Totalitarian politics have been a topic of public discussion and debate in America in the past. In the 1930s and 1940s, news papers and prominent officials and popular media all thought about the possibility of totalitarian politics in America. Elements of totalitarian politics were creeping into the everyday life of Americans -- and those politics were supported by certain elements of the population. I used to assign It Can't Happen Here, which was originally published in 1935. It represents the fears of totalitarian politics that some people had. Famously, one character in the book says something like: "When fascism comes to America, it will be holding a cross and wrapped in the flag." That same book was re-released in 2005 and, similar to the late 1930s, people have once again started to discuss the possibility that American politics are becoming totalitarian [see this, this, this, this, this]. Some people are concerned that totalitarian politics unique to the American situation is creeping into everyday life.
Look over some of the weblinks above. Reflect a moment. Write a bit.
What do you think about this possibility? Is it possible that American politics are becoming totalitarian? If you think there is a possibility, what do you think totalitarian politics would look like? What are some examples you might look out for? Or, if you think that this is just crazy talk and that totalitarian politics are definitely not creeping into American politics, why not? What do you think prevents totalitarian politics from creeping in? Why do you think these other folks are miss-reading the situation in America right now?
There isn’t a possibility of America becoming totalitarian, it’s a reality that’s manifesting itself more and more every day. Contrary to what public education and media purport, America is not “home of the free” and individualism only extends as far as it benefits the bourgeoisie. Citizens are afforded rights based off their socioeconomic status as well as race and nation of origin. Black men are killed by the police for petty crimes or even no crime at all. Looking “suspicious” is grounds for murder. When citizens challenge this in the form of peaceful protests, such as Ferguson, police corruption and brutality ensue; the very phenomenon people are protesting is blatantly broadcasted on social media and news outlets, and nothing changes legislatively. The NSA is becoming increasingly more invasive, and privacy is a thing of the past. Capital punishment is legal, and there have been cases of cognitively disabled people being executed by the state. A more subtle example of the “soft” totalitarian practiced in the US is marijuana prohibition. Despite the fact that marijuana is far safer than alcohol and tobacco, has medicinal properties, and is of spiritual significance to many, it remains illegal. It is asinine that there are people serving life sentences for non-violent marijuana “crimes” yet we are conditioned to accept this as acceptable and even necessary for the wellbeing of society. What would you call a government that arrests, imprisons, and essentially ruins the lives of individuals who use, produce, or sell a plant other than totalitarian? What would America look like if it were totalitarian? Put an anti-communist, pro-socialist bumper sticker on your car and see how long it takes before you need to file an insurance claim. In America, you’re free to consume, not to think. We’re already totalitarian, and like North Koreans, we’re just blissfully unaware.
ReplyDeleteMoriah Smith; PSCI 100.05
I think that America displays some soft totalitarian qualities. I checked out those articles and some mention how yeah its ridiculous that America could be fascist, and then refer to the original description of what real fascism/totalitarianism is. obession in unity, destruction of the individual, total control by elite members of society, etc. But yeah we have some qualities like that, the government spying (NSA), government/political control of media creating biases (them showing what they want you to see), all the conspiracy theories about american government, lies, and keeping citizens in the dark could all be examples of totalitarianism. I found one of the articles interesting saying how the inefficiency in our politics can give rise to different extremist groups, which then can then cause more violence due to country mismanagement. Also what stuck with me was how fascism/totalitarianism was like a political religion. So if fascism comes to america i think it might look like extreme christian and conservative republican rich white old men (Donald Trump) wearing crosses, wearing robes made of american flags. I tend to find myself seeing the republican party forming into fascism, due to having strong ties with like moral/religion beliefs combined with their political views which could turn into a political religion/totalitarian type situation, religion itself causes so much strict rule/control/power struggle and violence in the world so I think it could be a big influence in future fascism in america if it does come?
ReplyDeleteHolly Campbell
PSCI 100:05
I believe America is some type of form of totalitarian but it certainly is in the mild category. This whole belief that Americans are truly free is false. This whole belief that the president sends people he doesn't like away in concentration camps isn't necessarily that far from belief. The president does send people, not all or that many being American citizens, to not work camps to to extreme prisons in places like Guantanamo Bay. Totalitarian politics would like someone who is trying to take control of the people and start limiting their rights. I think checks and balances stops totalitarian politics from creeping in.
ReplyDeleteJeff Kammerer
Before reading these articles I would have said there is no way the United States could ever become a totalitarian government, but after reading these different articles I'm not so sure. In some ways I can see why people say that it's possible. For example the governent has the right to listen in on our phone conversations and even monitor what we look up on our personal computers. That takes away our freedom and could be putting us one step closer to a fascist government. The United States government also spends a good amount of money on weapons and things for war, which shows that they support violence, this too is a trait of a facist government. When I think about how our governement works and then think back to the examples of Totalitarianism that were displayed in the film on North Korea I feel like it would take a lot more than a few slightly fascist traits for our country to become a completely facist government.
ReplyDeleteBriah Doleman PSCI 100:01
America is not becoming a fascist state like those of Mussolini’s Italy or Hitler’s Germany. However, it is becoming more totalitarian leaning; in a sense, we are becoming a new form of totalitarianism. We are becoming an inverted form of totalitarianism not based on a unified state worshiping a political leader, but a state with a government that rules as supreme authority and attempts to create a powerful, wealthy elitist class. This soft form of totalitarianism is one in which the masses are kept weak and controlled by government regulation and financial burdens while the elite corporations control the wealth and power. Though it seems ridiculous, this process is already happening. The government is exercising more and more power over the privacy of its citizens and is instilling a sense of fear over violence of terrorist attacks and police brutality coupled with fear of economic crises. It’s instilling this fear through its control/spin on media coverage. However, I feel the type of totalitarianism that is becoming part of America is more in the big picture and not part of our daily lives. The type of government control being instituted is more on things like economic favor for corporations and how the government presents issues to the public. I believe this type of control is not one that affects our daily lives and it never will. America has it instilled in its core values that we have innumerable rights to choose how we live our lives. It represents all that we as American stand for. This is why totalitarian politics may be creeping into the formalities of government regulation and control; it will never try to control our personal choices. This is shown in current issues. Recently, the Supreme Court deemed gay marriage legal. This is an example of a huge step in the rights of individuals. It goes to show that while government operations may becoming more totalitarian, we as individuals continue to gain more rights. Our society is too focused on the individual and the value of self and self-worth to allow for totalitarian ideals to take over.
ReplyDeleteClaire Affinito
PSCI 100.06
*Correction
DeletePSCI 100.05
I hadn't honestly thought about America becoming Totalitarian in any sense until I read these articles. In particular, "'American Fascism': Accurate or Misleading?" really got my mind working. I feel as though Totalitarianism is creeping into the American politics, however, it is not as extreme as the examples in our class discussions. Some examples of semi-Totalitarian habits are saying the pledge in school and the negative reactions from your peers if you don't participate, the exclusivity of the president (he is very hard to be seen or reached out to), the way our society relies on the government for any help or protection (many of these people brainwashed by what the government promises to us), and the list goes on and on. You notice in our society that when a problem occurs the majority of the time we reach out to our government to baby us and protect us (because that's what they say they will do and everybody listens to the government because if we don't we are penalized) rather than take DIRECT ACTION. Of course we do not have a full blown Totalitarian government but there are some aspects of this slowly surfacing. I believe that was the whole governments real intentions; to get it's people so dependent and happy with what they are doing that they almost worship it, and cannot live without or overthrow it. I think that the main obstacle for Totalitarianism to overcome is the U.S. citizens. We all help each other, despite the fact that the government sits on a pedestal above everyone else they do occasionally reach out to us. There would not even be a government if it weren't for the citizens voting and molding it. There are a lot more regular people than there are government officials, which would make us more powerful and easier to overthrow the government. I do not think we will ever see full Totalitarianism in our country however slowly but surely I do see it creeping in.
ReplyDeleteChristina Marsh
PSCI 100.05
I believe that America will never truly be a fascist country, but there are some aspects of our military and government that display minor totalitarian qualities. For one, we have a powerful military that is highly structured around discipline and unity. These soldiers are trained to be violent, which is a key part of totalitarian politics; using violence to gain power. The United States has used military violence to gain power in places such as the Middle East which has in return caused unnecessary deaths of innocent people. Also, we have agencies such as the NSA that spies on all of our calls, emails, etc to gain access of all of our personal information. The fact that the government has so much power over listening into everything we say takes away our personal freedoms. I also think that our society as a whole is becoming too violent. It is becoming regular to see police brutality and mass shootings as a form of showing superiority, which further displays violence as a means to gain power. Although it is clear that America has troubles with violence and spying, I do not believe that we would ever get to the point in which we were a Fascist country. Our country is all about individuality, self-worth and freedom.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Tepper, PSCI 100.05
I don't think I could ever imagine America becoming a fascist government. Yes, we are not completely free because the government can listen to our phone conversations and have the ability to look at everything on our phone and computer so in that way we aren't free but we are no where near as bad as North Korea and I don't think we will ever be.
ReplyDeleteMegan Strobridge, PSCI 100.05
I definitely do not think that America will ever begin to have a fascist government. I do not think that our government will ever get as bad as Mussolini’s Italy for example. I do think that we are not one hundred percent free, but we have a lot more freedom than countries with a fascist government. It's not like we have to all wear uniforms or we praise our leader for everything. We all have different views on everything and that's considered okay. We have a lot more individual freedom. I do not think our government will ever get as bad as North Korea's!
ReplyDeleteAlexandra Smith PSCI 100.05
After reading the articles I still don't feel as if America will become a fascist society. It takes many years and will call for a drastic change in our lifestyles which I don't foresee happening. I agree that we are "watched" over and "controlled" to an extent. Like the NSA spying on us and the drones but I don't believe that our world here in America will get to the level of that in North Korea. What prevents totalitarian politics from coming into our lives are the people. The people of this country have very strong opinions and are very smart. I don't believe that the people of America would stand for such a dictator or ruler such as one from a totalitarian standpoint. I feel as if the people who are saying this stuff about totalitarian coming to views are the people who want to get a rise out of others and to see how people would react. I do not believe that totalitarian politics would come to America so I feel that we have nothing to worry about in that respective.
ReplyDeleteAshlyn Ramsay PSCI 100:05
American is not becoming a fascist society. Even if it were to come to that it would take years and years before people let that happen. We as individuals enjoy all of the freedoms we do have; I think that we wouldn't let them take us down easily. We are not a totally free country and totalitarian style is practiced when it comes to the military. I almost believe that is needed because it is their duty to help keep American safe. But this does not compare to the actions taking place is North Korea. But then again I do not think that us as Americans being total free with not regulations would make a better world. In fact, I think it would make matters worse. We are not going to become a fascist government.
ReplyDeleteAmerican is not becoming a fascist society. Even if it were to come to that it would take years and years before people let that happen. We as individuals enjoy all of the freedoms we do have; I think that we wouldn't let them take us down easily. We are not a totally free country and totalitarian style is practiced when it comes to the military. I almost believe that is needed because it is their duty to help keep American safe. But this does not compare to the actions taking place is North Korea. But then again I do not think that us as Americans being total free with not regulations would make a better world. In fact, I think it would make matters worse. We are not going to become a fascist government.
ReplyDeleteWhoops forgot to put my name. I don't know how to add it.
Kylie Rorls
PSCI 100:05
I don't think America could ever become as extreme in totalitarian politics as some other countries. But I must admit after reading these articles it seems that the government defiantly has more control over us than we think, and we might even be completely oblivious to it. Like the example of being able to listen to our phone conversations in my opinion is completely crossing the line into our freedoms. We should be able to talk freely without having to worry if our government is listening or not. This obviously is nothing like what North Korea does, but in a sense I believe if the government heard someone talking about things they strongly didn't agree with they wouldn't hesitate to use there power against that individual. I don't think Ameroca could ever reach North Koreas level, but some of our freedoms are defiantly being violated by the government.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that America will ever have a true totalitarian government. No, we are not as free as many people think that we are. But we do have some control over our lives. When I think of totalitarian government, I now think of North Korea. I do not see us ever getting that bad. Many Americans are blind to the bad things that are happening here, but we have are so technologically advanced, I do not think that we would be in the dark as much as the people of North Korea. I believe that the American citizens would keep totalitarian politics from creeping in. Unlike North Korea, we elect our own president. I would hope that our people would not elect a president that would have such awful intentions. I think that people have seen some chaos and repercussions from things that have happened in the US and are paranoid. There is nothing wrong with being prepared for the worst.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Reid PSCI 100-05
Honestly, I could never see America being totalitarian. We may not be totally free, but the USA is the land of the free. I don't think there is a possibility
ReplyDeletethat America will become anything different. Totalitarian government would look probably like North Korea or other countries. I wouldn't think America would
stoop to that level. I think totalitarian government is absolutely insane. I don't know how people live like that. I know they grew up like that and don't
know any different, but it's just shocking how they have to live like that.
AliviaSnyderPSCI100:05
I personally do not believe american government is turning totalitarian. Sometimes the views on how our government runs things can be seen as not necessarily free but there are always limits to what people should be allowed to do. Checks and balances is a great example to help keep our nation in check and not turning totalitarian.
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