Dr. Lawrence Britt's Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism and how they apply to the Philippines

1. Powerful and continuing nationalism – Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. (*cough*Pinoy Pride*cough*)

2. Disdain for 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. (Proclamation nr. 1081, vigilantism in Cebu and Davao...)

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as 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, etc. (Generally, this refers to critics of the current occupant of Malacañan, those he calls "the noisy minority.")

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. (Unsure--do we have something like that here? It's as if our military is good only for parades!)

5. Rampant sexism – The government of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the as the ultimate guardian of the family institution. (No divorce, no abortion, but homosexuality isn’t suppressed at the macroscopic view.)

6. 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. (*ahem*)

7. Obsession with National Security – Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. (Unsure--can someone give an example?)

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined – Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion (Roman Catholicism, in this case--and I'm a filthy Papist!) in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions. (Do we need any explanation?)

9. Corporate Powers 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. (A.K.A. the 250 Families--better known as the Oligarchy--controlling the Philippines.)

10. Labor power is suppressed – Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. (*cough*Hacienda Luisita*cough*)

11. Disdain for intellectuals and the Arts – fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. (Politeismo, anyone?)

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment – Under the fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forgo civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. (Atimoanan? Most likely Atimoanan.)

13. 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 uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. (We call that the Kapamilya, Kaklase, Kabarilan at Kaibigan of the current occupant of the Palazzo.)

14. Fraudulent Elections – Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against opposition 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. (Hocus PCOS! *hurr*)

CHANGELOG:

1. Added examples to #2.

2. Expanded #3.

3. Erratum in changelog fixed. Now shows "Expanded #3" instead of "Expanded #2."
4. Erased the unneeded smiley in #8.