LETTER TO THE EDITOR | There is more to a dictator than letter writer wrote
Published 11:33 am Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Editor,
Dr. Westergaard’s recent Letter to the Editor, Oct. 26, warned of the possibility of a dictatorship arising from “a minority in our congress and their supporters” who “would risk a global depression to advance their personal ideology” — presumably he’s referring to the Tea Party here — so I thought I’d list some additional characteristics of dictatorial abuse the good doctor may want to be on the outlook for as well.
A dictator:
• Never wastes the opportunity to use a crisis, real or imagined, to amass more power.
• Is unaccountable for his failures, someone else is always to blame.
• Rules by edict, decree or executive order.
• Ignores laws he doesn’t like.
• Uses otherwise apolitical government bureaucracies to attack his opponents.
• Uses the state security apparatus to spy on citizens at home and allies abroad.
• Has a dishonest and complicit “media” to act as his propaganda machine.
While I applaud Dr. Westergaard’s knowledge of history, he might want to open his eyes to what’s going on around himself as well.
Michael Zink
Langley
