Hellooo... It's Like A Runaway Train And Everyone Just Keeps Eating Their Sammiches

Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine's policy.
The 14 characteristics are:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
   Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
   
   
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
   Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
   
   
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
   The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
   
   
4. Supremacy of the Military
   Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
   
   
5. Rampant Sexism
   The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
   
   
6. Controlled Mass Media
   Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
   
   
7. Obsession with National Security
   Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
   
   
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
   Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
   
   
9. Corporate Power is Protected
   The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
   
   
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
    Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
    
    
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
    Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
    
    
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
    Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
    
    
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
    Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
    
    
14. Fraudulent Elections
    Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Better Than You

Better Than YOU

Narcissists are obsessed with domination, and will go to ridiculous lengths to "prove" they are "better", "smarter", or "right". Since they lack healthy boundaries and live through others, they can only get self-worth in unhealthy ways, which means the feeling of self-worth they get is fleeting and evaporates quickly. They have to keep doing certain things to recharge and refill it. Healthy self-worth is lasting and is not easily threatened, and is built from the inside. A person with healthy self-worth does not need to "prove" him or herself as "more worthy" (better, stronger, smarter, faster...) than another. They aren't obsessed with proving themselves "right" and others "wrong", or themselves "accepted and approved by their crowd" and others as "unaccepted" or "outcasts". They don't go through life comparing themselves to others. But those who did not learn about their own boundaries, who were not taught to feel their own self-worth from the inside need to feel like they belong and are important too, so they look for other ways to get that feeling. Children who were denied this lesson of feeling worthy on the inside without judging, comparing, competing, dominating and proving, have been denied one of the most important building blocks to a happy and fulfilling life. They not only can not see their own true worth, but they can't see the innate worth of others either. They must relearn and rebuild their own ego health, and relearn how to see others from the ground up in order to find the happiness and lasting peace they crave. It can be a very difficult task when a person is surrounded by others who have narcissism traits, especially when the others react negatively to a person's changes (Narcissists live in fantasy hierarchy, so they HATE it when someone in their world changes, it ruins their character casting in their own personal movie). Rebuilding one's self-worth, and one's ability to perceive the innate worth of others, can be done if a person has the determination to find true happiness and stays on course in the face of uncomfortable change. The journey can look like a tunnel that's dark, bleak, and cold, but the light at the end is Golden.