Friday, April 2, 2010

Quotes by Chris Hedges in "American Fascists"

"Those arrayed against American democracy are waiting for a moment to strike, a national crisis that will allow them to shred the Constitution in the name of national security and strength. And those in the movement often speak of such a movement with gleeful anticipation," and they want their adherents to be ready. p. 202.

"Only a tiny minority [of Christian Americans]...are comfortable with this darker vision of an intolerant, theocratic America. Unfortunately, it is this minority that is taking over the machinery of U.S. state and religious institutions." p. 19.

"The Bush administration has steadily diverted billions of dollars of taxpayer money from secular and governmental social-service organizations to faith-based organizations, bankrolling churches and organizations that seek to dismantle American democracy and create a theocratic state. . . the wall between church and state is being disassembled." p. 23.

"The power brokers in the radical Christian Right have already moved from the fringes of society to the executive branch, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the courts." p. 22.

"Faith-based organizations are consistently winning a larger portion of federal social-service funding, a trend that has tremendous social and political consequences if it continues." p. 24.

 "A group of religious utopians . . . are slowly dismantling democratic institutions to establish a religious tyranny, the springboard to an American fascism." p. 36.

Re James D. Kennedy, "the drive to bring in new souls is also an open drive to broaden the political base of the movement and impose a theocracy." p. 70.

"They've won the Congress and the presidency, and they're about to win the courts because of their Congress and the president. They've won state houses across the country and precincts everywhere by the political process. . .They have a system to throw democracy out the window." p. 110.

"These dominionists hate the liberal, enlightened world formed by the Constitution, a world they blame for the debacle of their lives. They have one goal---its destruction." p. 202.

"I do believe that the radical Christian Right is a sworn and potent enemy of the open society . . . In the event of another catastrophic terrorist attack [or] an economic meltdown . . . the movement stands poised manipulate fear and chaos ruthlessly and reshape America in ways that have not been seen since the nation's founding." p. 207.

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