Lately I’ve been traveling coach cross-country on Delta Airlines. I took the opportunity to read In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Told from the perspective of a naive, American ambassador and his family, this exceptional, historical novel documents Hitler’s ascent to power in Nazi Germany circa 1933. The question always on my mind as I read was: “Could it happen here?”
A fair answer to that question requires that we put aside politics for a moment. No matter how greatly we as conservatives detest the President’s policies, Mr. Obama is no Hitler and the United States is not pre-WWII Germany.
Yes, there are similarities of a sort. Germany’s economy was in a shambles. Unemployment was high and the official numbers were fudged by the government. German debt owed to foreigners was crushing. The German people, who emerged from WWI battered and beaten, felt victimized. A great portion of them easily bought into government propaganda that insisted racism — “the Jewish problem” — was responsible for the country’s misfortunes.
But the differences are significant. Germans were for the most part passive citizens, used to relying on a strong, autocratic government to maintain order and give direction. Most accepted militarism as a legitimate means of restoring national pride and the country’s rightful standing in the world order.
Hitler, Goring and Goebbels were made to order for the time and place. They were ideological nationalists willing to use whatever means necessary to seize power and impose their glorious vision of the Third Reich. They were brutal and seemingly without conscience, expertly employing terror to dominate.
The infamous SA Storm Troopers — a semi-trained gang of punks, bullies and malcontents under the leadership of Ernst Rohm, a personal friend of Hitler — acted as Hitler’s civilian national security force. The SA thugs terrorized the German citizenry, coercing it into conforming to the Nazi ideology of nationalism, socialism and racism.
On June 30, 1934, when the SA’s usefulness was at an end and its very existence threatened Hitler’s ambitions, he and Goring embarked on a bloody purge, personally leading loyal SS and Gestapo agents in Munich and in Berlin on a savage sweep of their foes in and out of government. They killed hundreds, if not thousands in cold blood, including some who were mere public critics of Hitler and his Nazi Party.
The nation was stunned, but acquiesced in silent fear. One night of butchery had effectively given Hitler dictatorial power over the German state. In a speech afterwards, framing those murdered as political insurrectionists and the murders themselves as crisis management, Hitler declared:
“Only a ferocious and bloody repression could nip the revolt in the bud… …If someone asks me why we did not use the regular courts I would reply: at the moment I was responsible for the German nation; consequently, it was I alone who, during those twenty-four hours, was the Supreme Court of Justice of the German People… …I ordered the leaders of the guilty shot. I also ordered the abscesses caused by our internal and external poisons cauterized until the living flesh was burned. I also ordered that any rebel attempting to resist arrest should be killed immediately. The nation must know that its existence cannot be menaced with impunity by anyone, and that whoever lifts his hand against the State shall die of it.”
That was Germany in 1934. This is the United States in 2012. Today in our country such barbarism would be roundly condemned and forcefully resisted almost universally. No matter what our political disagreements, Americans are at heart a peaceful, moral and self-reliant people, primarily interested in building a more comfortable life for themselves and their families.
Although a microscopic percent of Americans both on the left and the right advocate violence to get their way, violence will not succeed here. It doesn’t have to. For in the 21st century those among us who wish to gain autocratic power over individuals have learned the politically correct art of patience and finesse.
Modern dictatorial wannabees have learned to democratize and politicize even the most trivial of issues, thereby insuring that we, as individuals, will turn against ourselves and, in final desperation, agree for the sake of harmony and community to settle our differences at the ballot box. However, this naive political solution amounts no less to our public acknowledgement that we believe the government has authority to rule every aspect of our life.
Virtually nothing in America is currently beyond the reach of politics. What and where we smoke. What we eat and drink. Where and how we live. What we say and write. Whom we marry. These and so many other trivial and individual actions have now become grist for the political mill, have now become subjects which pit neighbor against neighbor in nationally televised debate where no one — whether a disputant or not — is shy of an opinion or a vote.
With literally everything at stake, is it any wonder that the government collective in this country has ballooned out of all necessary proportion? That lobbyists on one side or another overwhelm our politicians with promises of jobs and payoffs? That we are deluged 24/7 with advertisements and media pronouncements advocating this or that position on this or that “critical” issue, such as whether or not individuals should have the liberty to drink a sugared beverage of a certain size?
Of course, our modern, enterprising politicians have also learned the subtle power of crisis management, demagoguery, obfuscation by complexity, mendacity, media management and the not too subtle persuasive power of celebrity endorsement. Ambitious politicians like President Bill “Slick Willie” Clinton no longer have to cut the throats of their opponents to gain and keep power, they merely have to spin the truth and smile or scowl into the camera.
Politics now is about impugning the motives of political opponents as racist, ridiculing their faith, wealth or personal appearance, distorting facts or simply making them up, interpreting every gaffe as a window into their “real” soul and employing popular celebrities to stir the pot in ways the politicians themselves would not dare.
Recently, according to CNN, Samuel L. Jackson “entered the political fray…urging Americans to ‘Wake the F*** Up’ and vote for President Barack Obama.” Jackson’s efforts, according to the news article, were funded by the “Jewish Council for Education and Research, a super PAC supporting President Barack Obama.”
I do not share Jackson’s political or social philosophy, but I can certainly understand his frustration, if not the point of his outburst.
Over the years, we in this country have made every individual action a subject for legitimate political debate and lawmaking. We beg our politicians to rule in our favor and when they don’t we disparage them. Either way, they rule us as surely as despots. Oh, they are not butchers like Hitler. We in America do not live in the garden of beasts. We sleepwalk in the garden of Slick Willies.
If Americans want their individual liberty back, there is only one way to have it back.
In the words of Samuel L. Jackson, they must: “Wake the F*** UP!”
This post was originally published at Property…Freedom…Peace
One further thing that separates Germany from the US is the supreme mistreatment they received in the Treaty of Versailles. Germany didn’t lose WWI, no battle was every fought on German soil. Yet they were slapped with reparations for decades. The British didn’t end their blockade of Germany until well into 1919. The Treaty starved German children, requiring most milk cows to be sent to France. The outrage in Germany nothing if not understandable and it directly led to WWII.
We don’t have that in the US. But you’re right, we do have a progressive left that’s willing to wait it out to achieve their goal. They’ve waited a century so far and will wait another century, slowly moving the country away from its Christian past. They’ve come a long way of course, in part because of the government schools which they control. The biggest obsticle we face in stopping the progressive movement is found at your local government school.
I agree with you 100% on the “local government school” problem. That and the tenured liberal establishment in our colleges. These institutions are turning out our present and future journalists and opinion-makers who have progressive leanings and minds of mush.
You nailed it with the politicization of everything. That is another progressive goal achieved. Throw all our rights into a big government-sponsored pile and then fight over them, with the outcome decided by popular vote.
The only consolation is that the government will be broke in less than ten years, and maybe, just maybe that will stop the madness.
Going broke in the next decade might make the madness worse.
You’re probably right about the end-game. But, like Steven, I worry about the ensuing madness (and the inevitable lawlessness).
The Fabian Socialist understood to need for patients and that capitalism would not be destroy by violent take overs. They set out to destroy America, the seat of capitalism, slowly from within. We will know in November if enough Americans are awake or not.
Yeah, November! I’m crossing my fingers, but I’m preparing to be disappointed. It’s remarkable how many Americans — even hard-headed businessmen friends of mine — accept the basic progressive philosophy lock, stock and barrel.
I’m going to have to bring my generation into this. The new generation of Americans under eighteen are supremely unwilling to educate themselves on the political issues of today. They have not yet woken the f*** up. This applies to those on all faces of the political spectrum. Many teenagers and others around my age are reluctant to do any research into the facts, yet their mouths hang open, spewing ridiculous political ideology that they overhear from their parents. The problem lies on our education system. The education system MUST foster learning and exploring various issues that plague our country in order that the new generation does not become comprised of “dingbats and meatheads” in the words of Archie Bunker.
Interesting. Keep doing your research. Which conservative authors do you find most informative?
Terrific post! You nailed it about everything becoming a political issue; when an issue is politicized the government naturally feels it has to weigh in and when they do that usually means more laws and regulations. And with these laws and regulations comes less freedom, and we are losing more everyday.
Thanks. I think politicization of every issue not only fosters big government, but it breeds bitterness between individuals. It turns every issue into a win-lose contest which isn’t how a voluntary, cooperative society ought to work.
Sadly, I am afraid Americans, or at least the majority of them, are not waking up. So many of them are interested only in what is in the system for them, and not for the good of the country.
As for our politicians playing the system for all it’s worth (my words, not yours), it’s simply a tragedy. A monster has been created and it insists on feeding itself. Until that changes, nothing else is likely to change.
A friend of mine insists term limits are the answer. I’m beginning to think he’s right.
Term limits have been the answer for some time. Problem is, when most folks voted in get to DC, they go native. They see “all that glitters is gold”, and get fawned over, and then conveniently forget about term limits. Worse, the folks that sent them there forget about it. Most people’s attention spans have been severely curtailed.
Trackbacks: