Dictatorship came to Louisiana because the democracy that the - TopicsExpress

Dictatorship came to Louisiana because the democracy that the state knew appeared inadequate to the needs of large groups of its citizens. Huey Longs richly potent materials were not original to him. They were the same as those with which many another has aspired to power. But he alone was personally equipped, and rose at the moment -- thus far -- of maximum effectiveness, to reach close to his goal. The advantages held forth by the native totalitarianism were more inviting than the known services of the known regime. In America as a whole, as in Louisiana, the old questions of human want and human security have not been fully answered. The wrench of a sudden further contraction in the nations standard of living would be certain to cause new unrest. The end of the Second World War, the conclusion of the multi-billion defense program, inevitably will have sharp repercussions. Whatever the outcome of the war, America faces a process of readjustment in the next few years. Whatever Americas role in that conflict, a persuasive voice may rise to offer its millions the efficiency, the order, the burning appeal of the other way. There are those in America who, impelled by temperament and circumstances, would follow such a man. And in the background there are others, the practical ones, who know good things when they see them; who would support him and take over when he left, as such men did in Louisiana; who would welcome a native Fascism in the name of Americanism. The answer is neither standpatism nor retreat. It must be a reaffirmation of faith in national unity, a rededication to democracy. To save democracy, have more of it, not less. Or there may be another Louisiana -- or an Alabama, or a Mississippi, or California, or Missouri -- hayride. And that one may bring the nation to a halt outside the borders of liberty. ~Harnett T Kane