In Search of a History

   In 1995, scholar Umberto Eco (child witness to Mussolinis national socialism) affixed the title of "Ur-Fascism" to many of the same symptoms evident today: "the rejection of modernism ... action for actions sake ...fear of difference ...appeal to a frustrated middle class ...obsession with a plot ...life is permanent warfare ...contempt for the weak ...the cult of heroism ...selective populism ...against rotten parliamentary governments." Eco warns that Ur-Fascism is still around, though in "plainclothes," in "the most innocent of disguises."

   What many Americans dont realize is that of all the neo-fascist activity heard today throughout the world, the vast bulk of pro-fascist literature comes from the US, not Europe. The old stereotype of the reverse is no longer true. European hate groups import it, its ideology and recruitment strategies, from cities like New York and Los Angeles.

   Which brings up another sobering reality: the fact that developing nations are taking their lead from the historical precedence set by the United States. They're following the codes and strictures leading to economic wealth and, predictably, at the expense of the poor and displaced. Enormous disparities exist between rich and poor, the weak and powerful.

   Hearing about sweatshops and child labor should make us feel accountable, not distantly judgmental and elitist. Countries in Asia and South America are only following the exemplar of "progress" as defined by US history. Why? Because the US won the biggest war in history, world history was instantly rewritten by "the winner," and the rules (or lack thereof) of free market industrial capitalism became regnant and supreme. And remember it was Alexander Hamilton who said that women and children were "rendered more useful ...[within] manufacturing establishments."

   Mexico's notorious maquiladora zone (the belt of low-wage factories along the Mexican border) fed by NAFTA is just one example. NAFTA has destabilized the Mexican peasantry, having forced it into cheap industrial labor. Thailand's peasantry is another example. Child labor and subminimum wages only follow the same conditions which occurred in the US for roughly the same reasons (cf. the LA garment industry and southern textile plants). The infamous shoe factories in Indonesia are another. And even Germany and Japan follow the imbalances of wealth distribution between rich and poor, even though both countries maintain a fairer distribution-ratio than even the US (6:1 and 4:1 versus 9:1 in the US - rich to poor).

The Preamble, the Declaration of Independence, and the Gettysburg Address are "the sacred scriptures of this nation,"

Divorce Court: Let No Man Put Asunder
Is our traditional faith in justice being eroded by courts that operate as a child kidnapping and extortion racket?

Eleanor Leacock: Deceptions of a Gender Equal Society
Exposing the fraudulent claims in Eleanor Leacock's contribution to Becoming Visible, a textbook often used in Womens' History classes.

Classical Fathering vs Judeo-Christian Model
We interview historian Frederick Hodges about raising children with classical Western values by avoiding the methods imposed on the West by Middle-Eastern religions.

The Importance of Fathers in Children's Lives
As everyone who has had one knows, a good father is a valuable asset.

Fathers in the News
Items in the news of interest to fathers: links to news items on other sites.

No! I want to see something entirely different!