Can you learn from alternate history?

I have been watching The Man in the High Castle on Amazon (thanks to Claire Wolfe and her free Amazon Prime deal).

It is kind of dark and disturbing. Makes me appreciate the crumbs of liberty I'm still able to find here and there in the US Police State, and reminds me that things could always be worse.

One odd thing I noticed about my reaction to watching the show is how refreshing it feels to see Nazi swastikas displayed openly rather than hidden.

No, I am no fan of Nazis, but I get tired of uncomfortable truths being hidden from view. To the point that swastikas- even though they have been around for thousands of years and really have almost nothing to do with Nazis when you see the big picture of deep history- are swept under the rug by polite society.

Evil exists. Sometimes it flies a Nazi flag, more often these days it flies some other State flag. I do believe some day the US federal flag will be seen the same way the Nazi flag is seen today- in fact I believe all State flags will eventually be seen in that light. Probably no time soon, but if you see things only in terms of your lifetime you're missing almost everything. A Nazi flag is no more and no less offensive to me than any other National Flag. They are all based on the same lie.

Hide evil and it grows. Expose it to the light of day and make people look right at it and maybe you can help make it wither. The Man in the High Castle is really good at shining the light on evil.

So, yes, seeing the Nazi swastikas everywhere on the show seems to be a good thing. To me.

If you pay attention you might even notice parallels between that fictional 1962 and the real 2016 USA. And notice where the eddies of history seem to be taking us. If you see where things seem to be going, maybe you can prevent it- or at least prepare for it.

I recommend the show.

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