American Fascists by Chris Hedges: A Book Summary and Discussion Guide

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges

In this book, Chris Hedges, a veteran journalist and author, challenges the religious legitimacy and political agenda of the Christian Right, a mass movement that he argues is fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society. He exposes how this movement, which has gained significant influence and power in American politics and culture, poses a very real threat to democracy and freedom. He also warns of the dangers of fascism and calls for resistance against this movement that seeks to impose its warped vision of a Christian America on everyone else.

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The main arguments of the book

Hedges, who grew up in rural parishes in upstate New York where his father was a Presbyterian pastor, attacks the movement as someone steeped in the Bible and Christian tradition. He points to the hundreds of senators and members of Congress who have earned between 80 and 100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential Christian Right advocacy groups as one of many signs that the movement is burrowing deep inside the American government to subvert it. He also reveals how this movement uses various methods and tactics to recruit, indoctrinate, manipulate, isolate, mobilize, and radicalize its followers. He analyzes how this movement embraces a syncretic and irrational worldview that rejects modernity, rationalism, science, history, diversity, pluralism, tolerance, democracy, human rights, and secularism. He also shows how this movement promotes a patriarchal and militaristic ideology that glorifies violence, domination, submission, obedience, conformity, intolerance, persecution, crusade, apocalypse, and martyrdom.

In order to support his arguments, Hedges draws on his extensive research and personal experience. He attended services and rallies, interviewed leaders and followers, visited schools and universities, watched television and radio programs, read books and magazines, and studied websites and newsletters of the Christian Right. He also cites numerous sources, such as academic studies, historical accounts, journalistic reports, legal documents, official statements, and personal testimonies. He also uses Umberto Eco's essay "Eternal Fascism" as a framework to identify the fascist elements of the Christian Right.

The cult of tradition

One of the features of fascism, according to Eco, is the cult of tradition. This means that fascists embrace a traditionalist and conservative worldview that rejects any innovation or change. They also believe that there is a hidden and eternal truth that has been revealed in the past and that must be preserved and restored in the present. They also combine different and contradictory forms of belief and practice into a syncretic and irrational system that tolerates no criticism or dissent.

Hedges argues that the Christian Right exhibits this feature by claiming to uphold the traditional values and morals of Christianity and America. However, he shows that their version of Christianity is actually a distorted and corrupted one that has little to do with the teachings of Jesus or the Bible. He also shows that their version of America is actually a mythical and idealized one that has little to do with the reality or history of the nation. He also shows that their version of tradition is actually a selective and eclectic one that borrows from various sources, such as Calvinism, Puritanism, Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, Evangelicalism, Dispensationalism, Dominionism, Reconstructionism, Prosperity Gospel, American Exceptionalism, Manifest Destiny, White Supremacy, Patriarchy, Militarism, Capitalism, Consumerism, and Nationalism.

The culture of despair

Another feature of fascism, according to Eco, is the exploitation of a culture of despair. This means that fascists take advantage of the economic and social crises that create feelings of anxiety, frustration, anger, resentment, fear, and hopelessness among the masses. They also offer them a sense of identity, belonging, purpose, meaning, salvation, and redemption through their movement. They also promise them a utopian future where their problems will be solved and their enemies will be defeated.

Hedges argues that the Christian Right exhibits this feature by targeting the most vulnerable and marginalized segments of American society. He shows how they prey on the poor, the unemployed, the underemployed 71b2f0854b