There is an ongoing struggle taking place between the forces of freedom and the forces of fascism. No, I’m not talking about the oxymoronic war against terrorism. I am talking about the efforts of U.S. fascists to eliminate rights that have helped protect freedom in this country ever since it was founded.

     Fascist is a strong term to throw around, so a little explanation may be in order. The key features of fascism are a powerful central government, disregard of human rights at home and abroad, governmental support of favored capitalists, and an aggressive use of military force against other countries.

     These are exactly the policies that are favored by the fascists in the U.S., including those in the Bush administration. The war on terrorism has primarily served as an excuse to implement these policies, which are directly related to the plutocratic agenda that I wrote about last week.

     Since the war on terrorism was announced, we have seen a large increase in the power of the U.S. government to do whatever it wants to do. Human rights have been trampled underfoot, both here and around the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been diverted into no bid contracts, while the corporations have been allowed to re-write the laws and regulations that affect them. The aggressive use of military force by our government needs no explanation.

     But the fascists are not done yet. One of the next steps they are trying to impose is the implementation of the Real ID Act. I previously wrote here about the possible use of internal passports to control the U.S. population. I didn’t think that the Bush administration would actually implement such a program, because it would be too unpopular with the voters. Now that Bush is already unpopular, there is apparently no longer any reason for him to hold back. The Real ID Act is a huge step in that direction.

     The Real ID Act, which has already been enacted into law, establishes a national identity card for all persons in the United State. There are many reasons to be concerned about this statute. It will cost billions of dollars to implement. It will increase the risk of identity theft. It will also do little to prevent terrorism.

     What it will do is to enable the government to more easily keep track of what law-abiding citizens are doing in their private affairs. This of course is the real goal of the Real ID Act. The biggest threat to the fascists is not terrorists, but rather law-abiding citizens who want to keep their freedoms, and will fight for them.

     There is a struggle going on over the Real ID Act. Sincere people from all parts of the political spectrum are mobilizing to reject that unfunded federal mandate. In both Idaho and Maine, laws have been enacted which reject the Real ID Act. Similar measures have been introduced in at least 21 other states and in some jurisdictions such a measure has already passed one branch of the legislature.

     As far as I am aware no similar measure has been introduced in Alaska to date, but there is reason to be hopeful that it may happen. Alaska was in the vanguard in passing a resolution against the Patriot Act. Parallel concerns about the Real ID Act may bring a similar result, but only if Alaskans demand it.

     Many Alaskans came to this state in search of the greater personal autonomy that exists here. They might be anywhere on the political spectrum, but they cherish their freedom from governmental control over their personal lives. If we work together, we can make Alaska a Real ID free zone.

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