag. The changes of the sixties left many of them confused and angry. They were not sure who to blame for social unrest. They were the silent minority that Nixon appealed to in his election campaign, and they helped him to victory. They were the resentment and reaction byproduct of social unrest. They worked to ensure their property and found it unfair that the government gave money to the people that did not work as much as they did. They wanted law and order. They wanted a state that provided security, response to the insecurity they felt in face of the students movement and the liberal culture. They felt ignored by the democrat government because they did not benefit from the financial help, house and health security.

After 9/11, the United States completely revamped its entire system of defense, policy prescription and stance with regards to terrorism; both foreign and domestic. The Department of Homeland Security was created, direct militaristic action was taken against these terrorists and domestic and foreign policy was changed in order to combat the new threat. While much of this “war on terror” was fought far away from U.S. soil, that did not stop these new policies from affecting the lives of U.S. citizens directly. The most noticeable, controversial and powerful of these policies was the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act (Breinholt, 23-25). While the PATRIOT Act has drawn the ire of many U.S. citizens due to its far reaching effects, lack of jurisdictional or

The challenge to a variety of political and social issues distinctly characterizes the post World War II (WWII) era, from the mid 1940’s through the 1970’s, in the United States. These issues included African-American civil rights, women’s rights, the threat of Communism, and America’s continuous war effort by entering the Cold War immediately after the end to WWII. These debated issues led to the birth of multiple social movements, collectively referred to as the New Left, rooted in liberalism. In response to the New Left, a strong brand of conservatism, collectively referred to as the Right, arose to counteract these movements. Despite opposing ideology and convictions,

Another big area that we focus on for being controlling is Germany and the Soviet Union. It is hard to look past the faults in this countries Government when we have been taught about things like Hitler and Stalin our whole lives. Hitler for example, took people’s lives and even made the people of Germany believe lies about the Jews. He taught people that Jews caused all the problems with Germany and therefore should be punished and if you say a lie enough people begin to believe it. So, of course it is not shocking when people were not bothered by the segregation and hate towards a certain group of people. Or even when Stalin began to rewrite history books during his time ruling and making teachers believe that certain history events were

Nazism sympathy never quite spread over here like Stalinism did. In its pure form it stressed the brotherhood of the common people that made up the land. These thoughts were easily appealing to many people. Before the war communist and socialist ideas were quite on the rise here because the depression emphasized capitalism’s push towards the lonely individual and how free enterprise basically failed. Whitfeild refers to these communists who feel that they are progressives as Stalinists because they stand for ending American civil liberties that they saw as only for the upper class. So Whitfield argues that it is wrong to extend much sympathy to these American communists as their rights were wrongfully stripped away because this stripping of rights is what they aspired for everyone in the end. This new

Each country suffered losses; the damage done affected the United States just as much as it was intended to affect Afghanistan and Iraq. Due to the sustained hostility and additional losses, not only was America at war with another country, they were also at war with themselves. Conflict arose within the nation between its citizens and their government; those that were not at war struggled with their government breaching the laws that protected them and their rights (Zinn, 2007). On October 26, 2001 President Bush passed the Patriot Act which essentially allowed the Department of Justice to hold people, in most cases noncitizens, on nothing more than the grounds of suspicion (Zinn, 2007). Tellingly, this act was abused and many people were unsafe in the country that once offered democracy, freedom, and protection. There was nothing rational about the interrogations or trials that occurred following the Patriot Act, it was all very intentionally selective. Many immigrants, Muslims in particular, were immediately suspected of terrorism or terrorist connections and were detained for months regardless of the lack of evidence found (Warren, 2011). Although several people had dared to speak out against the unjust manner of the act, their voices went unheard and many of those who publicly questioned and criticized Bush were called for interrogation regardless of their citizenship (Zinn, 2007). Not

How Far Mussolini Succeeded in Creating a Nation of Fascists Mussolini became priminister in 1922. By 1925 he was the head of a stable government supported by conservatives, the catholic church and the king, His aim for the future was to create his own dictatorship, where Mussolini had complete control and was an all powerful dictator whom people aspired to. By 1926 Mussolini achieved his ambition of making himself the dictator of Italy. And parliament was fully under his control he managed to achieve almost complete control over Italy. Although he achieved this he did not create a nation of fascists.

Fascism is a hard ideology to define because nearly every modern government or political movement has been called ‘fascist’ by somebody.

The idea of control hindering individual freedom to an extreme was explicably shown in the World War I years, as the Fascist regime sought complete control over the state and limited the freedom of all individuals who held no power. This is shown in The Doctrine of Fascism, when it explains the Fascist approach to freedom. In the Doctrine, it says, “the individual exists only in so far as he is within the State and subjected to the requirements of the stay… as civilization assumes aspects which grow more and more complicated, individual freedom becomes more and more restricted” (Gentile 12) This quote shows that the Fascist regime, using its ultimate control, is able to eliminate freedom as their regime progresses and thus has a larger impact on civilization. The Fascist powers aim at creating a state that “represents continuity into the future” (Gentile 12). This serves to say that the Fascist state is one that implies that they will protect the individual and is one that signifies the future to come, a future that cannot be destroyed because of its ultimate power. The idea of having ultimate power represents the Fascist’s ultimate restriction of freedom. In a civilization like Freud discusses, absolute power could not result because this restriction of freedom hurts others. This idea of continuity into the future points back to Freud’s argument that people will give up their freedom in order to attain a sense of security. Fascism takes this notion to the extreme, however,