Former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich. (photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star)
08 March 16
ince
the 1930s, fascist dictators have used 7 techniques to amass power. I'm
not suggesting Donald Trump is a fascist or wanna-be dictator, but he
does seem to be following the script.- Create a cult of personality. (Donald Trump doesn’t offer policy prescriptions. He offers himself as a strongman who is powerful enough do whatever it takes.)
- Jail the media. (Trump hasn’t gone this far, but reporters covering his rallies are kept in a cage, quite literally. And he describes the media as his enemy.)
- Intimidate opponents. (This is Trump's stock in trade. For example, he tweeted recently that the Ricketts family, who are spending money against his candidacy, “better be careful, they have a lot to hide.”)
- Incite violence. (People describing themselves as Trump supporters have attacked Muslims and the homeless. At his rallies, his supporters have beaten and spit on black protesters.)
- Scapegoat racial and ethnic minorities. (Trump blames America’s problems on Mexican immigrants, Muslims, Muslim-Americans, and African-Americans.)
- Glorify national power. (Trump’s entire foreign policy consists of asserting American power and fueling xenophobia against other nations.)
- Disregard international law. (Trump wants to use torture, punish the families of terrorists, for example.)
- Create a mass following directly, without party or other intermediaries. (Trump’s tweets circumvent all filters. It’s just him and his followers.)
What do you think?
+171
#
2016-03-08 12:48
Trump is dangerous,
but only a symptom of our culture. We live in a ruthless world, a world
of little compassion. People are hurting and channel it in various ways.
One common way is to scapegoat, to try to hold on to some kind of power
even if it's only to cling to your superior race or religion or
nationality. It is the refuge of the mindless, the result of having no
self-awareness and following the line of least resistance. There are
plenty of demagogues who will take advantage of this desperation and
channel it to their own ends. They too are lost in their own
narcissistic bubbles. They are bullies and bullies are essentially
insecure. Who would try to lord it over others except someone who felt
he was not enough and had to project his own self-hatred onto others?
On the other side of the spectrum is Bernie Sanders, who looks with compassion on the plight of the many disenfranchised . Bernie is the one who would unify us, Trump the one who would divide us. Bernie looks toward the light, Trump to the darkness in us. People like Trump gather strength when people are frustrated and angry and desperate. Sanders would help remedy the underlying situation. Trump wants only to excite more anger and hatred.
But ultimately the answer lies within each of us. Do we want to heal or do we want to hate? Trump cannot do more harm than we allow him to. Joining with one another is a collective act, but deciding to do so is a personal choice.
On the other side of the spectrum is Bernie Sanders, who looks with compassion on the plight of the many disenfranchised . Bernie is the one who would unify us, Trump the one who would divide us. Bernie looks toward the light, Trump to the darkness in us. People like Trump gather strength when people are frustrated and angry and desperate. Sanders would help remedy the underlying situation. Trump wants only to excite more anger and hatred.
But ultimately the answer lies within each of us. Do we want to heal or do we want to hate? Trump cannot do more harm than we allow him to. Joining with one another is a collective act, but deciding to do so is a personal choice.
+92
#
2016-03-08 14:20
Well said, Moxa, well
said. Each of us as a molecule in the body politic has the
responsibility to do what we can to support the forces of clarity and
compassion.
As the old saying goes: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit. reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.
We each have a choice and a role...Go Bernie, go!!
As the old saying goes: Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit. reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.
We each have a choice and a role...Go Bernie, go!!
+28
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2016-03-08 16:15
MOXA.........I wish someone had asked the seemingly intelligent people in Germany the same question.
+6
#
2016-03-10 23:15
A people that has
lost hope and pride are in a dangerous vulnerable place. We cannot allow
Trump to win. We must vote for Bernie Sanders - too much is at stake!
+44
#
2016-03-08 14:12
The difference in
Germany is that Adolf was the popular head of the Nazi party. I mean in
this instance popular with his peers. That rule does not apply to Trump
-- at least, not so far. Congress is not forced to do his bidding on
domestic matters. But foreign affairs are another story altogether since
the Constitution gives the Executive branch a great deal of leeway.
+57
#
2016-03-08 14:35
Under a Chancellor
Trump, at the head of a baying mob of brownshirt neo-nazi's looking for
the next "undesirables" to cattle-car, Congress would quickly follow the
path of least resistance.
+5
#
2016-03-08 17:56
True, but will never happen. Too many in America would take Drumpf out if by some monstrous catastrophe he got any power at all.
+14
#
2016-03-08 21:56
Quoting a certain member of Congress from a few short years ago, "On what planet do you spend most of your time?"
+72
#
2016-03-08 14:25
Most of these 7
points are more true about Reagan than about Trump. He's just a bombast
who likes to work a crowd into a frenzy. He does get some WWE pleasure
in of throwing people out of his rallies.
But does anyone know what Trump really stands for? He's for Planned Parenthood, medicare, Obamacare, Social Security. He's against most of the wars the US is now fighting. He's sort of against the wall street gamblers. He would work cooperatively with foreign leaders like Putin. He would stop regime policies that allow corporations to export jobs to lower wage labor markets.
I don't believe Trump really believes anything he says. I don't know what he stands for. He's a mystery. He has no consistent record of anything. But he is not as evil as Cruz or Rubio. I'm glad he is mopping the floor with those two wannabees.
Hillary is more like Rubio and Cruz. She's vicious and a lackey for the billionaires.
Only Sanders is a decent man and candidate. He is not perfect but he is about as good a candidate as the US has had since FDR or LBJ -- and both of them were far from perfect.
But does anyone know what Trump really stands for? He's for Planned Parenthood, medicare, Obamacare, Social Security. He's against most of the wars the US is now fighting. He's sort of against the wall street gamblers. He would work cooperatively with foreign leaders like Putin. He would stop regime policies that allow corporations to export jobs to lower wage labor markets.
I don't believe Trump really believes anything he says. I don't know what he stands for. He's a mystery. He has no consistent record of anything. But he is not as evil as Cruz or Rubio. I'm glad he is mopping the floor with those two wannabees.
Hillary is more like Rubio and Cruz. She's vicious and a lackey for the billionaires.
Only Sanders is a decent man and candidate. He is not perfect but he is about as good a candidate as the US has had since FDR or LBJ -- and both of them were far from perfect.
+35
#
2016-03-08 14:35
I am for Sanders too.
I do not think Donald is stupid. He is getting unlimited free coverage
from being provocative. If he can get the nomination he might even run
to the left of Hillary. She is pretty right wing which is why I don't
like her. It will be easy for him to mop the floor with her. Even among
Democrats she is not trusted.
+11
#
2016-03-08 16:19
Nice try NOLA....But
at what point did you hear Hillary say that she will not allow any
Muslims into this country? At what point did you hear Hillary say that
Mexicans are rapists, murderers ect. WOW...that's pretty right wing. Oh
wait the drumpf said that, didn't he.
