Amerika?

Is this America or Amerika?

Where are we?

I wonder.

I worry.

Excessive and continuous glorification of military power, symbolism and of our inalienable right to use military power whenever and wherever our leaders deem necessary; the notion of American exceptionalism and belief in our own mythology when it comes to defining ideals like freedom or democracy for other countries; the concentration of corporate power and financial wealth, made possible by decades of explicit government policy; ill-defined foreign wars launched with relative ease; incessant and sophisticated surveillance and monitoring of citizens, their private communications and public gatherings; government secrecy and extreme punishment for those who divulge information exposing official malfeasance – even those acting from conscience; manipulated elections; militarized police forces; harsh criminal sentences and bulging prisons, particularly for people of color; intolerance of sexual differences, coupled with a false and harsh piety; denial of verifiable scientific facts; a corporate press that serves only as mouthpiece for its financial masters, framing every story and event so the status quo is never challenged or threatened, and no alternative to the “free” market is ever considered; the President as Executioner-in-Chief, keeper of the list of who must die in what far away land.

This is not creeping fascism – this is fascism arriving at a gallop – and it’s happening here and it’s happening now.