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It is a question that has sparked much debate, at least in certain
rare quadrants where the unvarnished reality of the American imperium is
recognized. But surely now the debate is over. Question it no more; the
supposition, the fear, the heartbreaking intimation is a fact. It is
real. It is here.
Fascism has come to America.
And no, it
didn't come in jackboots. It didn't come in massed, marching ranks. It
didn't come in greasy-haired frothers ranting on a stage.
It
came with cool. It came with savvy. It came wearing the mask of past
evils redeemed by the image of a persecuted minority elevated to power.
It came spouting scripture, hugging bright children, quoting pop music,
sporting pricey leisure threads.
It came on Facebook, it came
with 269 cable channels blazing, with I-Pad apps offering Catholic
confession and YouTube porn. It came with the Super Bowl, with de la
Renta gowns on the Oscar carpet, with 36 brands of dips and chips on the
bulging shelves of your local Wal-Mart.
It came right in the
midst of your ordinary life, as you went to work -- or looked for work
-- as you partied, as you courted, as you watched TV, as you worshipped,
as you studied, as you played, as you went about the business of being
human.
As you went about the business of being human, this inhuman thing has come. It has come in your name, wrapped in your flag, claiming your security as its raison d'etre.
And in the guise of a young, hip, educated progressive, it has just now declared that anyone who reveals any hidden evil committed by the fascist state is subject to prosecution for a capital crime. That's right. It has revealed that you -- you American citizen, you patriot, you believer in goodness and justice and genuine democracy -- you can be killed by the government if you tell the truth.
This is what the administration of President Barack Obama has demonstrated -- indeed, has proudly proclaimed -- in its treatment of the young man it is avowedly, openly torturing for telling the truth about American war crimes, Bradley Manning. There can be no mistaking the meaning, implications and import of Barack Obama's actions.
Corporal Bradley Manning has been charged with leaking "classified material," including a video posted on WikiLeaks that showed American forces gleefully shooting up Iraqi civilians with helicopter gunships. Manning is also alleged to have obtained thousands of other files detailing crimes, corruption, cover-ups, lies and deceit by American forces and American diplomats around the world.
Although American officials have repeatedly said that none of leaks attributed to Manning and to WikiLeaks have caused any bodily harm to any agent of American imperial power around the world, Manning is being accused of "threatening national security" and "aiding the enemy."
And who, pray tell, is the "enemy" being aided by the expression of truth? On Thursday, the Pentagon very helpfully spelled it out to the New York Times:
The charge sheet did not explain who "the enemy" was, leading some to speculate that it was a reference to WikiLeaks. On Thursday, however, the military said that it instead referred to any hostile forces that could benefit from learning about classified military tactics and procedures.
It could not be clearer. The release of any information that the
American government declares might be of any use whatsoever to any
possible "hostile" force -- real, imagined, or possibly run by American
provocateurs -- somewhere in the world at some point in time is a crime
that can be punishable by death. Thus any person or any entity that
reveals embarrassing or criminal facts that the government wishes to
keep hidden now stands in the shadow of death.
If that is not fascism, there has never been such a thing on the face of the earth.
To
be sure, American officials say that they will seek only life
imprisonment for Manning -- who they are now subjecting to hours of
forced nakedness in front of video cameras. But the military judge who
will oversee Manning's court martial is entirely free to disregard the
prosecutor's stated intention and impose the full penalty for aiding the
"enemy."
But again, who is the "enemy"? You are the enemy
-- if you speak a truth that the government does not want you to
reveal. (Of course, if you are an approved and coddled courtier, an
eager, scurrying scribe like Bob Woodward, for example, you can reveal
all the most secret "classified material" that you like, as long as it
comes from savvy insiders "authorized" to praise their bosses and make
their rivals look bad.) If you speak this unwanted truth, the
government, the president -- the cool, savvy, modern, hip, educated
progressive president -- can throw you in jail, subject you to torture,
deprive you of sleep, and finally strip you naked in front of cameras to
break you down and humiliate you in their efforts to dehumanize you, to
grind you down into a piece of meat.
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