The study of our human history has always intrigued me. Many years ago, when I was just a young man, I was perplexed by the question of how the Nazis could rise to power in Germany. It didn’t make sense to me that a modern society that had been expanding democratic principles for decades would revert to authoritarianism and allow for the abrogation of human rights. But it happened, good-hearted and well-meaning people acquiesced as Germany turned into a fascist state and the leaders promulgated the holocaust.
Today I have a clearer understanding. It didn’t happen overnight, but patriotism was turned into nationalism, and then nationalism was turned into fascism. Words matter and truth matters. The fascists of the 20th century played on their population’s fears using distortions, falsehoods, and outright lies to convince the people to follow them. Some people saw through the lies but went along with what was happening because they thought it either didn’t affect them personally or because they thought it might be for the greater good. It ended up harming them, and it wasn’t for the greater good. History is repeating itself in the 21st century. Under the guise of patriotism, we are encouraged to be nationalist. Then nationalist fervor is converted into fascism. Today, if we open our ears to the cries of those in our society who are suffering, we see signs of racism and fascism tearing our country apart. That is the truth of it. The propagandists of the fascists will say it is not true, just as they did in previous iterations of fascism, but we know better. We are at a defining moment in our American story. The next couple of years will determine if we choose authoritarian government, or if we choose democracy. I’d like to think we have learned some lessons from history, but if our human past has no meaning for us today, then I fear we are condemned to repeat it.
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Time for Common Sense AgainCommon sense commmentary by Joel Kreger (unless noted and credited to a guest writer) Archives
November 2018
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