Forum Post: 17 Signs That The United States Is Becoming A Totalitarian Police State

this list of horrors (in no particular order) from two prior lists, one done by U.S. author Naomi Wolf and another by UK writer Dr. Lawrence Britt, as published in the Guardian newspaper.

1. Powerful And Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain For The Recognition Of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification Of Enemies/Scapegoats As A Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, (Christians, Constitutionalists, conservatives, 2nd Amendment supporters, 1st Amendment supporters, 4th Amendment supporters, Ron Lawl supporters) etc.

4. Supremacy Of The Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

6. Obsession With National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

7. Corporate and Government Power Are Intertwined And Their Combined Power Is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. (This is the actual definition of fascism according to Gerald Celente's historical description of Mussolini's opinion on the matter).

8. Obsession With Crime And Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

9. Rampant Cronyism And Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. (Gee how about several TRILLION DOLLARS printed out of nothing and handed over to U.S. and foreign banks and companies - does that maybe count? How about hundreds of thousands of people's homes? How many politicians leave Washington D.C. millionaires or billionaires after arriving there with next to nothing?)

10. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.