Freely Marching Towards Fascism

The Pentagon along with major media and a number of businesses and organizations are sponsoring a 'Freedom March' in DC on 9/11 to 'support the troops'. Digby alludes to analogous marches in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, in North Korea and in Castro's Cuba. Then shares a lengthy quote from Christopher Hayes who questions the propriety of major media and the military colluding to stage a blatant propaganda stunt on the fourth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

I question the propriety of anyone colluding to co-opt this anniversary away from the memory of its victims and the mourning of their families. But I especially question the sanity of an entire country which seems to be buying into the proposition that untold multiples of this is a fair exchange for this.

Even more disturbing for me is the concept of setting a precedent that could easily morph into a tradition of commemorating the lives and tragic deaths of the 9/11 victims, and of the trauma inflicted on our nation, with an exercise in military muscle flexing and the invocation of the euphoric Spirit of War.

The power of shared emotion is nothing to play with. The entire nation's emotions are in a vulnerable and volatile state each year as the 9/11 anniversary approaches. It is unconscionable to take advantage of that to entrain the masses to sublimate their grief by celebrating the glories of violence and vengeance.

Because it is not really about supporting the troops. If it were, the Pentagon, Congress and the Administration would have done ALL in their power to insure the soldiers had the appropriate armor, ammunition, numbers and meals; they would never have rewarded Haliburton's incompetence with more contracts to 'serve' the troops; they would not have invoked 'stop loss' to essentially enslave our soldiers; they would be making sure that none of the troops' own children are going without the necessities; they would be making darn sure no returning vet becomes homeless in the America he laid his life on the line for.

So don't buy into the 'support the troops' theme. Because, if you do, you will help fool yourself along with the nation and possibly a good portion of the troops that a big noisy party with marching, flag waving, martial music, blown kisses and lots of flowery speeches is an equitable exchange for the support they are truly owed. And you will be letting yourself be led one more step down the path to fascism which is notorious for these manipulative displays.