While it is highly unlikely that Barack Obama considers
himself to be a conscious fascist, the hypocritical policies, actions, and
inactions by this Obama/Biden/Rahm Emanuel administration are steadily laying
the groundwork for right-wing lunatics and their ilk to opportunistically seize the political initiative bringing
about an even more restrictive form
of ‘American’ authoritarianism ultimately as a 21st century de facto U.S.
fascism.
It is extremely noteworthy that the Obama administration has
not reversed the serious
constitutional erosions of the liberties and rights of the people of this
nation brought about by the previous Bush/Cheney administration. Indeed, to the
contrary, it has continued and in fact broadened
many of the erosions of constitutional rights -- particularly in the areas of
spying on the communications and private lives of U.S. citizens, expanding
police powers, and continuing to hold persons indefinitely without so much as even a pretense of a trial.
The fact is that capitalism, nationally and internationally,
is in severe crisis and Obama is smack dab in the middle of it. Yet, not
surprisingly, the Obama/Biden/Rahm Emanuel administration continues to
stubbornly serve the interests of the gluttonous corporate elite at the expense of the masses of every day
people of this nation and world.
Similar (though obviously not exact) to the Weimar Republic in Germany of the early 1930s that
unwittingly ushered in blatant German fascism, the Obama/Biden/Rahm Emanuel
administration (in concert with a pathetic U.S. Congress) are haplessly laying
the foundation for a not-too-distant and blatant
form of U.S. authoritarianism/fascism, thanks to the, thus far, relatively weak
response of the U.S. left to the Obama administration’s hypocrisy, and the shamelessly
opportunist, very well financed and growingly organized -- often fanatical --
right-wing opposition locally and nationally.
The more the human-ostriches
of today erroneously declare that the ascendancy of Barack Obama as head of the
U.S. Empire makes racism and/or color null and void in ‘America,’ the more color and racism become
increasingly active and relevant in the U.S. body politic socially and
economically, and throughout the population as a whole. The color line remains very much intact and everywhere
in ‘America.’
Racism is increasing
by leaps and bounds in this nation as is police repression. Though the
corporate self-described ‘news’ media
said little about the recent terrible police violence and repression against
the G-20 demonstrators in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, Pa., it nonetheless
outrageously occurred, just as it is occurring nationwide on ever intense levels.
The tactic of the Obama/Biden/Rahm Emanuel administration to
use double-speak and simultaneous
economic apartheid against every day people of all colors in this country
is being cleverly and opportunistically turned against said administration by
the right-wing even while much of the U.S. left has remained silent. This is unacceptable, and a recipe for being
complicitous in the ushering in of blatant fascism.
We must expose and
engage in political struggle against both
the opportunist right-wing and the pro-corporate, war mongering and
hypocritical Obama/Biden/Rahm Emanuel administration. This means out-organizing the right-wing while
consistently and simultaneously debunking
and exposing the corporate pillaging and double-speak by the
Obama/Biden/pro-apartheid Zionist Rahm Emanuel administration.
There are no short
cuts and our work is cut out for us. Onward, sisters and brothers. Onward!
Larry Pinkney is an editorial board member and
columnist for The
Black Commentator.