10 Indications America is a Dictatorship

1. Rule by force, not by law



2. Crushing peaceful protest



3. Checkpoints



4. Citizen spy network



5. Executive orders



6. Control of regulatory agencies



7. President declares war unilatery



8. Torture



9. Gulags



10. Control over communications

Read the full article here to see how this is already the case in the United States.

Ozymandias

A lyrical interpretation by The Black League of Percy Bysshe Shelley's
"Ozymandias":

Fascist America

Naomi Wolf’s book Fascist America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot was published in September 2007. The following article from the UK’s The Guardian is a synopsis of the book. Are Naomi Wolf’s observations truer, or less true, a year later?

Naomi states: “Because Americans like me were born in freedom, we have a hard time even considering that it is possible for us to become as unfree…”

I think part of the problem for many Americans is that they do not have a reference point to judge what is happening in America. In a sense, and this is my suspicion, people from outside of America is probably more aware of the radical changes happening than the US citizens themselves. Americans have had freedom for so long that they have forgotten what it took to get that freedom. Why did the Founding Fathers flee Europe in search of freedom in the New World? Why was the Bill of Rights created exactly as it was?

(Of course, in the end I am not an American and might just be wrong.)

Here are the 10 steps as set out by Wolf and which she claims the US government is guilty of. Read the full article at The Gaurdian.

Fascist America, in 10 easy steps
Tuesday April 24 2007, The Guardian


1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy

2. Create a gulag

3. Develop a thug caste

4. Set up an internal surveillance system

5. Harass citizens' groups

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release

7. Target key individuals

8. Control the press

9. Dissent equals treason

10. Suspend the rule of law

Right now, only a handful of patriots are trying to hold back the tide of tyranny for the rest of us - staff at the Center for Constitutional Rights, who faced death threats for representing the detainees yet persisted all the way to the Supreme Court; activists at the American Civil Liberties Union; and prominent conservatives trying to roll back the corrosive new laws, under the banner of a new group called the American Freedom Agenda. This small, disparate collection of people needs everybody's help, including that of Europeans and others internationally who are willing to put pressure on the administration because they can see what a US unrestrained by real democracy at home can mean for the rest of the world.

We need to look at history and face the "what ifs". For if we keep going down this road, the "end of America" could come for each of us in a different way, at a different moment; each of us might have a different moment when we feel forced to look back and think: that is how it was before - and this is the way it is now.

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands ... is the definition of tyranny," wrote James Madison. We still have the choice to stop going down this road; we can stand our ground and fight for our nation, and take up the banner the founders asked us to carry.

About dictators

I feel I ought to comment on the farce in Zimbabwe, but I just don’t feel like talking about it. What is there to say? It’s been ridiculous from the start – the election was not legal. “Mugabe was the sole candidate in Friday's vote. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew, saying his supporters had become targets of brutal state-sponsored violence,” explains one reporter. (Robert Mugabe’s soldiers actually coerced people into voting, many of them “assisted” at the poll box.) Last night I even saw Archbishop Desmond Tutu doing a public prayer for Mugabe (83) to abdicate. Probably the most outrageous issue is that at today’s summit of the African Union Mugabe’s fraudulent election wasn’t the main topic of contentment – only the problem of violence in the country was discussed. Well that depends on the sources one reads. (Another source says Zim was the central topic.) And it seemed that only Kenya acted seriously concerned about the Zim-issue.

From one dictatorship to another – North Korea recently destroyed the main cooling tower of a main nuclear reactor. This was to act as a symbol of their commitment to dismantle their nuclear program. In return the U.S. promised to take Pyongyang off the “Terrorist list” and also awarded the communist regime’s good behaviour with food. “Korea sit!” says America. Korea sits. “Good doggy…here’s a snack.” Apparently this is not the scenarioy. According to U.S. spokesperson, Tom Casey, the U.S.’s gastric gift coinciding with North Korea’s good behaviour is purely coincidental.

The thing about dictatorships is that there is someone specific to blame for the suffering. Who is to be blamed for the outlandish raise in child murders in South Africa? Child murders went up with 22% from last year!

When I read the news I turn from Kangnamgu the Paranoid Prophet to Jeremiah the Depressed Prophet.

Mumblings over Myanmar, monks and monkeyspheres

So when should religion get involved in politics and how? At this very moment Burma, or now formally known as Myanmar, is in uproar with pro-democracy protesters calling for reform from the military-government.

Hundreds of thousands of the protesters involved are Buddhist monks. The Buddhist clergy are very revered in Burma and their protest send a very strong message. So much so that the military which at first left the protesters be, had in the meantime retaliated with curfews, protest break-ups, arrests and confining the monks to their monasteries.

Apart from their protest rallies, the Buddhist monks further react by refusing the military religious rites.

As is the case with so many countries where atrocities occurred (think of Rwanda), the rest of the world hardly raises a finger, although they do raise many eyebrows and opinions.

The fact is countries without invested interested will not act. It is purely not to their benefit. They will publicly denounce it. Even China, Burma’s biggest trade partner, has called on the Myanmar-government for reform. But, in the end, nobody is really willing to put their money where their mounts are.

Speaking of money, many countries are getting involved in Burma, but for selfish reasons only. Last Sunday, while pro-democracy marches screamed outside, India’s Oil Minister, Murli Deora, was in Burma’s capital on official (energy resources) business. Other better-off countries such as China and South Korea are also hoping to exploit Burma’s natural (energy) resources.

Although the United States and the EU has in place economic sanctions against Burma, corporations giants like Total and Chevron Corp is still in business in Burma, and “funding the dictatorship”.

The question is, what can one do? Launch an attack like Bush did on Iraq? Some would argue that Bush’s assault to “free” Iraqis from a dictator is Biblically justified. The Buddhist monks in Burma clearly see themselves correct in protesting against the military dictatorship.

I cannot help to wonder what Jesus’ approach would have been? Active pacifism like that of Martin Luther King Jr. and Ghandi (both admitted to be inspired by the life of Jesus). When Christ walked in Judea, Israel was under a Roman dictatorship. During all His teaching He didn’t once propagate the idea of revolting against the current regime. Although He did make allusions to justification of self-defence, He clearly did not intend to get involved with any political matters. Of course man’s politics was not His mission, but man’s eternal salvation.

I ask again, when should religion get involved in politics and how? Or doesn't it matter, since we are all too cozy in our own Monkeysphere. But isn't that the whole purpose of religion - trying to save us from the apathy of the Monkeysphere? Christ's parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) is case in point.

I don’t know if this is one of the reasons for the Buddhist monks’ protesting (the thing that really instigated their uproar was a sudden increase in fuel prices, not religious freedom!), but if the monk’s protest bears fruit, other religious communities will also benefit. The Muslim community in Burma have practically all been driven out of the country.