Austria’s Fascist Renewal

A young dark-haired blue-eyed Austrian with fascist ambitions rises through the ranks. Does that sound familiar? It is quite understandable if it does. However, we are not talking about Adolf Hitler but his possible reincarnate Heinz-Christian Strache. Not only is he the charismatic leader of the far right Freedom Party, but he is a mentee of the party’s former leader, Jörg Haider. Before we draw conclusions on the ideological posture of Strache, there is one pivotal question that must be asked. How can a country that should have learned from the horrors of World War II vote 18% in favor of a party susceptible to fascism? Together with Jaider’s Alliance for the Future of Austria taking 11% of the votes, it amounts to 29% supporting far right ideologies. Keep in mind, the nation in question is Hitler’s homeland. Therefore, it has to be said that Austria itself is susceptible to reverting back to the sentiments of its most notorious son. If that were not the case, neither the Freedom Party nor the Alliance would have gotten the second highest number of votes combined.

The percentage of votes may sound like very little until you put them in perspective. Here are the results including other political parties:

The Social Democrats, a centrist party, won approximately 30% of the votes along with the election itself.

The conservative People’s Party took 26%

The Freedom Party took 18%*

The Alliance for the Future of Austria, 11%*

These numbers alone tell us that in Austria, fascist principles are second only to centrist ideals. Therefore, the world should be vigilant.

Should we be concerned about Strache? We are talking about a man who calls Muslim women who wear the burka female ninjas. There are also claims that he insults homosexuals in his spare time. The accusations do not end there. He is a man believed to be closely tied to neo-Nazis. He does of course deny any such link. The primary evidence at this time appears to be a picture of Strache giving a three finger Nazi salute. He defended himself by claiming it was simply of picture of him ordering three beers. That “evidence” itself cannot tell us if this man is in fact a Nazi. Further observations of his actions as a politician will.

Is Faith Reliable?

Why does a person need faith? If a thing were based on certainty, would we need faith? A person does not need faith to believe that the sun will rise the next day. Even if that person dies, the sun will still rise. There is clear and verifiable evidence for the sun. On the other hand, people need faith to believe in God. Why is that? Is there not proof that a God exists? If so, is this God the Christian God? Fundamentalist Christians certainly believe so. What proof do they have? Their assertion is based on faith. But what is faith? It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That belief leads to pivotal questions. People hope for things they do not have. It is logical to conclude that what they do not have does not necessarily exist. Similarly, if you cannot see something, does it really exist? You cannot know it exists if you do not see it. Faith is hope in essence.

The problem is, hope does not always come to fruition. If one is honest, they will acknowledge that hope is sometimes empty. On the other hand, experience is full. We know that the sun will rise tomorrow based on long-term experience. We know that death is certain based on experience. We also know that marriage and family is real based on the evidence of things seen. We are not certain of the existence of a deity because we have not seen him/her. Does that mean evidence does not exist? To some, evidence is the bible and religion itself. The problem is, we also have the Quran, Hindu and Budhists texts, and also paganism. How does one determine which of those paths are correct? The true path is the one that is provable. The tangible world is provable.

Gottex Spring 2009 Collection

Images curtesy of Atelier Creative Services, Inc.

 

 

 

Daughter Of Vice Presidential Candidate Is A Teenage Mother To Be

Bristol Palin, the 17 year old daughter of VP candidate Sarah Palin, is 5 months pregnant. She is engaged to marry the father who is identified as Levi. We cannot deny that it is a wonderful show of conviction to have the child instead of having an abortion. But is it a wonderful example of family values or abstinence education? One should think not. What we are seeing here is the blatant hypocrisy of the right.  There should not be any doubt how they would react if this were either or the Obama girls, Biden’s children, or Chelsea Clinton. Where is their outrage? Out rage is only reserved for the left.