Ah the tools of Elljay - POLITICAL
May. 12th, 2006 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mayamaiaSo, being bored, I went through the "memories" entries I had saved.
I took another gander at a friend's post detailing the situation of Germany leading up to WWII. It was - very frighteningly familiar, compared with recent history. Intended to be so, but still. The parallels were emphasized but NOT exaggerated.
From the day that was written to this, our country has slowly but surely diverted from the path of 1930s Germany. I'm trying to figure out what, precisely, is different. (And don't you dare say "We're America, that's what!". We are as flawed as anyone.)
1. I am prone to believe Clinton's opinion of Bush: that he is a good man, if the most conservative president we've had since the 20's. Much as one may be able to fool a good and honest man at heart, there are some layers of wool you can't pull over their eyes. For instance: "We can save lives by making abortions illegal!" (despite how many women die, along with their babies, from attempting it themselves) is very very easy to push past. But "We can save American lives by detaining American citizens suspected of terrorism without proof indefinitely" is going to get a bit more difficult. Going down the line gets harder and harder to push past a good man - especially with so much history to learn from - Japanese internment, down to the Holocaust. I believe that whatever else is there, George W. Bush means well. But I know little good about the people behind him. So I here will talk of the idea of Bush more than of him as a person.
2. Recession started within Bush's time; Hitler brought his people a surplus from the depths of the worst depression they'd ever seen.
3. Due to #2, Bush is not popular enough for his political allies to squish the media or free speech.
4. Due to #3, Bush is not popular enough to get away with everything his administration does in his name.
5. Since I mentioned Clinton, Bush followed one of the most charismatic presidents in recent history. Likeable as Bush can be (when his aides let him answer his own criticism), Clinton was able to be at 60% popularity when he admitted to lying to the country. Unheard of. These days, the man is an icon and worldwide influence fast approaching something HIGHER THAN THE PRESIDENT OF THE US. Again, UNHEARD OF. With the memory and presence of Clinton, the idea of Bush cannot be all-powerful within his own country.
6. Our country is adamant against racism. Say what you will, nobody could convince us to judge by race again, or at least, no time soon. Too many children are raised with the histories of slavery, internment and civil rights in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. It would take decades to erase our national guilt. (Not as long as for Germany, though.)
7. Even if we could separate an entire race, they would not have the history of acceptable persecution the Jews had in Europe. (Meaning, it's no longer considered acceptable - in the 30's, pogroms were still NORMAL. Civil rights, however, makes lawyers lots of money.)
8. Our media is anti-trust happy and always has been.
9. One of the biggest monopolies is based on computers, the internet and therefore free speech. And it's owner, opportunistic as he may be, is a proponent of education for the underprivileged. (My big sister was considering a position in one of the schools he was building.)
10. Speaking of the internet, I don't think America could keep news controlled, even if all the papers and networks were under its thumb. Well, who knows. China manages it, sort of, and there is the net neutrality issue......
11. If we tried to "peacefully annex" Canada, they'd laugh in our face. And I don't think we'll ever want them, or Mexico.
12. Europe has had its fill of appeasement.
I took another gander at a friend's post detailing the situation of Germany leading up to WWII. It was - very frighteningly familiar, compared with recent history. Intended to be so, but still. The parallels were emphasized but NOT exaggerated.
From the day that was written to this, our country has slowly but surely diverted from the path of 1930s Germany. I'm trying to figure out what, precisely, is different. (And don't you dare say "We're America, that's what!". We are as flawed as anyone.)
1. I am prone to believe Clinton's opinion of Bush: that he is a good man, if the most conservative president we've had since the 20's. Much as one may be able to fool a good and honest man at heart, there are some layers of wool you can't pull over their eyes. For instance: "We can save lives by making abortions illegal!" (despite how many women die, along with their babies, from attempting it themselves) is very very easy to push past. But "We can save American lives by detaining American citizens suspected of terrorism without proof indefinitely" is going to get a bit more difficult. Going down the line gets harder and harder to push past a good man - especially with so much history to learn from - Japanese internment, down to the Holocaust. I believe that whatever else is there, George W. Bush means well. But I know little good about the people behind him. So I here will talk of the idea of Bush more than of him as a person.
2. Recession started within Bush's time; Hitler brought his people a surplus from the depths of the worst depression they'd ever seen.
3. Due to #2, Bush is not popular enough for his political allies to squish the media or free speech.
4. Due to #3, Bush is not popular enough to get away with everything his administration does in his name.
5. Since I mentioned Clinton, Bush followed one of the most charismatic presidents in recent history. Likeable as Bush can be (when his aides let him answer his own criticism), Clinton was able to be at 60% popularity when he admitted to lying to the country. Unheard of. These days, the man is an icon and worldwide influence fast approaching something HIGHER THAN THE PRESIDENT OF THE US. Again, UNHEARD OF. With the memory and presence of Clinton, the idea of Bush cannot be all-powerful within his own country.
6. Our country is adamant against racism. Say what you will, nobody could convince us to judge by race again, or at least, no time soon. Too many children are raised with the histories of slavery, internment and civil rights in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. It would take decades to erase our national guilt. (Not as long as for Germany, though.)
7. Even if we could separate an entire race, they would not have the history of acceptable persecution the Jews had in Europe. (Meaning, it's no longer considered acceptable - in the 30's, pogroms were still NORMAL. Civil rights, however, makes lawyers lots of money.)
8. Our media is anti-trust happy and always has been.
9. One of the biggest monopolies is based on computers, the internet and therefore free speech. And it's owner, opportunistic as he may be, is a proponent of education for the underprivileged. (My big sister was considering a position in one of the schools he was building.)
10. Speaking of the internet, I don't think America could keep news controlled, even if all the papers and networks were under its thumb. Well, who knows. China manages it, sort of, and there is the net neutrality issue......
11. If we tried to "peacefully annex" Canada, they'd laugh in our face. And I don't think we'll ever want them, or Mexico.
12. Europe has had its fill of appeasement.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 05:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 06:16 pm (UTC)Fact is, there are always times in a country's history where it can go down the path to the dark side, one way or another. I was looking for reasons that is NOT happening.
Remember Chechnya? And how the Russian leadership got the people behind smashing them? An apartment building in Moscow blew up and it was blamed on Chechen insurgents. When Sept. 11 happened, I remembered that, and noted that it was poorly timed, politically. Had it happened right before an election, things could be very bad indeed for our country.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 06:56 pm (UTC)Beyond that your frend is only copying the gist of what's been written about every conservative since conservatism was born. Of course every Republican is Hitler, just like every Democrat is Karl Marx. You'll find your same arguement that we could be come commie any day now from the other side of the aisle. You can choose to buy what they're selling or not; I just happen to have run out of political capital.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 06:57 pm (UTC)