From: jkp@cs.HUT.FI (Jyrki Kuoppala)
Subject: What is United States of America like?
Followup-To: alt.activism,alt.politics.usa.misc,talk.politics.misc
Reply-To: jkp@cs.HUT.FI (Jyrki Kuoppala)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 23:26:19 GMT

In article <1992Dec18.025008.16468@wam.umd.edu>, davei@wam (The One True Dave) writes:
>Wait. Reality check. 
>
>Despite some very well crafted propaganda in that paragraph,
>the United States is NOTHING like Nazi Germany. The Nazi's
>policies were control by terror and superiority of the so-
>called Aryan race. These were not hidden from anybody, they
>were preached as a platform. (Yes, people actually supported
>a group that said "We will control this country by terror!")

I hear reports of kids trained to inform to the officials about their
parents.

I hear reports of proposed legislation to required every telephone or
other communication network operator be required to build taps for the
Government on all equipment.

I hear reports of proposals for mandatory registering encryption keys

I hear reports of U.S. government agencies kidnapping people in
foreign countries, against those countries laws.

I hear reports of U.S. government hitting on a ship on international
waters for transporting a drug illegal in USA, while the ship was not
coming from USA, was not going to USA, and had no anything else to do
with USA.

I hear reports of U.S. military invading Panama to get Noriega, in
violation of international treaties and all concepts of jurisdictions.

I hear reports of the U.S. military going to Somalia, then declaring a
prohibition on the Somalian's drug of choice, khat, while the
Somalians are worried that the U.S. drug of choice, alcohol (which
they report is brought to Somalia by the U.S. troops in great
amounts), will cause much more trouble and health hazards in Somalia
than khat does.  The Somalians believe that alcohol is more dangerous
a drug than khat, and from everything I've heard it seems they're
probably right.

I hear speeches by the U.S. president chanting things like "One nation
under God", "May God bless our troops", "The greatest nation on Earth".

I hear reports of a war being declared and fought in USA - a war
against "drugs", with the Bill of Rights being the major casualty.

I hear plans for "boot camps" with "training" for the drug, ie.
political, criminals.

I hear statistics saying that U.S. of A. has the biggest percentage of
people in jail, and more blacks in jail per population than South
Africa, and that most (much over 50 percent I think) are there for
non-violent drug crime, ie. are essentially political prisoners.

I see a president candidate whose major agenda is "change" getting a
very big percentage of the vote taking into consideration he wasn't
from the demopublican party.  Go check what the situation was in Germany.

I see people talking about a "moral imperative" for the U.S.
government to be "world police".

I see the U.S. vice president saying "No I don't know that atheists
should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered
patriots. This is one nation under God."  This during his campaign,
and he is later elected president.

I'll let you be the judge of what these events mean.  But these things
do worry me.

>And, as a matter of fact, the Nazis were, basically, just human
>beings. Sick, twisted, and sad human beings, but human beings.
>Most of them simply lacked the will to fight for what was right.
>But at least they didn't twist doing what's right and spit on those
>who fight for what they believe in. That takes a truly sad 
>individual.

I doubt they were much more sick and twisted than most other people.
Some descriptions (not detailed quoting, just my impressions) I've
seen talk about how it was a time of such a hurry, a time full of
problems - and to solve these problems drastic measures where needed.
People had their doubts about these measures, but they were told that
the problems are so bad they are necessary.  People thought "now, this
sounds bad, but it's just a small thing and nobody else seems that
bothered about it .. but I swear that if something big happens I'll be
the first to act about it".  And slowly, while things always were
happening in a hurry with little to time to think, things went as we
now know.

The relevance to the situation in Somalia is limited, so I directed
followups out of the Somalia group.

//Jyrki
Xref: sparky alt.activism:19611 sci.med:22650 misc.kids:30533 talk.politics.medicine:380