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I live in Italy. If you were to come here and call today's fascists (yes, they still exist) "leftist" they wouldn't know whether to laugh or hit you with a 2x4. They are very much on the far right, they know it and everyone else does. Who the hell came up with this meme that Nazis and Fascists are of the Left? They were throwing commies and socialists into the camps along with the others, and it was mainly the commies/socialists who resisted them in Italy, France, Yugoslavia, etc. etc. etc.
I live in Italy. If you were to come here and call today's fascists (yes, they still exist) "leftist" they wouldn't know whether to laugh or hit you with a 2x4. They are very much on the far right, they know it and everyone else does. Who the hell came up with this meme that Nazis and Fascists are of the Left? They were throwing commies and socialists into the camps along with the others, and it was mainly the commies/socialists who resisted them in Italy, France, Yugoslavia, etc. etc. etc.
Seriously, it's totally absurd.
Americans are really stupid and the vast majority of Americans have no sense of nuance. People in the states, for the most part, do not investigate things. People here, generally speaking, are not curious. Moreover, Americans are clueless about historical events.
Take the average American who hears that socialism and communism are similar and he'll conflate the two terms and use them as synonyms. Hitler's part was called the National Socialists, so despite what the Nazis did and what they believed in, they will always be socialists/communists. In addition, both the communists of Stalin's ilk and the Nazis of Hitler's were totalitarians and Americans conflate all forms of totalitarianism together--they're all the same--any distinctions in one totalitarian system or another are irrelevant.
A concrete demonstration of what I'm talking about here occurred not too long ago on this here forum. A poster by the name of Finn argued that because the Chinese call themselves "communists" then they are communists despite the fact that the Chinese engage in a form of market capitalism. He ignored the vast amount of literature on the subject and responded to my explanations that "communists are communists" and he would refuse to listen to any nuanced explanations about the Chinese regime or its economy.
Similarly, Americans are so clueless, for the most part, the vast majority of them do not realize that the form of government of the United States is a representative republic. Most simply say the U.S. is a democracy without realizing the distinction. This concept is so powerful that even the more intelligent Americans will refer to the U.S. as a democracy because if they were to call it a "republic" then few other Americans would know what it means.
In addition to this, the vast majority of Americans believe that a democracy is a perfect system in that democratic regimes do not engage in wars of conquest or imperialism. Thus, most Americans deny that the United States is an imperial power and that all armed conflicts involving the United States occurred because of humanitarian concerns rather than intricate geo-political strategy.
So it's not just that Americans are clueless about the distinctions between right and left; communism/socialism and fascism; democracy and representative republicanism--they are generally ignorant of any topic that is in any way complex, nuanced, or complicated. In short, Americans think in either...or terms. It's either this or its that. It's either freedom or its totalitarianism. If it isn't democracy, then its totalitarianism. If it isn't capitalism, then its not freedom.
What is total freedom for everyone.. it is having drunk drivers on the road and one has to dodge them or get killed. A pedophile thinks he has the right to molest children. A kid thinks he doesn't have to go to school if he doesn't want to. Drugs are free to anyone and those who grow drugs and sell them get very rich as the kids die off from overdosing. people wouldn't have to go to work. Get the big government to give them everything.
Beat your dog to death if it is hungry and eats your shoe. Wonderful world with total freedom for all.
This business of portraying dogs as shoe eaters, needs to end. I've had a few dogs, and only a small percentage (approx 8% ) of them, were shoe eaters.
Maybe if you took the time to actually get to know your dog, you would see that they aren't all "shoe eaters". When did you last hug your dog? Try it and you might just learn something about yourself.
Americans are really stupid and the vast majority of Americans have no sense of nuance. People in the states, for the most part, do not investigate things. People here, generally speaking, are not curious. Moreover, Americans are clueless about historical events.
Take the average American who hears that socialism and communism are similar and he'll conflate the two terms and use them as synonyms. Hitler's part was called the National Socialists, so despite what the Nazis did and what they believed in, they will always be socialists/communists. In addition, both the communists of Stalin's ilk and the Nazis of Hitler's were totalitarians and Americans conflate all forms of totalitarianism together--they're all the same--any distinctions in one totalitarian system or another are irrelevant.
A concrete demonstration of what I'm talking about here occurred not too long ago on this here forum. A poster by the name of Finn argued that because the Chinese call themselves "communists" then they are communists despite the fact that the Chinese engage in a form of market capitalism. He ignored the vast amount of literature on the subject and responded to my explanations that "communists are communists" and he would refuse to listen to any nuanced explanations about the Chinese regime or its economy.
Similarly, Americans are so clueless, for the most part, the vast majority of them do not realize that the form of government of the United States is a representative republic. Most simply say the U.S. is a democracy without realizing the distinction. This concept is so powerful that even the more intelligent Americans will refer to the U.S. as a democracy because if they were to call it a "republic" then few other Americans would know what it means.
In addition to this, the vast majority of Americans believe that a democracy is a perfect system in that democratic regimes do not engage in wars of conquest or imperialism. Thus, most Americans deny that the United States is an imperial power and that all armed conflicts involving the United States occurred because of humanitarian concerns rather than intricate geo-political strategy.
So it's not just that Americans are clueless about the distinctions between right and left; communism/socialism and fascism; democracy and representative republicanism--they are generally ignorant of any topic that is in any way complex, nuanced, or complicated. In short, Americans think in either...or terms. It's either this or its that. It's either freedom or its totalitarianism. If it isn't democracy, then its totalitarianism. If it isn't capitalism, then its not freedom.
I believe so much of what you refer to about Americans got its start in the 40s, then manifested that the whole world was one giant conspire/ theory in the 50s. . It was something you could hang your hat on ,just say the word Communism was all most Americans needed to hear. Justifying conflicts/wars now had a purpose, seemed to be a simpler rallying cry justification. There was even a popular TV series ( actually more than one ) that captured the American public. What was really entertainment came off as " nothing but the truth Mam". So it goes, shows like " Dragnet, and " I led two lives" became the standards of thought, no explanation needed.
Americans are really stupid and the vast majority of Americans have no sense of nuance. People in the states, for the most part, do not investigate things. People here, generally speaking, are not curious. Moreover, Americans are clueless about historical events.
Take the average American who hears that socialism and communism are similar and he'll conflate the two terms and use them as synonyms. Hitler's part was called the National Socialists, so despite what the Nazis did and what they believed in, they will always be socialists/communists. In addition, both the communists of Stalin's ilk and the Nazis of Hitler's were totalitarians and Americans conflate all forms of totalitarianism together--they're all the same--any distinctions in one totalitarian system or another are irrelevant.
A concrete demonstration of what I'm talking about here occurred not too long ago on this here forum. A poster by the name of Finn argued that because the Chinese call themselves "communists" then they are communists despite the fact that the Chinese engage in a form of market capitalism. He ignored the vast amount of literature on the subject and responded to my explanations that "communists are communists" and he would refuse to listen to any nuanced explanations about the Chinese regime or its economy.
Similarly, Americans are so clueless, for the most part, the vast majority of them do not realize that the form of government of the United States is a representative republic. Most simply say the U.S. is a democracy without realizing the distinction. This concept is so powerful that even the more intelligent Americans will refer to the U.S. as a democracy because if they were to call it a "republic" then few other Americans would know what it means.
In addition to this, the vast majority of Americans believe that a democracy is a perfect system in that democratic regimes do not engage in wars of conquest or imperialism. Thus, most Americans deny that the United States is an imperial power and that all armed conflicts involving the United States occurred because of humanitarian concerns rather than intricate geo-political strategy.
So it's not just that Americans are clueless about the distinctions between right and left; communism/socialism and fascism; democracy and representative republicanism--they are generally ignorant of any topic that is in any way complex, nuanced, or complicated. In short, Americans think in either...or terms. It's either this or its that. It's either freedom or its totalitarianism. If it isn't democracy, then its totalitarianism. If it isn't capitalism, then its not freedom.
Americans are not really stupid, they are more mis-educated. Our educational system has become as much of a propaganda machine as was the Soviets during the cold war.
Americans are programed like computers to act and think in a manner that benefits the corporate and world banking cartels. Our culture has become self-indulgence and our religion consumerism at all costs.
We live in a society that rewards immoral behavior. We are bombarded with reality TV that teaches us that winners are the people who can master the arts of back stabbing and deceit.
We attempt to justify the fact that we live beyond our means by exploiting others and by vilifying most of the rest of the world. We are taught that winning is all that matters regardless of what methods are used.
We are so self-assured of our point of view that we are willing to force it upon others without regard to their rights or opinions.
I believe so much of what you refer to about Americans got its start in the 40s, then manifested that the whole world was one giant conspire/ theory in the 50s. . It was something you could hang your hat on ,just say the word Communism was all most Americans needed to hear. Justifying conflicts/wars now had a purpose, seemed to be a simpler rallying cry justification. There was even a popular TV series ( actually more than one ) that captured the American public. What was really entertainment came off as " nothing but the truth Mam". So it goes, shows like " Dragnet, and " I led two lives" became the standards of thought, no explanation needed.
Actually, it goes back even further...to the 1920s. It made J. Edgar Hoover's career.
Actually, it goes back even further...to the 1920s. It made J. Edgar Hoover's career.
Actually, I would say it goes all the way back to the Salem Witch Trials. Don't like someone? Call them a witch. Onward through the Civil War to the Red Scare and to our current Terror craze.
Actually, I would say it goes all the way back to the Salem Witch Trials. Don't like someone? Call them a witch. Onward through the Civil War to the Red Scare and to our current Terror craze.
The difference being that First and Second Red Scare anticommunism was a functioning political ideology that purported 100% Americanism, which proponents defined in a way that serves as all of the markers of contemporary conservative beliefs, including:
espousing extreme forms of deregulated, hands-off capitalism,
adoration of the U.S. Constitution with an emphasis on the 10th Amendment (states' rights),
unflinching belief in a Christian God and America as a Christian country,
denial of basic civil liberties to anyone who does not espouse such beliefs as listed above,
limited citizenship rights to those who are non-white,
rejection of "world government" through organizations like the U.N., or in other words, a unilateral American foreign policy,
extreme strict constructionism that applauded the SCOTUS of the late 1930s, but denigrated the Warren Court of the 1950s,
strict English only demands,
uncompromising with domestic enemies, i.e. anyone who disagrees with 100% Americanism, or extreme partisanship.
The Salem Witch Hunts, although I do get your point, is something that probably can never fully be explained. One of the best historical accounts I've heard has something to do with one class of Salemites trying to take the lands owned by the parents of those accused. Another has something to do with St. Elmo's Fire (not the movie).
In short, Salem Witch Hunts were not an ideology. Anticommunism was and a large number of American political leaders espoused it.
The difference being that First and Second Red Scare anticommunism was a functioning political ideology that purported 100% Americanism, which proponents defined in a way that serves as all of the markers of contemporary conservative beliefs, including:
espousing extreme forms of deregulated, hands-off capitalism,
adoration of the U.S. Constitution with an emphasis on the 10th Amendment (states' rights),
unflinching belief in a Christian God and America as a Christian country,
denial of basic civil liberties to anyone who does not espouse such beliefs as listed above,
limited citizenship rights to those who are non-white,
rejection of "world government" through organizations like the U.N., or in other words, a unilateral American foreign policy,
extreme strict constructionism that applauded the SCOTUS of the late 1930s, but denigrated the Warren Court of the 1950s,
strict English only demands,
uncompromising with domestic enemies, i.e. anyone who disagrees with 100% Americanism, or extreme partisanship.
The Salem Witch Hunts, although I do get your point, is something that probably can never fully be explained. One of the best historical accounts I've heard has something to do with one class of Salemites trying to take the lands owned by the parents of those accused. Another has something to do with St. Elmo's Fire (not the movie).
In short, Salem Witch Hunts were not an ideology. Anticommunism was and a large number of American political leaders espoused it.
I must agree to this front. the witch trials /hunts were apart of a religious belief. Also, during those times anything people could not understand became magic and was open for debate as to a witch connection..Bottom line people were less educated than in the 40s-50s.
I believe so much of what you refer to about Americans got its start in the 40s, then manifested that the whole world was one giant conspire/ theory in the 50s. . It was something you could hang your hat on ,just say the word Communism was all most Americans needed to hear. Justifying conflicts/wars now had a purpose, seemed to be a simpler rallying cry justification. There was even a popular TV series ( actually more than one ) that captured the American public. What was really entertainment came off as " nothing but the truth Mam". So it goes, shows like " Dragnet, and " I led two lives" became the standards of thought, no explanation needed.
You say this like it was wrong. Americans had good reason to fear communism. You seem to forget that communism was a very real worldwide threat from WWII up to the fall of the Soviet Union. These were not by any means the good guys.
There was more suffering and murder inflicted trying to impose communism than in most all the wars, by some accounts more than 100,000,000 people died, while 100's of millions lived in fear and poverty.
In comparison, McCarthyism was a New Year’s Eve party.
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