William Lindsey :toad:
When I was growing up, I heard lots of talk about Hitler. "How could anyone have listened to that madman rant and have believed what he said?" people would ask, shaking their heads sadly.
The implication was, good people like us — as we imagined ourselves to be — would have seen through Hitler from the outset and would not have been duped by the crazy talk about targeting minorities, ridding the nation of undesirables, letting blood flow in the streets to purify the country.
William Lindsey :toad:
My father, his brother, his brother-in-law, my mother's brother and half-brother: all soldiers during World War II. All risked their lives to rid the world of Hitler.
Classes in school focused on signs the German people "should" have seen from early on, that Hitler was a madman, was plotting mass-murder, would cause bloodshed and chaos. I taught lessons as a college teacher centered on these ideas.
William Lindsey :toad:
And all the while, I never dreamed that I'd live to a point in my very own country when millions of my fellow citizens could listen to someone not far removed from Adolph Hitler, when it comes to crazy rants about blood flowing in the streets and imprisoned enemies and the land rid of vermin, and would not merely agree but would applaud.
And would vote that dangerous madman into the highest office in the land.
Many of us have clearly not sought to learn.
William Lindsey :toad:
@CatDragon Yes, that's right — and this is exactly parallel to what happened as Hitler rose to power in Germany.
Catherine is Horrified
@wdlindsy people are hearing what they want hear as told by some politicians and media outlets. The message is in most cases subtle. That it is “those other people” preventing them from being successful and prosperous. Fascism flourishes under the false premise that its followers will indeed be the chosen ones that will not suffer under it.
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