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themailactivist.org: A kinder, gentler fascism

Last September, German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin pointed out that George Bush is using Iraq to distract the American public from his failed domestic policies. She capped her statement by reminding her audience: “That’s a popular method. Even Hitler did that.” She was chastised so severely that she soon recanted. But let’s face it, she was right on the money. Rather than recanting, she should have clarified. She wasn’t comparing Bush to the Hitler of the late 1930s and early ‘40s; she was comparing him to the Hitler of the late 1920s and early ‘30s. And if the jackboot fits…

History teaches us that it is shockingly easy to separate reasonable and intelligent people from their rights. A legally elected leader and party can easily manipulate national events to whip up fear, crucify scapegoats, gag dissenters, and convince the masses that their liberties must be suspended (temporarily, of course) in the name of restoring order. Consider the following two statements, and see if you can identify the authors.

“…the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”

“To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: ‘Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve.’”

The first statement is a quote from Hitler’s right hand man, Hermann Goering, explaining at his war crimes trial how easily he and his fellow Nazis hijacked Germany’s democratic government. The second statement is a quote from Bush’s right hand man, John Ashcroft, defending the Patriot Act and explaining why dissent will no longer be tolerated in the age of terrorism. If that doesn’t send chills down your spine, nothing will.



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