Bertram Gross, while writing this book some 20 years ago, predicted a lot, but far from all. The fascism is here allright, but the "friendly" part is missing, and missing badly! Today's America is the land of the unfree, enslaved people, the land of presently the largest in the world and still growing at an enormous rate Gulag for the poor and disadvantaged. We now hold more of our people in cages than any other country in the world, both in real numbers and per capita. We punish our people and punish them harshly, frequently for totally victimless crimes, or for the crime of wanting to feel better in a hostile world called America. We hold in cages more mentally ill people than any other dictatorship in the world and many of them have been denied their freedom because of their actions triggered by their illnesses. We grant due process of law selectively only to those, who are rich enough to afford to buy it, while processing others through the legal grinder of the human souls, with the grotesque and bizzarre figure called "public defender" assuring near 100%, or frequently exactly 100% rate of conviction. And yes, torture of prisoners in America is quite well-documented fact. So, where's that "friendly" fascism?

Our government kills its people for the crime of murdering another, most of the time, only one human being, but then it sends our army into other countries, kills many thousands of totally innocent people, including entire families and small children, injures, disfigures thousands more, and never admits any wrongdoing and is never punished in any way.

Our Constitution has been raped and destroyed. We now have the largest police force in the world, also both in real numbers and per capita of population. Federal Government is involved in activities forbidden by the Consitution and it doesn't even feel the need to explain, justify the fact. Police breakins into people's homes, searches without warrants take pleace in massive numbers everyday (just watch any TV show Cops - they don't even hide it, they want you to get used to it). They no longer must justify any traffic stop - now they can stop you only because they ar the police, and you are not!

Still, Bertram Gross saw more than what 99.99% of Americans did. This book is well-documented, scholarly written and definitely interesting to read. But do yourself, your country and the humanity a favor. Read also, listen to Gore Vidal, Noam Chomsky, go to any search engine on the Internet and enter "American Gulag", "fascism in America", "prison nation USA", visit at least a few of those sites, study, read, learn, understand. Check www.amnestyusa.org, www.lp.org, www.aclu.org, www.hrw.org, www.cato.org. Until you can, until everything is not yet shut down and destroyed. And never, ever say you didn't know...

"...Huey Long once said, 'Fascism will come to America in the name of anti-fascism'. I'm afraid, based on my own long experience, that fascism will come to America in the name of national security."

Nafeez Moseaddeq Ahmed, Preface
and quote from Jim Garrison, New Orleans
District Attorney, 1967, from the Conclusion
THE WAR ON FREEDOM

I ran across this book when I was 17; it spooked me then. I decided to pick it up again and see how far we've come, and I am amazed at how on the mark Bertram Gross was in his analysis of elite control of America.

These days, even reading a book like this likely gets you branded a "conspiracy theorist" but Gross points out several times he's not referring to conspiracies -- the Big Government/Big Business combine that is the fueling engine of fascism is alive and well. Indeed, stronger than ever in this country.

This book is a deep, frightening account of elite power structures in America. Friendly fascism is fascism with a friendly face -- not so much jackboots, mass rallies, and so forth that comprise the popular stereotype of fascism, but rather an insidious, public-relations savvy manipulation of power for profit.

What impresses me most is how thorough and cogent Gross's analysis is, and I am sad more people haven't read this book. While it came out in 1980, anybody who is politically aware today will see that, rather than being dated, Gross was definitely ahead of his time in his thinking. This is a big book (@400 pages), and densely packed with information, but it is definitely worth your time.

Friendly fascism - now what feelings does that title invoke in me? First let us look at each word on its own. Friendly: seems nice enough, pretty innocent and all. Fascism: wrong, just wrong. Such contradictory terms, friendly and fascism. Since I, Bernie "Fascist" Schwartz have been witness to quite a lot of fascism in my life, I know how wrong it is. But back to the point. The book, even having the word fascist in the title, is still cool.