Quote of the Day: Begging To Be Ruled

"These were not people begging to govern. These were not even people begging to be governed. These were people begging to be ruled. For all the palaver about freedom and liberty, and all the appeals to the Founders and the American experiment, this whole convention was shot through with an overwhelming lust for authority. This was a gathering of subjects thirsting for a king." -- Esquire.com's Charles Pierce, seeing in the assembled Rethuglican convention delegates a mob of people yearning for a Fuhrer, a powerful leader.

See if these characteristics of an authoritarian/fascist mind ring a bell (from Theodor Adorno's seminal study in 1950, "The Authoritarian Personality"):

"1. Conventionalism: rigid adherence to conventional middle-class values.
2. Authoritarian submission: uncritical acceptance of authority.
3. Authoritarian aggression: a tendency to condemn anyone who violates conventional norms.
4. Anti-intraception: rejection of weakness or sentimentality.
5. Superstition and stereotypy: belief in mystical determinants of action and rigid, categorical thinking.
6. Power and toughness: preoccupation with dominance over others.
7. Destructiveness and cynicism: a generalized feeling of hostility and anger.
8. Projectivity: a tendency to project inner emotions and impulses outward.
9. Sex: exaggerated concern for proper sexual conduct."

It's worth noting that "The Authoritarian Personality" grew out of a desire by social scientists to study the origins of the Nazi movement, which led to World War II and the Holocaust.