American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America 
用户评分: - Not too Shabby. The book wasn t the most awe inspiring, but at least the author wasn t incompetent like so many I ve come across
Pick it up if you want to see where Christians are going wrong. - A powerful attack against the Christian Right but at times repetitive and sensationalist. I read this book after thoroughly enjoying Chris Hedges `Why I Don t Believe In Atheists`. However, I didn t find `American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America as engaging or thought provoking- but that may simply be down to the fact it made me reassess my own atheism. Furthermore, `American Fascists didn t say anything that I didn t already suspect about the Christian Right in America.
As the blurb of the book says, it is at times a very anthropological study on the Religious Right in America. Hedges often quotes from, and devotes a fair amount of space to, the numerous Baptist Ministers, followers, TV Evangelists which he has spent time interviewing and observing. While it serves its purpose well in demonstrating their `extreme opinions, it can be immensely boring. Many say the same thing and as a result Hedges has the tendency to repeat himself and his argument, albeit slightly differently, over and over again, they hate gays, they hate liberals, they hate Muslims, they hate liberal-Christians, they hate the Democrats. We get the picture, they hate. It got to the point that I had to force myself to finish the last two/three chapters as Hedges was just repeating himself.
Essentially, Hedges argument is that the success of the Religious Right is down to a lack of sustainable and universal quality of living, which breeds uncertainty, a loss of identity and purpose. Many Americans are fearful of the future and the Religious Right has been able to profit from this. It is no small coincidence that the Religious Right has only come into its own as a large scale political and social movement in the past forty years (i.e. with the development of globalisation). The out sourcing of many manufacturing jobs to countries with cheaper wage labour has dealt a significant blow to many working class Americans, while the back drop of social and economic decay all help to reinforce this sense of desperation and uncertainty. As a result, many Americans (Hedges cites many ex-manufacturing workers in Ohio as an example) who are, and who were, working in this area of the economy (there are other areas as well) are increasingly apprehensive about their futures and are turning to fundamentalist Christianity as an antidote. The movement offers community, purpose, direction and above all certainty. The Religious Rights solution is an extremely powerful and intoxicating escapism which absolves its members of having to make decisions or to plan for the future. The obvious question is then, why do people choose such extremes over more `liberal churches who still offer them the same solution? This is where the Religious Right and it s particularly intense and insidious (or as Hedges would claim `fascist ) methods of conversion come in use. They rely on their converts being fearful of the future, (I won t go into great detail, read the book), and they reinforce this by incessantly bombarding them with apocalyptic prophecies while dividing society into those who are `saved and `unsaved with total submission to the Gospel and God as the only means of salvation. The reduction of a person to such a fearful and isolated state strips the individual of their rational senses and thus they can be reconstructed, fully indoctrinated, into a world totally cut off from reality and rationality. Economic crises, 9/11 and the paranoia surrounding terrorism only help to reinforce and confirm people s worst fears.
However, their ultimate aim, and this is what makes them distinctly fascist, is their inherent desire for power. The movements is unambiguously political, with clear goals and policies, they have strong ties to the political elite, especially those in the Republican Party, and large corporations. Ultimately, the Religious Right is attempting a coup, to overthrow American democracy and replace it with a Fundamentalist Christian theocracy.
However, there is a tendency for Hedges to lapse into some fairly paranoid and sensationalist claims himself and given his powerful and impassioned argument it s easy to get swept along by the tide. Another criticism was his lack of counter argument. In the chapter `The War on Truth (where he examines the pseudo-science that the Religious Right use to validate, explain and justify their arguments on matters of science such as creation, Dinosaurs, Adam and Eve and so on) he repeatedly says that they are wrong, which may well be entirely true, but he gives no evidence as to how or why they are wrong. He simply states they are wrong. I accept that Hedges is not a man of Science, and maybe this part is best left to Dawkins, but I am sure he could have got someone at Princeton to help...
As an interesting comparison to Hedges claims of the Religious Right s hard line stances on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, I attended a talk given by Dr Cynthia Burack of Ohio State University, who has written about, and is currently writing a new book on, the Religious Right in America and Sexuality. Dr Burack s argument was interesting to juxtapose against Hedges, since she is arguing that the Religious Right is maturing in America and is developing a greater sense of `compassion in its social conservatism(more hate the Sin love the Sinner type stuff). That is not to say that it is becoming more moderate, but that its tactics have evolved to include a greater sense of compassion for the sinner. For example, while they still denounce abortion just as much as before, believe that it is murder and lobby strongly against it, they are now calling for what they call `post-abortive (instead of child killer) women to come and repent their sins and that their son or daughter is waiting for them in heaven (Hedges identifies this himself and even cites the same example). From this perspective it appears that the Religious Right is changing its attitude towards such issues and I d be intrigued to know what Hedges thoughts are on this new development of the Religious Right.
- Interesting look at politics and religion. All in all, this book will especially appeal to three groups of reader: atheists who are in agreement with Dawkins that religion is dangerous, especially when it cross pollinates with politics. Secondly, this will appeal to liberal Christians, and finally, to those who are researching the relationship between politics and religion. A useful companion to this book is Sacred Causes by Michael Burleigh, which also explores the similarities between religion and political cults.
Hedges argues that certain aspects of the Christian Right movement in America shares psychological and tactical characteristics with fascism. For example, he argues that the Christian right claim that society is morally decaying is an echo of the Nazi claims about decadent art forms. He particularly focuses on the cult of masculinity, which he say appeals to a modern generation of men, who find post-modern gender role confusion frustrating, and seek to assert tradition as a means of coping.
The book is not without its weaknesses. Firstly, Hedges uses a very small sample group, namely, small and medium sized churches he visits during his research, and then bases conclusions of national significance on what he hears. Also, his claims that all members of the Christian right are Himmlers in waiting is rather uncharitable, and Hedges writing style at times betrays a paranoia he accuses his opponents of exhibiting. Nevertheless, I found this book a very interesting read, and as an evangelical Christian on the political right, still found myself absorbed in many of his ideas, although I respectfully disagree with some of them.
- A fusilade against shearing Christian sheep. We might assume that the right-wing Christian nationalist dream is waning in America, but Chris Hedges does not. Touring around the country he finds an undimminished movement for a full-blown theocratic state. As he quotes James Kennedy,
Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost. As vice-regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports areanas, our entertainment media, our scientific endeavors -- in short, over every aspect and institution of human society. (p. 58)
Hedges travels widely to hear great speakers, attend seminars and visit with radical fundamentalists. He offers some understanding, or perhaps pity, towards these people s needs for order, direction, certitude and righteousness in a chaotic society. But his sympathy is limited by a conviction that these people are pushing his country towards totalitarian fascism. He notes that the Dominionist agenda calls for a restoration of harsh ancient laws from before the time of Jesus or of modern Judaism: the death penalty for adultery, homosexuality, blasphemy, incest, striking a parent, incorrigible juvenile delinquency, and, in the case of women, unchastity before marriage. Beyond this, Hedges sees a regressive agenda to make Christianity more supportive of powerful economic interests:
... When it is faith alone that will determine your wellbeing, when faith alone cures illness, overcomes emotional distress, and ensures financial and physical security, there is no need for outside, secular institutions, for social service and regulatory agencies to exist. ... To put trust in secular institutions is to lack faith, to give up on God s magic and miracles. The message being preached is one that dovetails with the message of neoconservatives who want to gut and destroy federal programs, free themselves from government regulations and taxes and break the back of all organizations, such a labor unions, that seek to impede maximum profit. (p. 179)
Naturally, in attacking the intollerance of particular people Hedges seems to accuse all serious Christians of harboring fascist tendencies. But while sometimes scattering his shots widely, he usually tries to distinguish among different kinds of Christians, and he affirms those who respect religious freedom:
While traditional fundamentalism shares many of the darker traits of the new movement -- such as blind obedience to a male heirarchy that often claims to speak for God, intollerance towards non-believers, and disdain for rational, intellectual inquiry -- it has never attempted to impose its belief system on the rest of the nation. And it has not tried to transform government, as well as all other secular intitutions, into and extension of the church. (p.13)
Most interestingly, Hedges seems to dismiss liberal Christians as ineffectual in the fight to preseve freedom. He looks instead to Christians of a more traditional nature, such as evangelicals the likes of Billy Graham, who value compassion, mercy, and personal faith over self-righteous intollerance:
The most potent opposition to the movement may come from within the evangelical tradition. The radical fundamentalist movement must fear these Christians, who have remained loyal to the core values of the Gospel, who delineate between right and wrong, who are willing to be villified and attacked in the name of a higher good and who have the courage to fight back. Most liberals, the movement has figured out, will stand complacently to be sheared like sheep, attempting to open dialogue and reaching out to those who spit venom in their faces. (p.34-35)
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American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America (ID: 0099499223)
