Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who try to prevent you from speaking honestly of history hope to repeat it- from the "winning" side.
It's why comparing people who share characteristics with Hitler to Hitler is greatly frowned upon.
If they can make you feel guilty for noticing the similarities, they can shame you into silence. Until it's too late.
Obviously, few politicians alive today have approached the body count of Hitler or other dead tyrants, but it's a matter of scale, not character. Given the opportunity and popular support do you doubt any US president (or "serious" presidential contender) of the past 50 years would have had the principles to not become a Hitler? Do you honestly believe the next president- whoever it might be- would have the character and principles to reject that kind of death and destruction if "the people" became convinced it would make them "safer"? If so, I don't think you have learned from history.
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And please, please keep in mind: the Hitlers and the Bushes and the Stalins and the Obommers of the world are invariably put in place by that proliferate group of psychopaths who hide from their crimes under the mantle that is referred to as "the state".
ReplyDeleteThis, Kent, all falls under the category described in a quotation attributed to a man by the name of Thomas Pynchon. I doubt that he fully understood at the time the significance of his observation:
"If they can keep you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers."
-- Thomas Pynchon
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/235.Thomas_Pynchon
Sam
Sometimes on this site if one posts a valid link, that link "enlivens". Other times it posts as a dead link that you have to copy and paste (which few will take the time to do). So here (I hope) is the live link to the website that lists the quotation attributed to Thomas Pychon:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/235.Thomas_Pynchon
Even with the unenlivened links, I just highlight them and choose "go to". So it's all good.
Delete