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Deciders, Strict Fathers, Authoritarian Regimes

Conservatives hear their father's voices.  
The strict family father was the Decider.    (I wonder whether George W. Bush, who called himself, "The Decider", had a strict father whose authority was not to be challenged.)   Strict fathers tell us what is right and what is wrong, and they enforce right and wrong.   "Discipline" is a big word in families with strict fathers.  The kids are supposed to learn discipline;  that is to say, to internalize right and wrong.   The good prosper, those without discipline fail:  they deserve what they have coming.  

Strict fathers are like football coaches.   "Strict discipline builds character," they tell us, so they are strict.  Coaches are often like the head of a household, especially heads of religious households.  The father loves his kids and his wife, but ultimately, he is the authority.   Families with discipline, teams with discipline, win games.   The game of life.  

Nobody should tell a father what to do.  The father should decide what to do.   In the family, the father is Lord.  He is, of course, a kindly Lord, as good Lords are supposed to be, but in charge.  If the Decider is wrong, it does not mean that he wife should be in charge:  it means that he should learn what is right, and take his proper place.  

Such fatherhood is an authoritian regime.  

We are watching authoritarian regimes across North Africa and the Middle East shake, and wonder whether they should be democracies instead.  Even as democracies, they will not look like France or Great Britian or the U.S., but they might represent a turning away from strict fatherhood, from single deciders, or even a council of such father figures.  

Our own conservative politicians display this same father-figure mind set.  Our conservatives do not want anything that seems to impinge on their deciding roles.  They don't want regulation.  They aren't interested in trimming military spending and solutions.  They will decide what women should do, and not do, with their bodies.  They do not want anyone else interfering.   Government should leave them alone.   No one should tell them they need health care, or tell them they cannot carry a gun if they want to.  

It is no accident that in places where authoritarian regimes break down, places like Tunisia and Egypt and Libya and religious families, there are strict authority figures at the top.  It is even less surprising that it is women and young people who rebel against authoritarianism.   It is not a surprise, either, that authoritarian Deciders hope their sons will emulate them, succeed them, and take over.  

(I owe appreciation to an article by George Lakeoff for stimulating this entry.)



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