HOOK, LINE AND SINKER

 "American fascists claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution.  They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest.  Their final objective is to capture political power so that using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection."

                                                                      Henry Wallace, U.S. Vice President (1941-1945)

     Democratic republics are hard institutions to maintain, given nature's variables and human nature. The price requires persistence, patience, and boring compromises, even for people who "know" they are absolutely right.  Stressful times can be aggravated by a constant barrage of information from electronic media.  Sometimes the stress seems overwhelming, and people can be tempted to let strongmen who make a good pitch take over, even in America.  The survival of the United States as a functioning democratic republic for over two centuries attests to the solidity of our country's foundation, and to the willingness of we the people to do the hard, dull work of maintaining it, trying to rectify mistakes, trying to make society more inclusive.

     Each threat to government of, by, and for the people could have ended the experiment, but in every case people did what was needed to keep, even expand, our freedom.  We are in the midst of another such challenge, with our free society on the line.  Corporate and government power are merging.  The conflict now is between various personalities involved in the ongoing coup.  They will fight each other to the bitter end, because first prize is absolute power, and there are no booby prizes.  No matter who wins, following the "odd man out" rule, common people are among the odd.  So far we have always made it through, which is encouraging.  Still, the current threat is genuine.

     The authoritarian playbook never changes.  Keep people confused and fearful, willing to trust a ruling clique to get them through the crisis of the day.  Keep them unaware, because "ignorance is strength."  Convince them that resistance is hopeless, that the top-down order is "the way it is."  No matter who wins the power struggle at the top, the plebes stay outside.  We will be allowed to watch some of the more entertaining episodes in the struggle--the drama is a distraction.  Decisions important to us will be made by whomever wins the insiders' struggle.  We will be allowed to validate the results in the voting booth, because after all, we live in a "democracy."

     Unification of government with big business is Mussolini's definition of fascism.  Some fascistic rulers allow more dissenters to run free (for a time) than others.  It depends on whether the corporate state can maintain its power with overwhelming domination of communication and entertainment.  If the rubes stay quiet, there is no need for expensive political prisons.  On the other hand, there would be little to inhibit an American Gulag--it would make the rulers seem more powerful, and "God is power."  We already have a huge prison system.  The odd arrest in the middle of the night has shown to be effective at keeping the neighbors quiet...reducing thoughtcrime.

     Before Americans accept our own Gulag, ongoing occurrences of thoughtcrime must be cut down substantially.  Otherwise vaporizations and disappearances only prod people into asking difficult questions.  Abject poverty being effective at stifling dissent, current efforts to eliminate healthcare and social security, at the same time reducing taxes for the rich, are right on schedule.  The desperately poor are unable to organize rebellion or protest, or even to think clearly at all.  Cuts in public education are another manifestation of an ongoing effort to eliminate critical thinking in the society, ignorance among the plebeians being the source of the patricians' strength.  The combination of economic inequality and mass propaganda can effectively eliminate social thought among the masses.  Since people who believe they are free are more easily enslaved, "freedom is slavery." Many commoners have been convinced that all these assaults on the social safety net are actually in their best interests, and having taken the bait, they are being reeled in.  They are not bothered with having to think.   But they are also fish on the land.

     We who continue committing thoughtcrime live in times that are beyond exciting, they are downright scary.  There is a strong temptation to give up, to simply withdraw.  Some of us no doubt already have.  Those of us who have not probably cannot (short of a stay in Room 101).  It is tempting to believe the situation may not be all that bad.  But the evidence is obvious, when we are not distracted by the sideshow that is the struggle for supremacy among the elites.  When the drama is played out we will know, in no uncertain terms, who is in charge.  For those of us who have dared to commit thoughtcrime, the scene could turn ugly.  We might not need to undergo torture in the Ministry of Love, but we will be buried in an avalanche of alternative facts to the point where we lose our bearings.  With everybody around us seeming to believe the corporate doublethink, we could seriously doubt our perceptions of reality, at which time the rulers own us and we might as well learn to love Big Brother.