Crossposted from Docudharma

"Reasonable" people call it Authoritarianism for the sake of "reasonable' conversation. People who are more interested in describing the trend we have seen over the last eight years of "Authoritarian" rule (not governance) allow their alarm and disgust to utter words that once did seem alarmist and unreasonable in reasonable conversataion.  Words like totalitarianism, tyranny and even the dread and semi-forbidden word..... fascism. Or perhaps even worse....Police State. These words have previously been used in The Land of the Free as part of the Cold War propaganda effeort to describe countries and governments behind the Iron Curtain. The thrust of the propaganda effort of course, was to point to America as a bastion of all things free and just and right, particularly individual and human rights. America MEANS Freedom, especially individual freedom.

Not anymore.

Cross posted from Docudharma.

I find myself, on some level, torn between my highly strained faith in American democracy and a perception that it no longer exists.  I applaud and encourage political activism and cherish the activists that I know, but for all their heroism, commitment and hard work, I see us sliding steadily backwards.  This has been my observation for the past 40 years.  We progressives have faced unremitting defeat at the hands of the ultra-conservative ‘system’, which clearly serves our super-wealthy overlords – not us.  

In this occasion of Beijing 2008 Olympics, I'd like to talk a little bit about my view of China. I know that many of you are reviled about China's human rights abuse, and many were adamant about Tibetan freedom (or autonomy), and wish that China would open up, and hopefully in one day will embrace Democratization of its government. I understand that for you who have enjoyed the freedom and benefits of a democracy like the United States', certainly you desire the end of a one party rule in the most populous state on the world. However, me being an Indonesian who has tasted how a democracy works in this third world country of mine, I have to say that perhaps for China, this authoritarian one party-rule is best for them.

I know that it's a very funny thing to write in such a progressive blog like this, but let me humbly offer you the point of view of where I'm standing right below the fold, and why I would say that. Granted, this piece of writing will probably not be a mojo magnet, but perhaps it would give some insights.

It's been a busy weekend for me, and I thought I would relate a couple of experiences that deal with our current authoritarian zeitgeist.

The increasing erosion of our constitutions, civil rights and democracies as they are being gradually subjugated by Authoritarian Security Surveillance States. The bloating no-fly lists and terrorist watch-lists. The continuing inhumane and barbaric renditions, "enhanced interrogations" and indefinite detentions - of children, teenagers and adults alike. The continuing standing of Military Commissions, which are nothing more than politically-driven, rigged, kangaroo courts. The seemingly unending wars of choice and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq - both based on lies to justify a vengeance operation for 9/11 and the securing of foreign oil resources. The ever mounting toll of civilian deaths, displaced refugees and soldier casualties.

This is the overall state of things today with regards to our so-called "Western civilization" - especially with regards to the U.S.A., the U.K. and Canada.

Yesterday, in an event most of you probably did not even notice, the United States took another step down the path to extremism and authoritarianism.  Does that sound hyperbolic?  Read on and let me know if you still think so when you reach the end.

In a 5-4 ruling, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the President of the United States has the power to order the detention in a military prison of anyone in the United States -- citizen or not-- and hold them indefinitely without charging them with a crime and without affording them the most basic Constitutional rights, such as the right to stand trial and attempt to prove their innocence.  Read that again and understand the implications.  All it takes is an assertion by the President that the individual arrested is an "enemy combatant."  The President does not have to  prove the person is an enemy combatant, at least in any conventional sense, just merely assert that he or she is an enemy combatant.

Chris Satullo, a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, made the suggestion in his column the other day that, instead of Fourth of July celebrations this year, we should sit in quiet contemplation of the plain fact that our country over the past seven years has engaged in torture, indefinite detention without charges, rendition, and other unspeakable acts.  It was a clear and provocative call to stand up for liberty in the face of fear, for honest criticism of our leaders as an act of patriotism.

We have betrayed the July 4 creed. We trample the vows we make, hand to heart.

Don't imagine that only the torturer's hand bears the guilt. The guilt reaches deep inside our Capitol, and beyond that - to us.

Our silence is complicit. In our name, innocents were jailed, humans tortured, our Constitution mangled. And we said so little.

Today, Satullo wrote a follow-up column, explaining the authoritarian response to his initial offering.  

It would seem that our democracies in Canada and the U.S.A. are not the only ones ailing - especially with regards to the increasing - and successful - assaults on our privacy and civil liberties ... all in the name of the false God of Security.

Indeed - things are not looking so good either in the U.K. Case in point with the following article (and I invite you good folks to rejoin me below after reading it):

I have long believed and written about the concept of "latency" as it relates to peoples political and personal beliefs. While I would not over simplify or overgeneralize, I do believe that often times people who are (over?) enthusiastic advocates for or against something in particular do so based on their own desires. The most common example of this is homosexuality. While I certainly believe that many people who are against gay marriage or anti-homosexual do not fall in this category, I do think that the most vocal and strident anti-homosexual folks are simply fighting off their own demons. There are acedemic studies and anecdotal evidence to back this up.

........more

So, "they" capitulated on FISA in order to grant telecom companies and corporations immunity from lawsuits for illegally using and providing private information of their consumers to security agencies at the behest of the U.S. government.

Here's a question that has been nagging at me all along with this desire on the part of telecom companies to be granted such immunity: was it really in order to avoid lawsuits?

Well guys, we had a good run at it. Couple hundred years. It was a nice go.

Now it's gone. Some people will say, "This isn't such a big deal, it's just the telcos. Sure they're assholes, but so what?"

What do they have in common?

Both of them were powerless without followers.

Think for yourselves.

Be the change you want to see.

No further explanation for the evils of the world is necessary, but apparently the machine thinks differently. That said, allow me to explain. Obama and Bush are two sides of the same coin. This does not mean there isn't a difference, it means that we must as a species recognize the power that we all possess. We live in a world of choice, whether we realize it or not. Every action will be taken deliberately, whether we are conscious of it or not.  All of us arrived at their destinations by your own actions. The job of any concerned citizen is to raise awareness, to enlighten, not to scold or punish. This requires self-determination, and a profound ability to see that ALL of us are capable of both good and evil. Obama is as worthy of praise as Bush is worthy of forgiveness. Poverty for one is poverty for all. If we can accept that Bush is merely a misguided, flawed and manipulated being who is no different from the rest of us, then we can truly begin to treat the wounds that are threatening our very existence as a species. Good night and good morning

[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]

Much like Steve Soto, I did not find yesterday’s rejection on the Military Commissions Act a shining act of the good America ultimately triumphing yet again, but rather a depressing, disturbing sight of four fanatical Supreme Court Justices desperately holding up some tablets of bloody authoritarianism in their defiant dissent.  

Despite everything that has gone wrong with countries in ruins, hundreds of thousands dead for nothing but lies, millions of American lives wrecked from economic ruin on a warming planet these utterly impervious men still resolutely resolve to cast aside the most precious tenets of our Democracy at their mere stupid and twisted whims, the roaring howls of human pain and suffering deafening to us just meaning nothing to them.

This is sick!

As if the D.A.R.E program -- where kids are taught the fine art of narcing on their parents -- wasn't bad enough. As if having drug raids in high schools -- where kids are thrown to the floor with guns pointed at their heads, as their lockers are searched -- wasn't bad enough.

Now there's this...

[This is an open source sort-of work in progress which I'll be adding to continually as my thoughts crystallize through other discussions. I'll take any critiques, but realize that my phrasing and argumentation is still very much in draft form.]

I think the danger of corporate structures is that too many of them shut out criticism from the people who do the actual work, many are organized as a series of mini-dictatorships. As an interactive designer/programmer in the advertising industry, I’ve been mostly tertiary to this decision making process, but I have on occasion seen how the authoritarian nature of corporate hierarchies can be harmful on a number of levels.

This post is heavily influenced by the documentary, The Corporation (below), as well as my own personal experience in and about the corporatocracy.

[If you are a member of the Current community, please share with them as well.]

This is a personal question from me to the rest of the DailyKos community. I'm hoping that you'll pay it forward.

Knowing what you know regarding the conduct of the men in charge of our government right now, is just a little part of you afraid to speak out publicly?

Do you hesitate from bringing it up when given an opportunity?

Is there at least little part of you that is mortally afraid of what your government is capable of doing right now?

I am.

If you are, perhaps recommend to others outside this community. Obama is doing well, but I don't trust these guys when they're backed in a corner. And I feel like they could sneak up behind my back.

And share your fears. Because the only way these bastards win is through our silence.

Stay vocal. Stay vigilant.

 Today is primary election day in Alabama. I was toying with the idea of boycotting the election because all of the Democrats dropped the ball on immigration. This year no candidate has the klootsokken to expose immigration panic as a manufactured crisis, America's version of Islamist anti-Danish cartoon riots.

 But a dark horse candidate for AL-5, an ophtamologist by the name of David Maker, has Huntsville's far-right in a panic. His detractors have described him as a hobo. There are things that you aren't allowed to say here. To cause a political earthquake, David Maker need not win, only live to a ripe old age.

I invite others to join in the discussion and would especially appreciate any criticisms of my interpretations. My point in writing this is to find out if my ideas have any common ground with others, or if I'm wildly off my rocker. It's all part of a larger effort on my part to be a more engaged citizen and begin to express these views to others in my local community, as well as my friends and family.

Politics is all about authority to me. Whether we're talking about a populist uprising, a military coup, or the local election for county comptroller, it's all about who gets to be in charge. Regardless of the form of that authority, the people who are subject to its will will tend to develop into a range of two extremes: those who absolutely trust the established authorities (right wing), and those who absolutely do not (left wing).