Glenn Beck's dangerous movement: It CAN happen here

[discocrisco01]

From the Seattle Times

"Let's pause and give thanks to Glenn Beck.

No, seriously — because that's what he's due.

We owe this talk-show-host-turned-political-leader gratitude for using his televised keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference to so frankly outline what the conservative movement has become — and why it repulses so many Americans.

Coming days after an anti-tax terrorist kamikaze attacked a government facility in Texas, and following Republicans like Sen. Scott Brown and Rep. Steve King expressing sympathy for that terrorist's grievances, Beck's homily stands as the moment's most forthright manifesto on the right's authoritarian objectives.

Beck began his speech posing as a libertarian against "big government." Notice that most Republican icons are now doing this, though not all resemble Beck — not all of them previously pushed the big-government Patriot Act or the even-bigger-government bank bailout

With the problems that we have as a nation, requires community-based solutions to solve. This rheortic was okay during the frontier days but we live in a complex and interdependent society today.

Glenn Beck knows this but instead wants to invoke imagery of a long, historic past that no longer exists. Individualism worked well in the frontier but now, everybody is dependent each other for survival. At then end of the day, the community working as a collective is far more efficient than a bunch of individuals competing againist each other.

At the end of the day, Social Darwinism does not accomplish the long-range interests of the society and it also does not achieve the long-term goals of the people who embrace it. Society is interdependent on each other and once we embrace this concept, we can overcome massive problems that we have. People like Beck are a cancer in this society because they emotionally manipulate people to believe that "fend for yourself" mentality is the best. In reality, it does achieve anything concrete and is a barrier on the road towards true

[RKP5637]

1. Well said! "People like Beck are a cancer in this society..." n/t

[Xipe Totec]

2. Is Beck still pissed at the Germans for bombing Pearl Harbor? nt

[Juche]

3. The Frontiersmen were not independent

Many were given land by the government and functioned as collectives to survive the environment. The concept of them as individuals is a myth from what I know. Many were dependent on the government to give them land, then dependent on cooperatives to pool resources and labor.


My view is this. The Beckians need and depend on community, but don't want to admit it since they consider it a form of weakness. So they convince themselves that they pay for the community, but get no benefits. Only 'those' people get benefits (those = blacks, mexican immigrants, the poor).

A good way to destroy the teabag movement is to cut their medicare and social security for 3 months. Watch the entire movement collapse since it is heavily made up of people over 65. They will be begging for a welfare state after 90 days. Call their bluff, many of the teabaggers are elderly, and the elderly are the biggest beneficiaries of the welfare state we have (they collect well over a trillion in SS, medicare & medicaid).

But again, you have to consider who the audience is for these movements. Fascism in Europe in the 20s and 30s had large pools of unemployed youth and war veterans to pull support from. The Beckian teabag movement is made up of whites, generally males, in their 70s. Most will be dead in 10 years and many will not be alive in 2016 after Obama is done being president.

These people can and are dangerous, but I don't think they pose the threat that you saw in Italy or Germany. A bunch of 70 year olds who decry the welfare state but are too stupid to understand that Social security & medicare are welfare aren't going to overthrow the government.

[izquierdista]

4. Fascist support

If you look a little closer, you will find that Hitler's best demographic in the 1932 elections was from the 65+ age group. Nothing more dangerous than an old fool who has plenty of time to vote, but no time to learn what's going on.