HOWDY customers, Howdy! Welcome to another edition of Pick A Box, with Bob and Dolly Dyer.
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When I was a kid this rang out once a week from the floor model HMV in the corner, across the lounge-room to the tethered ears of three small children and at least one adult. Well this week I thought it might be fun to play a variation: Tick A Box.
After extensive study of 20th Century regimes, obscure historian and good Samaritan Lawrence Britt in 2003 published a list of the 14 defining characteristics of fascism. So why not use Mr. Britt’s suggestions and run a slide across our mob to see how they are doing? You tick the boxes.
- Powerful and continuing nationalism – flags, symbols, slogans;
- Disdain for recognition of human rights – national security over-rides human rights, government by secrecy;
- Enemies and scapegoats as a unifying cause – need to eliminate common threat or foes;
- Supremacy of the military – disproportionate amount of government funding to protect the people;
- Rampant sexism – gender roles made more rigid, state as the guardian of family institution;
- Controlled mass media – directly by regulation, indirectly by sympathetic media and identities;
- Obsession with national security – fear as a motivational tool of government;
- Religion intertwined with government – religious rhetoric and terminology as tool of government messages;
- Protection of corporate power – power elites support and finance the government;
- Suppression of labour power – people the only real threat to government;
- Disdain for art and intellectuals – kept under financial and or emotional pressure;
- Obsession with crime and punishment – crime exaggerated, police powers increased to protect the people;
- Rampant cronyism and corruption – government by like minded power elites;
- Fraudulent elections – sometimes direct, sometimes lies and smear campaigns, gerrymanders, manipulation of press, manipulation of judicial system.
Well folks how did the Team Australia leadership fare? How many boxes did you tick? - Fred Goldsworthy
