In this blog I will not put any blame solely on one party or the other. I believe the problems of our Country have been the result of neglect by both parties. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and as such my views have been shaped by my belief in Christ. I hope this blog can show a moderate view of politics by a member of the LDS church.
The purposes of this blog are to observe and study the tendency of totalitarian regimes. Hopefully by looking at the past regimes of the Nazis, the Soviets, and the Italians we can understand how a totalitarian regime functions. The main purpose of this blog however, is not just to study these historic regimes but to apply the knowledge to the United States. Since the Constitution of the United States was created, the government has changed dramatically and is often times found disregarding the Constitution in order to supposedly increase national security. Examples of the government not following the Constitution, particularly the bill of right, is the internment camps for Japanese and German Americans in WWII, the hysteria of McCarthyism, or the Patriot Act after the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001. The main question to be asked and answered in this blog is, is America becoming more totalitarian? Or in other word is America slowly becoming the evil that it has fought against for decades?
To start off however a definition of totalitarianism is needed. C.J Friedrich defines a totalitarian state as one that has four main components. 1) An official Ideology 2) A single mass party 3)A technological monopoly of power and mass communication 4) A system of terroristic police control. These however are only Characteristics not necessarily the essence of totalitarianism. Zbigniew Brzezinsk gives what the essence of totalitarianism is. He defines it as a movement "for the purpose of effecting a total social revolution, including the conditioning of man" in other words it is an "institutionalized revolutionary zeal" (Totalitarianism and Rationality by Zbigniew Brzezinsk of Harvard University). There are many different ideas and definitions of a totalitarian regime but I believe that these two scholars have hit at the heart of what this type of regime is like. In simple terms a totalitarian state is a state that seeks to implement complete control over every part of society through whatever means necessary.
With that understanding in hand we can study the past totalitarian regimes and compare it to the United States. To be clear I am NOT calling the United States a totalitarian regime. I do believe however, that certain policies and actions of the U.S government have clear totalitarian tendencies and if we are not careful the U.S could possibly fall into the trap of totalitarianism.
Even though this will be the main focus of the blog there will be discussion on topics that are not directly related to totalitarianism but are just as important.
This blog has two authors that will be contributing. Along with me, Thamsanqa Mahlangabeza from South Africa will contribute to this discussion. I find this a fortunate event to be able to see perspectives from two very different parts of the world. A major part of politics that we have lost is open mindedness and seeing issues from the point of view of others.
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So there aren’t any confusions, I’m Thamsanqa Mahlangabeza that Shad Larson has introduced. If I had known that he would I would have written my name in full (rather than the name I’m affectionately known by ‘Sive’) when I signed up to blog.
And I apologise quite profusely for coming this late in the debate. Perhaps, by my doing this I'll slow the debate somewhat.
Be that as it may, I must tell you my reasons for agreeing to be part of this project. To say that I jumped at the opportunity to be a co-author to this blog is an understatement. Reason being politics, unlike many things in my life, fascinate to no end. However, my suspicion about why Shad chose me is that I don’t shy away from expressing my views (however contradictory they may be to his). This, for me, speaks volumes about the strength of character Shad has and I applaud him for it.
From the outset I bunk well-established myths about me. I can honestly say they are formed by those who are intimidated by a challenge. One of them is that I am a controversial fellow. I categorically state that I am by no means controversial. I am opinionated (in many ways). And I am confident that you’ll come to a similar conclusion as you become acquainted with my point of view.
Shad has chosen as a starting-point a topic about “totalitarianism”. I thank you Shad quite profusely for giving us as a basis of our discussion a definition of the concept inspiring words of C.J Friedrich. Based on the four main components he singled out. [i.e., a) An official Ideology b) a single mass party c) a technological monopoly of power and mass communication d) A system of terroristic police control] I’ll make my arguments known. My views, as you would appreciate would be largely informed by my personal experiences in my country – South Africa. You will discover, I’m sure, that based on these four points my country has long established itself as a totalitarian state. Unfortunate observations to make, yes, but necessary all the same.
Until such time I have collected all the data to support my argument, I’m encourage you to take part in the debate on this blog.
Regards
Sive
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