When the Parallels Fit

I am not Paranoid! I am not name calling. I am not the only one.

When it walks like a
Talks like a
Rules like a
Reasons like a

Say it with me now

Fascist

And fools refuse to name it
Because they think it's just a dirty word
Good only for namecalling

Then soon reason, withering, will die
Fools will be ruled by fear-spawning lies
Truth-talk in chains will walk the plank

The following is exerpted from an article by Chip Berlet on Public Eye. Follow the link below and read the whole article.

Fascism and Nazism as ideologies involve, to varying degrees, some of the
following hallmarks:

Nationalism and super-patriotism with a sense of historic mission.

Aggressive militarism even to the extent of glorifying war as good for the national or individual spirit.

Use of violence or threats of violence to impose views on others (fascism and Nazism both employed street violence and state violence at different moments in their development).

Authoritarian reliance on a leader or elite not constitutionally responsible
to an electorate.

Cult of personality around a charismatic leader.

Reaction against the values of Modernism, usually with emotional attacks
against both liberalism and communism.

Exhortations for the homogeneous masses of common folk (Volkish in German, Populist in the U.S.) to join voluntarily in a heroic mission--often metaphysical and romanticized in character.

Dehumanization and scapegoating of the enemy--seeing the enemy as
an inferior or subhuman force, perhaps involved in a conspiracy that justifies
eradicating them.

The self image of being a superior form of social organization beyond socialism, capitalism and democracy.

Elements of national socialist ideological roots, for example, ostensible support for the industrial working class or farmers; but ultimately, the forging of an alliance
with an elite sector of society.

Abandonment of any consistent ideology in a drive for state power.