 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
[I went to Washington to argue that I must be allowed to perform my duties in the House of Lords, and tried to persuade the authorities that my desire to do so was very ardent. ]
At last I discovered an argument which convinced the British Embassy. I said to them: 'You will admit this is a war against Fascism. ' 'Yes', they said; 'And', I continued, 'you will admit that the essence of Fascism consists in the subordination of the legislature to the executive'. 'Yes', they said, though with slightly more hesitation. 'Now,' I continued, 'you are the executive and I am the legislature and if you keep me away from my legislative functions one day longer than is necessary, you are Fascists.' Amid general laughter, my sailing permit was granted then and there.
Source: Bertrand Russell: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.2 chap. 6:America, 1968
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/AB26-090.HTM
* a brief comment:
It may not ring a bell with the Japanese, but Russell is a British peer (earl), which automatically makes him a member of the British House of Lords (Senate). If you don't know that, you will not know what is so interesting. When then-Prime Minister Abe ‘misspoke’ in the Diet, saying ‘I am the head of the legislative branch...’, was this the result of his subconscious becoming manifest? Did Prime Minister Abe, who was the head of the executive branch (government) at the time, let himself say that because he felt he could effectively control the Diet, the legislative branch, under the overwhelming majority of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)? Still, it is pathetic that Japanese politicians have neither the time nor the education to be humourous.