The US Military’s Secret Fascist Influence | Jasper Craven | TMR

Despite initial skepticism towards military imperialism, early American leaders, many of whom were Revolutionary War veterans, paradoxically cultivated their own images as 'prototypical Americans' defined by strength and fearlessness. This self-aggrandizement at figures like George Washington's funerals, combined with practical needs to suppress indigenous populations and deter the British, led to the establishment of West Point and the cynical equating of manhood with military service to ensure a continuous supply of recruits.

Founding fathers 'nod to the need to keep military in check, to never elevate the soldier above the citizen,' yet 'elevate themselves' as 'prototypical Americans.' Washington's funeral had 'insane military honors equivalent to what Genghis Khan was sort of sent off into the afterworld with.' This was a 'cynical effort to ensure that there would always be young boys' for the system.

West Point's foundational structure was explicitly authoritarian, with proponents arguing it was necessary to secure democracy. This model involved dehumanization and intense abuse of new cadets (plebes) to instill unwavering obedience, rather than fostering critical thought or individual development. The adoption of the Aryan Brotherhood's omerta code, 'God forgives, brothers don't,' by the West Point football team, reportedly inspired by a white supremacist biker gang movie, suggests a disturbing ideological alignment with fascist principles.

West Point's structure was 'authoritarian, and people who championed this model argued that you needed an authoritarian fascist model to secure democracy.' The motto 'God forgives, brothers don't' was adopted by West Point football in 1996, after the Aryan Brotherhood used it as their omerta code in the 1980s, seemingly inspired by a movie about a white supremacist biker gang.

In the early 1900s, a movement called 'preparedness' was astroturfed by influential bankers, weapons manufacturers (DuPont, JP Morgan), media figures (Sulzbergers of NYT), and politicians (Teddy Roosevelt). This movement used saber-rattling and explicit propaganda about a 'coming invasion' to overcome public reluctance for foreign wars, particularly WWI. This strategy created a continuous demand for military engagement by fabricating external threats and ideologies that 'must be defeated.'

Bankers and weapons manufacturers (DuPont, JP Morgan, Guggenheim) and Teddy Roosevelt 'astroturf this idea, this movement called preparedness' to deal with the lack of 'immediate threat to the homeland.' They used 'saber-rattles against... a coming invasion' to push for entry into World War I.

World War II marked a crucial shift where the military, influenced by figures like eugenicist Bernarr Macfadden (a 'mercurial macho' early bodybuilding publisher who admired Mussolini and Hitler), dramatically revised its physical standards. This led to a national emphasis on 'hyperviolent, hyperaggressive, high testosterone' masculinity, promoting bare-knuckle boxing, strength, and bodybuilding. This 'roided out masculinity' was a direct response to and emulation of fascist ideals around the 'perfect body,' despite war becoming increasingly mechanized.

Bernarr Macfadden, a 'blatant eugenicist' who 'flirted with strong men like Mussolini and Hitler,' influenced the army to 'completely scrap its physical standards and rewrite new ones that are emphasizing fighting, you know, bare-knuckle boxing, strength, push-ups.' This was 'focused around trying to sort of meet the Hitlers and Mussolinis fascist ideals around like the perfect body.'

After the Vietnam War, the military, lacking a clear moral center for its engagements, increasingly fused its mission with 'big broad nebulous ideas around religion,' particularly evangelical theocracy, notably at the US Air Force Academy. This created a sense of 'salvation and sacrifice' and fostered 'incredible ego and a sense of superiority' among military members. This era also saw a shift towards an 'extremely individualistic' and 'mercenary soldier of fortune style warfare,' where violence became a virtue, exemplified by the 'Rambo' archetype and a focus on body counts.

Military brass understood that because they were 'no longer fighting a war with any sort of tangible moral center,' 'big broad nebulous ideas around religion were sort of crucial to fusing to the military mission.' This led to 'violence for violence's sake' and an 'extremely individualistic' conception of masculinity, where 'violence becomes a virtue.'