August 30, 2007
A Letter from Jackson Grimes
By Stan Dyer
As I continue my campaign to contact elected officials and 2008 presidential candidates, I also have to be careful to address the issue of equal time. In the interest of fairness, when contacted with such a request, I must comply.
Recently, I received a request from Jackson Grimes. Below is the unedited and unaltered letter received last week. Read this letter without focusing on the history or the regimes chosen as examples. Instead, focus on the message of equality.
Dear Mr. Dyer:
If you are going to do another article on the United Fascist Union, please
tell readers this...
Countries fortunate enough to have a Fascist government always had the
maximum amount of freedom of expression. For example, After Benito
Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy, people were encouraged to use
public forums to debate and discuss subjects like religion and politics;
something unheard of for decades under many pro-Catholic Prime Ministers
who preceded Il Dux.
This was certainly something the Church did not want to see, and by
encouraging free speech Mussolini put himself in dutch with the Pope.
Mussolini went against the grain of the Italian male-oriented society again
by giving women the right to vote and by affirming in conversations with the
press that Italian women had the right to wear shorter skirts, if they chose
to. Today, womens' rights to wear short skirts and vote may seem silly, but
to women around the world in the 1920's, these were very important issues.
As to freedom of speech, it's relative to where you happen to be living at
the time; in a country dominated by Priests and Bishops, Mussolini was
viewed as a champion of free speech.
Following the Fascist tradition of protecting women, as well as their civil
rights, the terrible practice of female circumcision and awful habit of
pouring petrol on an adulteress wife, and setting her ablaze actually were
punishable once Abd al-Salem Arif became President of Iraq. Under al-Bakr
in the late 1960's, Iraqi women were not only encouraged to dress more
western but, actually received the right to vote. When questioned, al-Bakr
told reporters, that he "was only a link in the chain reaffirming what
Benito Mussolini had done a generation before in Italy". Saddam Hussein
ushered in an era of true enlightenment, not only upholding womens' equality
but, also promoting religious tolerance, healing the ancient rift between
Sunni's and Shiite's as well as welcoming Christians and Jews, and passing
legislation to protect their rights under the law.
As far the United States Constitution is concerned, there is no doubt that
as far as writing style, grammar, and prose goes, it's on par with the Magna
Carta. That said in praise of it, I would be more concerned with the men
who are raping it, after they swear to uphold it. Particularly, under the
regimes of Clinton and Bush, the American people have lost more rights and
civil liberties than under all the past heads of state combined as long as
the American Republic has been in existence.
Can you help us get the United Fascist Union on the ballot in Colorado? As
far as your idea for a new party goes, let's see how the election goes for
the United Fascist Union. If it doesn't go so good, if you form it, I might
accept an advisory position, not another leadership post. Give us a postal
address, and we'll send some hard copy documents on the United Fascist
Union for your review.
Sincerely yours,
J. Grimes
I can neither confirm nor deny his representation of history. He apparently focuses on the finer aspects to draw attentionaway from the horror, and to show that few things are completely good or completely bad. The last paragraph is in response to a suggestion that the UFU change its name to something more "palatable". Not everyone sees Mussolini and Fascism in the same light as Mr. Grimes, but I think many would be attracted to his sense of equality, especially in the case of women. If you wish to contact Mr. Grimes and the United Fascist Union, the address is Jack_ Grimes @ Hotmail.com