John McCain, bless his stout heart, has given us perhaps the best portrait of the American Mind since Crevecoeur and Tocqueville, an incipient fascism nibbling at the edges for, now, several centuries, even before fascism was a known quantity. He captures the genius of our Inner Dream: conquest pure and simple, the victim almost immaterial, just so long as there are victims—for that is the test of a manly nation, one whose actions, however destructive, the bloodier the better, under God, for He/She always recognizes those who do His/Her work on behalf of the advancement of private property (privatization the Golden Rule of social institutions) and keeping the inferior heathen (a flexible group, as more come to see the light, but presently, the Russians and Chinese) in their place, where they cannot harm or contaminate others.
It is true, God had a special place in His/Her heart for the Holy Land, but it is foolish to think that God doesn’t keep up with current events, so that today His/Her real interest is, of course, Crimea, just outside of which the heathen are gathered for unjustified warfare, and therefore must be punished, nay, pushed back, nay, conquered and destroyed. Nothing less will do, except that having gained that Wisdom, His/Her peoples must not rest on their laurels. The struggle between Good and Evil goes on, with the good Senator (the David in our midst) leading us beyond Russia to China and points north-south-east-west, whatever obstructs America’s presence in a divinely mandated and orchestrated global hegemony.
God is lucky to have such devoted servants, devout in their wholesome regard for humanity, as Obama, Kerry, the Clintons (Adam and Eve clothed in modern dress), and that secret order of priests in holy orders, the CIA, with their wannabes from NSA next in line in receipt of God’s blessings. But enough. Action not talk is required. The Heavens shake with anticipation, perhaps a mushroom cloud to the very Empyrean. My New York Times Comment on John McCain’s op. ed. article, “Obama Has Made America Look Weak,” March 14 (mine, same date), follows:
Brecht’s “Arturo Ui” did not say it better: “realism, strength, and leadership,” precise code for the psychopathology of fascism. Today, NATO expansion, then Crimea back in the fold, then the toppling of Russia, then Iran and China, and, tomorrow–THE WORLD! Thanks, Senator, for this excellent summary of the American global vision–but one error, you have not included Obama and the Democrats therein, for they agree with you completely.
Do not be fooled by Obama’s talk. It’s for domestic consumption while he and his advisers (from Kerry to John Brennan) are with you 100%. You should respect a man who personally authorizes drone assassinations–a cred amply demonstrating his articulation of the American ethos. In fact, most of the country is solidly with you. Why be cry-babies? Why be ashamed of strength and complete demonstration of credibility? In sum, why flinch at the prospect of nuclear war?
Only cowards and dirty Reds would object to eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Putin, whom, as all know, is Stalin-Lenin-Trotsky resurrected from the grave. A menace, pure Evil. No, I couldn’t agree more, that we must lead the world, unchallenged, to a better place, of genuine patriotism founded on market fundamentalism, privatization, and an army more potent than the rest of the world combined. Appropriations for war are the secret of keeping the peace. The social safety net coddles people at home, unfit for manhood. All power (and money) to the military!
Norman Pollack has written on Populism. His interests are social theory and the structural analysis of capitalism and fascism. He can be reached at pollackn@msu.edu.
