Dictators and their ships

 

I’ve studied history enough to recognize some patterns when I see them.  Here’s what I learned about dictatorships by studying others who have historically misused their political power:

• Dictators use their power to attempt to discredit or completely undermine any criticism of them, often attacking journalism that critiques their policies or exposes their mistakes.
• Dictators use their power to circumvent the law in order to excuse their cronies, for example, commuting the sentences of duly convicted criminals who show the dictator loyalty. 
• Dictators use secret police forces to circumvent the regional authority of political rivals in the name of “security”; these secret police often don’t identify themselves, gather citizens up who express dissent and hold them without clear charge or notification of families.
• Dictators use divisive rhetoric, implying—or stating outright—that those who side with him are the “good guys” while those who criticize him or are members of the opposing party are “radicals.”
• When there are elections present in the dictator’s country, Dictators make sure to cast doubt on the legitimacy of elections they expect to lose (or have lost), such as calling them “rigged.”
• FASCIST dictators use classic propaganda techniques, such as repeating simple phrases that demean their opponents (ex., “crooked Hilary,” “Sleepy Joe,” “Lying Ted”) without bothering to substantiate them with evidence.  Using simple, emotional appeals and repeating them often to reach “the least intelligent among the masses” is a technique straight out of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. (I’ll show you the passage if you’d like to read it.)
• FASCIST dictators make themselves appear larger than life and use savior rhetoric in order to portray themselves as the only solution to the country’s problems.  (The term fascism, as a political ideology, was coined by Benito Mussolini when he refined these methods to gain control of Italy in the 1920s).
• FASCIST dictators use a combination of nationalistic identity and scapegoating techniques to vilify a foreign enemy (or minority segments of their own population), creating some “Other” against whom the dictator can then generate hatred and mobilize violence.

These are pretty easily verifiable facts. If you study any dictator in history, anywhere in the world, you will probably find most of these techniques.  And it takes only a simple exercise of deductive logic to say “Political leaders who exhibit these behaviors are dictators; So-and-So exhibits these behaviors: therefore So-and-So is a Dictator (Fill in the name)." 

Here’s what’s baffling to me: the United States has historically fought wars against dictators abroad and has always held itself to be the champion of democracy and freedom in the world.  Yet I hear people (family and friends whom I respect) claiming to love these ideals while simultaneously ignoring—if not actively supporting—the techniques of dictatorship happening right here.  I don’t think I’m an alarmist, but I’m deeply worried that the US is tilting sharply toward dictatorship if not outright fascism.  

I’m happy to be transparent here: my bias (my leaning) is toward kindness, forgiveness, inclusivity, patient dialogue, and for these leanings I might be labelled a “liberal,” though I’m not sure what that means these days, any more than I know what “conservative” means.  To me, freedom isn’t something I hoard for myself.  My freedom is greater when it increases the freedom of others, and it is limited when it limits that of others.  It only has value when I’m exercising it to support the freedom of others, and therefore it’s as much about responsibility as it is about being able to do whatever the hell I want.  Democracy is about making sure that as many people as possible are well educated and informed and have as few barriers to their participation as possible.  (That’s also the theory of government historically referred to as “liberal democracy.”)

For these reasons, I offer up this brief reflection, in the hopes that we can increase our dialogues, and get to the heart of our values and real needs, both great and small.  Let me know if you disagree.