Post 916 I have been inundated with questions that came fast and furious about Anwar missing the target despite all the hype. I have been short-tempered and abrasive in my feeble attempts to answer all queries to the point that blogger confidant Haris asked me to ease off, as I was getting on his nerves. Then I read KHOO KAY PENG'S piece. His take was admirable and I need to share this with you people who are having doubts about the imminence of a NEW MALAYSIA.People, Kay Peng.....and Gary thanks for coming to my rescue, chin lang:
Khoo Kay Peng | Sep 26, 08 5:22pm
Some people are too fixated with deadlines and Anwar Ibrahim. It does not matter if a change of government does not happen on 16/9, 23/9 or 1/10. It does not matter if Anwar is just another Pinocchio. Even if Anwar becomes the next prime minister, he will not be able wish away our problems instantaneously.
There is no short cut to solve our political and socio-economic problems. Instead of arguing on the dates, it is best for Malaysians to work together to set the agenda for the next prime minister and his administration.
If Anwar fails to take over government, do we abandon our desire for change? The movement for change is not about Anwar or his party alone. It is about our desire to make our country a fairer and better place to live in. Anwar as prime minister or Najib as prime minister will have to deliver the exact same results for the society. Nothing less.
We cannot ignore this momentum for change. Since the Mar 8 General Election, many more Malaysians now believe a change for the better is not something remotely impossible. Those elites who rule this country at their whims and fancies will soon have to realise that the right to govern comes with a huge responsibility to deliver goodness for the society.
We should not argue over dates. It does not matter if a change of government materialises on 16/9, 23/9 or 1/10. The reality is a change has begun and it is impossible for this momentum to be rolled back. Any coalition governing this country knows that it cannot again rest on its laurels.
Shouldn't we then work together to set the next agenda for the new administration? Surely, whoever leads the country must ensure that
A loud signal should be sent to the next PM that we cannot tolerate a home minister like Syed Hamid Albar, who despite his legal qualification, is totally clueless about fundamental human rights. A person like him must not be given a full access to absolute discretionary power.
Next, we want to reinstate judicial review to provide a necessary check-and-balance on unlimited ministerial power. Separation of power is key to a healthy democracy. Anwar or Najib must be committed to reviewing the ministerial power.
Anwar is committed to abolishing the ISA. Is Najib willing to do the same?
A key point to the agenda is the imminent review of the New Economy Policy. This policy was introduced as a result of the outcome of the inclusive Goodwill Council. Clearly, after 38 years of its implementation, the policy has failed to close the intra-community income gap especially among the Malay-Bumiputeras.
Dr Mahathir, in one his blog posts, admitted the problem of giving contracts to a selective few because of the non-performance of Bumiputera companies. Those who are allocated equity shares tend to sell them off for quick money. By selling down, the Malay equity shareholding will forever be below the desired 30 percent level.
If the NEP is not fixed and its abuses curbed, local investors will be deterred to invest locally. A continuous outflow of funds affects domestic job creation, economic growth and industrial development.
Is Najib prepared to review the NEP which is a sacred cow of his party? Anwar has promised to abolish the NEP and replace it with his New Malaysia Agenda despite being accused of negating Malay rights. Current implementation of the NEP is detrimental to Malay rights.
After nearly 51 years of independence and hundreds of years of co-existence, the next PM should strive to unite all races in order to create a truly fair and equitable Bangsa
Continuing to harp on Malay supremacy or the controversial social contract is not going to take this multiracial society forward. Are we not ready to move forward just because politicians claim that we are not? Malaysians should decide their own fate and not allow a bunch of self-centered politicians to do it for us. A united
Now, can we agree to lose our fixation with dates and focus on the next agenda? Malaysians must show that we are dead serious about change. Most people are resistant to change including you and me. But change we must in order to build a
Otherwise, we should blame our shallowness.
+++++
The wait for change, like Anwar's nose, grows longer as the days go by.
Anwar is The Liar or Abdullah is The Coward?
written by Aziz, September 25, 2008
If the PM refuses to meet him and rejectS Anwar's call for emergency parliament session, then how can Anwar form the federal government by Hari Raya Aidil Fitri? So it's not Anwar's fault for not meeting the deadlines, it's the government that is still able to keep themselves in 'defense mode'.
Take this analogy: If you're very sure that you can defeat Mike Tyson in a boxing match and you challenge him for a match, how can you defeat Mike Tyson if he refuses to fight you or if he doesn't appear during the match day? In this case, you're not the liar but Mike Tyson is the coward.
PEOPLE. KEEP THE FAITH
STAY THE COURSE FOR THE NEW MALAYSIA.
Pa, keep up the good work, we are all rooting for Bangsa Malaysia here in Nassau. It is heartening to see more and more Malaysians taking responsibility for change. It may not be as fast as you want it to go but Kay Peng said it right, the momentum is now building and the goal shouldbe to build it to critical mass so it becomes unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteLove you lots
Trina and the boys
no one is making issues about the date. What some of us want is Accountability for promises made to the rakyat.
ReplyDeleteYes, the dates shouldnt be an issue. Politicians not speaking the truth to the rakyat is an issue.
Hello Uncle
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea.... those MPs who have decide to join, shouldnt simply hold a Press Conference and let it be announce it themselves, as simple as that.
Its not like we are sending a rocket to Mars, izzzit now. generally, the best way forward, is to come out in the open, what so complex about it, its like when we are not happy working for a company, just quit and look for another job, pls dont tell me its not that simple, it is that simple.
We dont need all these games, just say it as it is and if Anwar has problems than let the people know.
None is going to blame him, at least the sane ones, we'll just have to endure another 4 years that'll pass quickly.... the people will understand and will show their disgust towards MPs from BN who decided to withdraw their pledge on the eleventh hour..... SIMPLE AINT IT.
shalom
You are a formidable force in the history of the Malaysia today, together with Haris Ibrahim, Din Merican, Nat Tan, Anil Netto, Susan Loone (to name a few and, in no particular order).
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that the perseverance of the faithful bears fruit.
I haven't lost the faith, thanks to your commitment.
Mr KP Khoo has hit it right on the nail! If true healthy democracy is what all Malaysians crave, then pressure must be kept up to ensure whoever takes over the watch of this country should ensure that just and equitable laws rise above everybody in the land. Draconian law like the ISA has no place in a true democracy if the common laws are adequate enough to deal with all situations. Judicial independence is a MUST and prerequisite to the trust and belief of the laws of the nation. Institutions like the Police force and Military MUST be non-political and their sole purpose if to uphold the laws and orders of the country and in times of needs, should defense and protect the people. Government is only an instrument given a mandate by the people to govern the country and if one is found to be corrupted and inefficient, then a change MUST be effected. In true democracy, a 2-party system or more is a MUST to ensure, not only check and balance, but also to provide choices for the people to choose the appropriate party to properly and justly govern the country.
ReplyDeletea good spin by Khoo..
ReplyDeletezorro zorro... still grasping on straws.
in any case, khoo's articel above just revealed how inadequate ANwar's state of mind really is...
samson samsonite
I think 16/9 is still on. Some businessmen have set the deadline to shut down their businesses after the month of September.
ReplyDeleteLim Kit Siang said wait for October. Let's just wait again.
Bro' Zorro,
ReplyDeleteSomething extraordinary about the surname Khoo that I have personally grown very fond of.
Most of the Khoo's that I have met over the years in Penang, Ipoh(my hometown) and now in KL including my good neighbour turn out to be a gem of a personality and they have always end up becoming instant friends, I must say.
Take care and you have every reason to be proud and Walk Tall for being a KHOO yourself.
Well said, Khoo. However, I think Bangsa Malaysia is an abstraction layer to mask the real problems. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country and Malaysians should celebrate the richness of cultural. Instead of creating the notion of a single ethnic, cultural pluralism should be promoted. Respect and compromise are the keys.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm . you sure its the right analogy ? Next time dont make promises you cant keep!The so called Master Race will just brush it off as hangat hangat tahi ayam.I aint no Blacksmith,but better hit while the iron is hot.
ReplyDeleteHanief: 16/9 is still on.
ReplyDeleteIt better be or we will cursed for the next 9 generations. A piece of my thought here:
Abdullah Badawi the King Kasihan
http://thexstories.blogspot.com/2008/09/abdullah-badawi-king-kasihan.html
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RPK… donno if this is politically correct to do, but I want to dedicate this song to RPK for his birthday…a song by Sudirman, another person I admired in life and death, recorded in the same studio the beatles made their many hits, a group RPK followed from what I understand…
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imeem.com/amirhk/music/jyvZ8ifE/sudirman_one_thousand_million_smiles/
SENDING YOU IN KAMUNTING - ONE THOUSAND MILLION SMILES
i reckon a significant amount of support for Anwar comes from distressed BN supporters who have lost confidence in their leader.
ReplyDeleteOn ISA, agreed that it may be 'abused' but some detentions are called for. Even the US, the so called champion of human rights, have the equivalent Patriot Act and Australia has similar tool for detention without trial in their terror law. Agree or disagree with it, it is an act of Parliament, and only Parliament can decide the fate of that act. A review is necessary, maybe not for an abolishment just yet.
the failure of a leader should reflect the failure of the people collectively. the leaders were chosen by the people (perhaps on the national level, not party level for now).
Z,
ReplyDeleteIt's basically the bottom-up management philosophy.
Barisan Rakyat got together just prior to GE12 to announce to ALL the politicians that we're empowering ourselves to help manage this nation. The politicians who are elected are public servants. No more, no less.
Everyone of us is an entrusted bona-fide stakeholder. And there's no retreat from that standpoint.
Anonymous said…
ReplyDeleteCome October 2008 there is nothing left but the Opposition Leader's Post to Hand Over from Flip Flop to C4 ok???
There should be no peace for Botak if the ISA detainees are not released and the oppressive draconian law is not abolished because such injustices are not tolerated and thus create great discontentment in this modern society. One day Botak and his cohorts should be made to eat their own medicine for the injustices they have committed against the detainees especially RPK
We call upon all the Rakyats of Malaysia to sign a Petition to be sent to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong to release RPK from his detention under ISA because there is a hidden agenda of a conspiracy of using his detention to silence him so that he could not further release more evidences against the real C4 murderers of Altantuya because all the accused were all fall guys of the real murderers because they all did not have a real & logical motive to murder the Mongolian Lady.
THE NEW DAWN OF MALAYSIA HAS COME & THE FIRST THING IS TO ALLOW APPEALS & THEN RELEASE ALL ISA DETAINEES, ABOLISH ISA, OSA, SEDITION OR WHATEVER ACTS THAT COULD BE EXPLOITED AND MADE PREJUDICIAL AND OPPRESSIVE TO THE VOICE OF DISSENT FROM ALL THE RAKYATS.
It is very easy to generate Police Reports against DSAI by using Penang Mamak Umno’s 25 Members headed by Wan Abidin Zain, who claimed to be non-partisan, using their uneasiness that most Penangites will now be boycotting Nasi Kandar one more round???
It is very Sad that the legacy of Malaysian Independence is reduced by this Moronic Flip Flop Coward into great disrepute and a laughing stock of the whole world and knowing very well that the UMNO Government has technically collapsed and they have lost locus standi to govern but yet he has decided to shamelessly still cling on to power via dubious means like hiding himself via using of the ISA and we cannot imagine that the Malaysia Moronic Flip Flop Coward has now stoop so low and using the Police Deputy IGP as his willing tools especially the Deputy IGP’s clearly taking side as the Police must be neutral and should be not politiking for him.
The Coward Moronic Flip Flop Chicken dare not meet DSAI face to face to settle matters but chose hiding under the use of ISA and that is what you have as a disgraceful cowardice leader for UMNO.
After 51 years MALAYSIA IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE but backwards because of the Oppression from the UMNO goons’ divide and rule fear tactics the Rakyats have matured & you must see all this coming because All The Rakyats of Malaysia are all fed-up & can no longer with-stand the hypocrisies, bullshits, lies and deceits of these UMNO Clowns now in Power ok??? What Oil Subsidies IS nothing but a hoax that the UMNO Government MAKE BELIEF THAT THERE IS AN OIL PRICE SUBSIDY TO THE PRICE OF FUEL BUT IN FACT THERE WERE NONE THIS IS BECAUSE MALAYSIA IS THE NET EXPORTER OF OIL THAT IS ONLY AFTER DEDUCTING DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION THE BALANCE IS EXPORTED TO EARN FOREIGN EXCHANGE. THESE LIARS MAKE US BELIEVE BY CONTINUOUS PROPAGANDA THAT THERE ARE OIL PRICE SUBSIDY BUT IN FACT THERE WERE NONE BECAUSE THE PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTUAL SALE LOCALLY AND THE PRICE THEY INTENDED TO SELL ABOARD IS AN OPPORTUNITY COST NOT PRICE SUBSIDY.
We urge all BN Components MPs with a conscience to do the necessary to make possible a New Malaysia for all Rakyats of Malaysia so that all our children and their children & their children’s children’s future will be safe and secured in the Country we all love and not be intimidated by those UMNO Clowns now in power with their oppressive & fear tactics and in the verge of making Malaysia a Police State if left unchecked otherwise. Save RPK as he is the midst of a conspiracy of the real murderers of Altantuya to silence him for good, instead of being C4ed he could be poisoned and worse off if he is on hunger strike by himself. The Acting IGP is defending the Police position after being made the tools of UMNO’s fear tactics & so he is now making lame excuses for being the Stringed Puppet to be easily manipulated by the Puppeteer, power that be. The Deputy IGP must be held personally responsible for the safety of RPK who has been heard to be tortured otherwise he must be made to eat his own medicine come the New Dawn of Malaysia.
Moronic PeeM and Botak Home Minister last minutes’ attempts to cling on power by using the fear tactics of using the ISA at their whims and fancies selectively against dissent & tried to deny their own actions as they now have no balls to face the wrath of the all the Rakyats of Malaysia. ONE DAY THE MORONIC BOTAK AND FLIP FLOP AND C4 MUST BE MADE TO TASTE THEIR OWN MEDICINE OK?
All Rakyats of Malaysia will see to that these Clowns will be thrown out soon come the New Dawn of Malaysia & that all Rakyats of Malaysia will welcome the New Malaysia on Malaysia Day 916, 2008 for a Malaysia for All Malaysians.
Justice MUST BE DONE for Altantuya and for all those detained under ISA without the trial nor the rights of appeal. Light-up a Candle in the Lantern of the Mid-Autumn Festival for them all to usher in the NEW DAWN OF MALAYSIA COME 916, 2008
Zor;
ReplyDeleteYour championing for justice and freedom is most admirable, so let nothing deter you from your cause. Matter of fact, I am proud to stand with a True Malaysian like you.
As for Anwar's fixed dates with his intention to change the govt, let's simply, support him, not make too much of a fuss. We share his aspirations. Let's not lose sight, work deligently, rid the UMNO-BN administration!
MALAYSIANS NEED TO BE SCROCHED BY A BLAZING GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRUSH THAT IS FAST BUT QUIETLY SHORING-UP.
ReplyDeleteONLY WHEN THEY ARE LEFT WITHOUT MONEY AND JOB TO RESCUE THEIR MONTHLY COMMITMENTS FOR HOUSING LOAN, CREDIT CARDS, CAR LOANS AND FEE PAYMENT FOR BAS SEKOLAH, OR PUT REASONABLE FOOD ON THE TABLE WILL WE SEE THAT DRIVE FOR CHANGE TAKE SHAPE.
ONLY THEN WILL THEY OPEN THEIR EYES AND NOT REMAIN INDIFFERENT OR POLITICALLY IMMATURE GIVEN THE BAGGAGE OF MALAYSIA'S POLITICS AND POLITICKING.
UNTIL THEN, WE REMAIN PRISONERS OF OUR OWN FOLLY.
Be patient!The time to take over is not yet but will definitely come in due course.While consolidating, why not continue to fight against all injustices and corruptions . .Economically,things will get worst before they become better.Politically
ReplyDelete,instability will continue with UMNO unable to carry our any meaningful reforms and the other parties in the BN becoming steadily irrelevant!The seeds for constructive destruction have been sown.Should'nt we be patient to wait for the "right time" to take over!
What Khoo Kay Peng wrote makes eminent sense. Who cares about this date or that date? Who cares about this political party or that? Who cares so long our leaders do the right thing by us and do it for the nation and not themselves. The problem is that they do not, or will not and we have to stop the abuse before we fail as a nation.
ReplyDeleteIts true what KKP says.
ReplyDeleteSo far a lot of our focus has been on winning over against UMNO/BN.
We target the police like as if they are part of the UMNO/BN charade.
Can we start addressing each one separately? The government as the machinery or like a vehicle. UMNO/BN like the driver of that vehicle.
UMNO/BN uses the government/vehicle to plough us down. But it is not the government/vehicle that is at fault. It is UMNO/BN.
The police need to realise that they are no more than a vehicle. There is nothing wrong with the vehicle as constructed. Except that becaue they got a lousy driver, they have had a few bangs here and there and many more dents. Going on like that they will stop looking like the Porsche that they were originally moulded into.
In fact the police need to be told that the driver, UMNO/BN, does not care for the police/vehicle at all. They use the police/vehicle to continue to remain as drivers. What is sad is, as the drivers go around banging the vehicle all over the place, the vehicle is responding, thinking its sole purpose in life is to ensure the driver lives and continues to drive.
The police need to realise the constitution intended that when a bad driver comes along, it is up to the people to change the driver. It is not hte police's role to protect the driver of the vehicle.
Somewhere along the line the police have been misled into thinking their duty is to preserve the UMNO/BN hegemony.
How do we get the police to begin questioning their own bosses?
Same applies to the military and other enforcement forces.
If one were to study the work and hte objectives of our Special Branch, one would see that there are a lot of similarities between them and Hitler's Gestapo. In any given situation the Gestapo more commonly known as SS were the superior power. I suppose the same applies to our Special Branch. Well, at least Hitler will be proud to know that in Malaysia, his legacy still lives on.
http://iwfrpk.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday RPK!
I WILL FOLLOW HIM
(Du-du-doot, du-du-doot, du-du-doot.)
(Du-du-du-du-du-du-doot, du-du-doot, du-du-doot.)
(Du-du-du-du-du-du-doot...)
Love him, I love him, I love him.
And Where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
I will follow him.
Follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keep,
Keep me away.
(Du-du-doot, du-du-doot, du-du.)
I must follow him (follow him).
Ever since he touched my hand I knew,
That near him I always must be.
And nothing can keep him from me.
He is my destiny (destiny).
I love him, I love him, I love him,
And where he goes, I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
He'll always be my true love, my true love, my true love,
From now until forever, forever, forever.
I will follow him (follow him).
Follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keep,
Keep me away, away from my love.
I love him, I love him, I love him,
And where he goes, I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
He'll always be my true love, my true love, my true love,
From now until forever, forever, forever.
I will follow him (follow him),
Follow him wherever he may go,
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keep,
Keep me away, away from my love.
(Du-du-doot, du-du-doot, du-du-doot...)
(And where he goes I'll) follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
I know I'll always love him, I love him, I love him.
And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
I know I'll always love him...
[ Fade. ]
Written by: Arthur Altman, Norman Gimble, Jacques Plante, Del Roma & J.W. Stole
Performed by: Little Peggy March
===
MAHATMA GANDHI ON NON-VIOLENT ACTION AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
"Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state has become lawless or corrupt. And a citizen who barters with such a state shares in its corruption and lawlessness...Every citizen is responsible for every act of his government...There is only one sovereign remedy, namely,non-violent non-cooperation."
"Coercion cannot but result in chaos in the end."
"One who uses coercion is guilty of deliberate violence."
"Coercion is inhuman..."
"Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good..."
"All through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall, always."
===
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Security_Act_(Malaysia)
The fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, went on the record in 1988 to state "If we want to save Malaysia and Umno, Dr Mahathir (then Prime Minister) must be removed. He uses draconian laws such as the Internal Security Act to silence his critics." The year before, he had also stated "Laws such as the Internal Security Act have no place in modern Malaysia. It is a draconian and barbaric law."
http://dbwing.com/project1/abolishisa_login.php
ReplyDeleteCredilbility counts. Otherwise no one will ever take his words again. No one will ever believe him again.
ReplyDeleteTell me how are we supposed to know which of his words will be the truth?
Change will happen when there is no more wealth to rob - after the now corrupt unmo leaders (not the poor trusting umno members) completely plunder our khanazah (built on blood, sweat & tears of citizens). Hypocritical, corrupt umno leaders treat khanazah as their own. When Malaysia (the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak & Sabah) is bankrupted, they'll go.
ReplyDeleteWhy UMNO cannot REFORM itself, and is DOOMED ….
ReplyDeleteIs UMNO a Fascist Party or Not???
————————————————-
What is Fascism?
From: NLG Civil Liberties Committee
Sept. 27, 1992 by Chip Berlet
This article is adapted from the author’s preface to Russ Bellant’s book “Old Nazis, the New Right, and the Republican Party,” co-published by South End Press and Political Research Associates.
“Fascism, which was not afraid to call itself reactionary… does not hesitate to call itself illiberal and anti-liberal.”
_Benito Mussolini
We have all heard of the Nazis_but our image is usually a caricature of a brutal goose-stepping soldier wearing a uniform emblazoned with a swastika. Most people in the U.S. are aware that the U.S. and its allies fought a war against the Nazis, but there is much more to know if one is to learn the important lessons of our recent history.
Technically, the word NAZI was the acronym for the National Socialist German Worker’s Party. It was a fascist movement that had its roots in the European nationalist and socialist movements, and that developed a grotesque biologically-determinant view of so-called “Aryan” supremacy. (Here we use “national socialism” to refer to the early Nazi movement before Hitler came to power, sometimes termed the “Brownshirt” phase, and the term “Nazi” to refer to the movement after it had consolidated around ideological fascism.)
The seeds of fascism, however, were planted in Italy. “Fascism is reaction,” said Mussolini, but reaction to what? The reactionary movement following World War I was based on a rejection of the social theories that formed the basis of the 1789 French Revolution, and whose early formulations in this country had a major influence on our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
It was Rousseau who is best known for crystallizing these modern social theories in . The progeny of these theories are sometimes called Modernism or Modernity because they challenged social theories generally accepted since the days of Machiavelli. The response to the French Revolution and Rousseau, by Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and others, poured into an intellectual stew which served up Marxism, socialism, national socialism, fascism, modern liberalism, modern conservatism, communism, and a variety of forms of capitalist participatory democracy.
Fascists particularly loathed the social theories of the French Revolution and its slogan: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.”
*** Liberty from oppressive government intervention in the daily lives of its citizens, from illicit searches and seizures, from enforced religious values, from intimidation and arrest for dissenters; and liberty to cast a vote in a system in which the majority ruled but the minority retained certain inalienable rights.
*** Equality in the sense of civic equality, egalitarianism, the notion that while people differ, they all should stand equal in the eyes of the law.
*** Fraternity in the sense of the brotherhood of mankind. That all women and men, the old and the young, the infirm and the healthy, the rich and the poor, share a spark of humanity that must be cherished on a level above that of the law, and that binds us all together in a manner that continuously re-affirms and celebrates life.
This is what fascism as an ideology was reacting against_and its support came primarily from desperate people anxious and angry over their perception that their social and economic position was sinking and frustrated with the constant risk of chaos, uncertainty and inefficiency implicit in a modern democracy based on these principles. Fascism is the antithesis of democracy. We fought a war against it not half a century ago; millions perished as victims of fascism and champions of liberty.
“One of the great lies of this century is that in the 1930’s Generalissimo Franco in Spain was primarily a nationalist engaged in stopping the Reds. Franco was, of course, a fascist who was aided by Mussolini and Hitler.”
“The history of this period is a press forgery. Falsified news manipulates public opinion. Democracy needs facts.
_George Seldes Hartland Four Corners, Vermont, March 5, 1988
Fascism was forged in the crucible of post-World War I nationalism in Europe. The national aspirations of many European peoples_nations without states, peoples arbitrarily assigned to political entities with little regard for custom or culture_had been crushed after World War I. The humiliation imposed by the victors in the Great War, coupled with the hardship of the economic Depression, created bitterness and anger. That anger frequently found its outlet in an ideology that asserted not just the importance of the nation, but its unquestionable primacy and central predestined role in history.
In identifying “goodness” and “superiority” with “us,” there was a tendency to identify “evil” with “them.” This process involves scapegoating and dehumanization. It was then an easy step to blame all societal problems on “them,” and presuppose a conspiracy of these evildoers which had emasculated and humiliated the idealized core group of the nation. To solve society’s problems one need only unmask the conspirators and eliminate them.
In Europe, Jews were the handy group to scapegoat as “them.” Anti- Jewish conspiracy theories and discrimination against Jews were not a new phenomenon, but most academic studies of the period note an increased anti-Jewish fervor in Europe, especially in the late 1800’s. In France this anti-Jewish bias was most publicly expressed in the case of Alfred Dreyfus, a French military officer of Jewish background, who in 1894 was falsely accused of treason, convicted (through the use of forged papers as evidence) and imprisoned on Devil’s Island. Zola led a noble struggle which freed Dreyfus and exposed the role of anti-Jewish bigotry in shaping French society and betraying the principles on which France was building its democracy.
Not all European nationalist movements were necessarily fascist, although many were. In some countries much of the Catholic hierarchy embraced fascist nationalism as a way to counter the encroachment of secular influences on societies where previously the church had sole control over societal values and mores. This was especially true in Slovakia and Croatia, where the Clerical Fascist movements were strong, and to a lesser extent in Poland and Hungary. Yet even in these countries individual Catholic leaders and laity spoke out against bigotry as the shadow of fascism crept across Europe. And in every country of Europe there were ordinary citizens who took extraordinary risks to shelter the victims of the Holocaust. So religion and nationality cannot be valid indicators of fascist sentiment. And the Nazis not only came for the Jews, as the famous quote reminds us, but for the communists and the trade union leaders, and indeed the Gypsies, the dissidents and the homosexuals. Nazism and fascism are more complex than popular belief. What, then, is the nature of fascism?
Italy was the birthplace of fascist ideology. Mussolini, a former socialist journalist, organized the first fascist movement in 1919 at Milan. In 1922 Mussolini led a march on Rome, was given a government post by the king, and began transforming the Italian political system into a fascist state. In 1938 he forced the last vestige of democracy, the Council of Deputies, to vote themselves out of existence, leaving Mussolini dictator of fascist Italy.
Yet there were Italian fascists who resisted scapegoating and dehumanization even during World War II. Not far from the area where Austrian Prime Minister Kurt Waldheim is accused of assisting in the transport of Jews to the death camps, one Italian General, Mario Roatta, who had pledged equality of treatment to civilians, refused to obey the German military order to round up Jews. Roatta said such an activity was “incompatible with the honor of the Italian Army.”
Franco’s fascist movement in Spain claimed state power in 1936, although it took three years, the assistance of the Italian fascists and help from the secretly reconstituted German Air Force finally to crush those who fought for democracy. Picasso’s famous painting depicts the carnage wrought in a Spanish village by the bombs dropped by the forerunner of the which all too soon would be working on an even larger canvas. Yet Franco’s fascist Spain never adopted the obsession with race and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories that were hallmarks of Hitler’s Nazi movement in Germany.
Other fascist movements in Europe were more explicitly racialist, promoting the slogan still used today by some neo-Nazi movements: “Nation is Race.” The Nazi racialist version of fascism was developed by Adolph Hitler who with six others formed the Nazi party during 1919 and 1920. Imprisoned after the unsuccessful 1923 Beer Hall putsch in Munich, Hitler dictated his opus, to his secretary, Rudolph Hess.
(My Battle) sets out a plan for creating in Germany through national socialism a racially pure state. To succeed, said Hitler, “Aryan” Germany had to resist two forces: the external threat posed by the French with their bloodlines “negrified” through “contamination by Negro blood,” and the internal threat posed by “the Marxist shock troops of international Jewish stock exchange capital.” Hitler was named Chancellor of Germany by Hindenburg in January 1933 and by year’s end had consolidated his power as a fascist dictator and begun a campaign for racialist nationalism that eventually led to the Holocaust.
This obsession with a racialism not only afflicted the German Nazis, but also several eastern European nationalist and fascist movements including those in Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine. Anti-Jewish bigotry was rampant in all of these racialist movements, as was the idea of a link between Jewish financiers and Marxists. Even today the tiny Anti-communist Confederation of Polish Freedom Fighters in the U.S.A. uses the slogan “Communism is Jewish.”
“Reactionary concepts plus revolutionary emotion result in Fascist mentality.”
_Wilhelm Reich
One element shared by all fascist movements, racialist or not, is the apparent lack of consistent political principle behind the ideology_political opportunism in the most basic sense. One virtually unique aspect of fascism is its ruthless drive to attain and hold state power. On that road to power, fascists are willing to abandon any principle to adopt an issue more in vogue and more likely to gain converts.
Hitler, for his part, committed his act of abandonment bloodily and dramatically. When the industrialist power brokers offered control of Germany to Hitler, they knew he was supported by national socialist ideologues who held views incompatible with their idea of profitable enterprise. Hitler solved the problem in the “Night of the Long Knives,” during which he had the leadership of the national socialist wing of his constituency murdered in their sleep.
What distinguishes Nazism from generic fascism is its obsession with racial theories of superiority, and some would say, its roots in the socialist theory of proletarian revolution.
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.
It is vitally important to understand that fascism and Nazism are not biologically or culturally determinant. Fascism does not attach to the gene structure of any specific group or nationality. Nazism was not the ultimate expression of the German people. Fascism did not end with World War II.
After Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies, the geopolitical landscape of Europe was once again drastically altered. In a few short months, some of our former fascist enemies became our allies in the fight to stop the spread of communism. The record of this transformation has been laid out in a series of books. U.S. recruitment of the Nazi spy apparatus has been chronicled in books ranging from by Hohne & Zolling, to the recent by Simpson. The laundering of Nazi scientists into our space program is chronicled in by Bowers. The global activities of, and ongoing fascist role within, the World Anti-Communist League were described in by Anderson and Anderson. Bellant’s bibliography cites many other examples of detailed and accurate reporting of these disturbing realities.
But if so much is already known of this period, why does journalist and historian George Seldes call the history of Europe between roughly 1920 and 1950 a “press forgery”? Because most people are completely unfamiliar with this material, and because so much of the popular historical record either ignores or contradicts the facts of European nationalism, Nazi collaborationism, and our government’s reliance on these enemies of democracy to further our Cold War foreign policy objectives.
This widely-accepted, albeit misleading, historical record has been shaped by filtered media reports and self-serving academic revisionism rooted in an ideological preference for those European nationalist forces which opposed socialism and communism. Since sectors of those nationalist anti-communist forces allied themselves with political fascism, but later became our allies against communism, for collaborationists became the rule, not the exception.
Soon, as war memories dimmed and newspaper accounts of collaboration faded, the fascists and their allies re-emerged cloaked in a new mantle of respectability. Portrayed as anti-communist freedom fighters, their backgrounds blurred by time and artful circumlocution, they stepped forward to continue their political organizing with goals unchanged and slogans slightly repackaged to suit domestic sensibilities.
To fight communism after World War II, our government forged a tactical alliance with what was perceived to be the lesser of two evils_and as with many such bargains, there has been a high price to pay.
“The great masses of people. . .will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.”
_Adolph Hitler
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