Guardian Special Report.
An excellent hypothesis, for now?
From Hitler to Pinochet and beyond, history shows there are certain steps that any would-be dictator must take to destroy constitutional freedoms. And, argues Naomi Wolf, George Bush and his administration seem to be taking them all.
As difficult as this is to contemplate, it is clear, if you are willing to look, that each of these 10 steps has already been initiated today in the United States by the Bush administration.
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 - domestically - as many other nations. Because we no longer learn much about our rights or our system of government - the task of being aware of the constitution has been outsourced from citizens' ownership to being the domain of professionals such as lawyers and professors - we scarcely recognise the checks and balances that the founders put in place, even as they are being systematically dismantled. Because we don't learn much about European history, the setting up of a department of "homeland" security - remember who else was keen on the word "homeland" - didn't raise the alarm bells it might have. More.
So very scary. I have often had conversations with friends about the removal of freedoms, they did not believe a word I said. They claim Bush is no worse a president than some of the other presidents we have had in the past. They just don't seem to understand the full implications of some of the new legislation and explicit and implicit policies. Hopefully they will open their eyes before it is too late. HH
ReplyDeleteI have always asked myself this question every time the present administration has shafted the constitution or eroded congressional/citizen rights:
ReplyDeleteWhy would the Whitehouse want to do this when the next Prez could well be a Dem?
It's rather hard not to come up with the same conclusion every time.
That is just too scary.HH
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