A dedicated minority can overwhelm a disinterested majority.
To do so takes discipline, and a mindset that will brook neither criticism nor interference, that is totally obedient to the will of the leader.
What drives this mindset is fear. The leadership drives fear into people, and the mindset is gradually acquired. There are many examples of this. South Africa's Nationalists. Mussolini's Fascists. It was a hallmark of Peronism in Argentina. It's not a left-right thing, since it's most closely associated with Lenin's Russia, but it's more common than most in the democratic world believe or accept.
Note that in all these examples there's one ingredient which, many will say, does not exist in today's Republicans -- ruthlessness. That is, the willingness to do anything in the name of the cause, whether that's stuffing ballot boxes, taking control of the news media, or just shooting to kill. In the wake of New Orleans I'd question whether that ruthlessness is lacking. When you hear someone try to defend what has happened, it's hard to argue it's lacking.
Political movements can easily morph into Bolshevism, even in democracies. It's the main Achilles Heel of the whole system. I think it's what Washington most feared when he talked of "factions."
Over the last two centuries many political movements in this country have been accused of a Bolshevistic mind set, even before such a thing existed, starting (long before there was such a thing) with Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans. Jackson's Democrats had some of it, and it morphed into the Slave Power, which had it in spades. Did the Big City Machines have it? How about the New Deal -- they were certainly accused of it.
See how common this is?
What's most infuriating about our time is how many white, male Americans (some females, some blacks, but overwhelmingly it's white males) have internalized this mindset. It's why I find it increasingly difficult to communicate with these bozos -- all avenues of communication are blocked-off.
Want to see the dance?
- First, deny. Not my fault.
- Then, deflect. It's their fault.
- Now, dismiss. You're the problem.
- Finally dehumanize. This is the end game of the dismissal.
Repeat as necessary.
Americans throughout the country saw this game played out over the last week, over New Orleans, writ large. It was brazen, out in the open.
- We didn't find out the levees were broken until Thursday.
- Governor Blanco didn't authorize us. Mayor Nagin failed his people, not us.
- Your criticism isn't helping. Shut up. Now is not the time.
- It's "you" who are to blame. The only way to stop this in the future is get rid of (insert name of critic or critic's group here).
There's a lot of what the psychiatrists call "projection" involved in all this. The faults you have you project onto the other person. Once the other gets frustrated, the argument is all their fault.
A democracy cannot succeed when such games continue to succeed. We all need to be on the look-out for it, and shun those who play it.
We can start with apologists for the crimes of last week.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for over 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the "Interactive Age Daily" for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, and dozens of other publications over the years.
1. Alice Marshall on September 6, 2005 12:49 PM writes...
John Yoo went on the record for ruthlessness in an opinion piece for the LA Times-
Permalink to Commenthttp://empireburlesquenow.blogspot.com/2005/07/yoo-hoo-peeling-back-layer-of-bush.html
2. Brad Hutchings on September 6, 2005 02:11 PM writes...
When there's enough time to write the history, I think we'll find that 80% of NO citizens evacuated as asked, NO survived the hurricane fine, but was clobbered by the levy break, many people who stayed behind were poor or had no way out, many people who stayed behind had pets they wouldn't leave (this is the unwritten tragedy of this whole disaster), some people who stayed behind were just freakin nutcases. Cleanup will proceed, services restored, gas prices will go down, people will be allowed back in for longer and longer visits to their homes.
Notice that there's no blame in the history. I'm sure there's enough to go around. But it's a sideshow being conducted by people with a political axe that's carved up all remnants of compassion they may have had.
Permalink to Comment3. Mike Johnson on September 8, 2005 05:47 AM writes...
Brad, it so ironic how your last paragraph above is blind to Dana's point (3) - "Your criticism isn't helping. Shut up. Now is not the time." Are you so brainwashed you don't even see that?
Permalink to Comment4. Thuktun on September 8, 2005 11:28 AM writes...
Barbara Bush recently stated that Katrina victims evacuated to Houston, Texas were "underprivileged anyway" and that staying in the Astrodome is "working very well for them".
Is this (4) above, or a general aristocratic similarity to the French nobility prior to la Révolution?
Permalink to Comment5. Brad Hutchings on September 8, 2005 01:30 PM writes...
Mike, the only irony here is that you think I must be brainwashed (step #4, dehumanize) to hold my opinion. I've said in two other threads prior to this that it's a time to help, not to harp. There are two practical reasons for this. First, if you're unaffected and whining now, you're showing no class and you're not representing your parents and family very well, nor setting a good example for your own kids. If you're affected and want to lash out at Bush, the feds, or a grilled cheese sandwich, we're obligated to let you vent while we continue to help and we'll sort out the facts later. Call it the Cindy Sheehan rule. Second, we do not have enough facts even now to mete out blame. Even "conventional wisdom" (race, wealth) doesn't explain so many of the stories of people who stayed behind. All we have to work on from the peanut gallery is what the TV shows us. If there turn out to be more details that we aren't now familiar with, and those details exonerate the obvious targets, then accusers will look pretty stupid later on.
So what I was saying in prior thread and in this one is simply... show some class, don't say anything you'll regret later, help now, we'll sort accountability out later. And to that, I'll add, if you're on "the other side" and you turn out to be culpable, if you're helping now, you'll probably be forgiven later and we'll call it a learning experience.
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