Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump both have been spawned from the same swamp of political apathy and oppression and both share the same ego driven fascist arrogance, sense of entitlement and aversion to empathy ~ which unfortunately mirrors the mindset of a growing majority of America’s electorate: Allen L Roland, PhD
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable…” ~H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: Third Series
When you fully open the window of the 2016 American Political scene ~ you will see the true face of our plutocracy as revealed in our Imperialistic wars, interventions, the suppression of human rights, the demands of the corporate state and it’s all apparent in the face and words of Donald Trump ~ much like it was when Hitler became the angry fascist face of Germany in the 1930’s ~ reflecting the same right wing polarization and distrust of the government and media.
We have almost reached that great and glorious day where the plain folks of this land have reached a place of such desperation, powerlessness and distrust that they are seriously considering electing a downright moron and fascist to the White House ~ Donald Trump.
Flying the banner of resentment, distrust and anger towards the establishment, Republicans have united behind the one establishment candidate who appears to be talking their language and is willing to disregard the political correct rules that hamper the other candidates.
Patrick Martin, WSWS, offers the most appropriate description of Republican Presidential candidate Trump ~ “His crude rhetoric shatters the official pretense that America is the defender of “freedom” and “democracy,” which has been used by Democratic and Republican administrations alike to justify imperialist wars and interventions throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. Trump rips off this democratic mask. He stands openly for the violent suppression of anyone who might dare to oppose the demands of corporate America, either abroad or at home.” See WSWS article ~
Fascists (Wikipedia) believe that liberal democracy is obsolete, and they regard the complete mobilization of society under a totalitarian one-party state as necessary to prepare a nation for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties. Such a state is led by a strong leader ~ such as a dictator and a martial government composed of the members of the governing fascist party ~ to forge national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society.
TheWrap’s Itay Hod interviews his father, a holocaust survivor, Zeev Hod, about his research and Trump’s rise
“One of the questions I never thought I’d ask my father: Does Donald Trump truly resemble Adolf Hitler?”
“Given that people from Louis C.K. to Bill Maher to Glenn Beck have compared Trump to Hitler, I wanted to know if my dad also believed there were similarities between Trump and the man who killed an estimated 200 members of our family ~ including my father’s father.”
“My dad, Zeev Hod, is not only one of the smartest people I know ~ he’s also had the unique experience of being both a Holocaust survivor and a history teacher who spent years educating high school students about the Third Reich.”
“Was he worried? Did it bring back any memories? Did he think that Trump was in fact borrowing ideas from “Mein Kampf?”
The short answer is “yes.”
“One of the things people used to say about Hitler when he rose to power in the early 1930’s was that he was saying it like it is,” my dad told me over the phone from Tel Aviv. “They thought he was a bit of a clown, with his big speeches and over-the-top showmanship, but they also admired his ability to say what everyone thought, but didn’t dare say out loud.”
“Are you worried?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he answered. “But there is definitely room for concern.”
Here is our conversation, translated from Hebrew.
So, how much does Donald Trump truly resemble Adolf Hitler?
“There are slight similarities between the two. But there is a difference. Germany was in much worse shape economically in the ’20s and ’30s. It was still recovering from WWI, having to pay reparations to the Allies. Hitler was able to tap into the Germans’ frustration by zeroing in on an enemy, the Jews. He claimed the Jews were taking over the country, stealing high-paying jobs. He was able to galvanize the uneducated by saying that Jews had stabbed Germany in the back.”
Can you give me more examples?
“Sure. Now that America’s minority population is becoming a majority, Trump is able to tap into that same fear among its disenfranchised. Asking his supporters to raise their hand during his rallies while proclaiming their allegiance to him is eerily reminiscent of Hitler’s Nazi salute, which was meant to inspire loyalty and sympathy towards the regime.“
Did Hitler have a lot of fights and scuffles at his rallies?
“Absolutely. If anyone dared to heckle Hitler, the S.A. would beat them to a pulp. They were essentially thugs. Not that different from those we see at Trump’s rallies today.”
See INTERVIEW ~
Fascism promotes the establishment of a totalitarian state The Doctrine of Fascism states, “The Fascist conception of the State is all-embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value. Thus understood, Fascism is totalitarian, and the Fascist State a synthesis and a unit inclusive of all values interprets, develops, and potentiates the whole life of a people.”
In The Legal Basis of the Total State, Nazi political theorist Carl Schmitt described the Nazi intention to form a “strong state which guarantees a totality of political unity transcending all diversity” in order to avoid a “disastrous pluralism tearing the German people apart“.
An excerpt from ‘They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45’ by Milton Mayer
“What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could not understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.
“This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.”
It was from that deep right wing polarization and distrust of the government by the people that Hitler became the outspoken lightning rod voice of the disenfranchised and disillusioned in the 1930’s and the Jews became marginalized and virtually eradicated as the nationalized fascist corporate state was born ~ much as Donald Trump has become the outspoken lightning rod of the disenfranchised and disillusioned in 2016 and Muslims have become marginalized by a growing corporate state.
“Hitler always seemed pleased at the plaudits of the crowd but never without smirking as if to say, “the poor saps are being taken in.” He despised the masses as so many sheep. They have always in his mind been led for causes almost always profane, but whatever the cause the leader must never forget to impress upon the masses that God has thus commanded and molded him in His image, though the truth be the reverse. The secret of Hitler is found not in him, but in history” See article ~
Mr. Trump, who has called for monitoring mosques and even barring Muslims from entering the United States, has been the clear beneficiary of this moment of deep anxiety and oppression among the vast majority of electorate. More than four in 10 Republican primary voters say the most important quality in a candidate is strong leadership, which eclipses honesty, empathy, experience or electability.
These voters heavily favor Mr. Trump ~ and now white supremacist groups are capitalizing on Trump’s ride on the dark side of American politics.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has emerged as a high-profile Democratic surrogate prosecuting the case that Trump might not be as rich as he says he is. “We don’t know what Trump pays in taxes because he is the first presidential nominee in 40 years to refuse to disclose his tax returns,” Warren said in a fiery speech last week, followed by an extended Twitter war with the presumptive GOP nominee. “Maybe he’s just a lousy businessman who doesn’t want you to find out that he’s worth a lot less money than he claims” ~ or maybe, I would add, he is not paying any taxes and most of his income is illegally sheltered.
Finally, in this election year, we must look deep within ourselves to find our truth and our true choices in life and I for one choose to live in truth, love and gratitude versus Lies, anger and hatred ~ and I also deeply feel that the only political candidate who comes close to my moral values is Bernie Sanders.
And perhaps Bernie best describes the Trump phenomenon in a recent article in Rolling Stone ~ “To the media’s great shock and to the pundits’ great shock, there are millions of Americans who are very, very angry. And they’re angry because they’re working longer hours for lower wages. They’re angry because they’re working two and three jobs. They’re worried about the future of their children – getting decent jobs and getting homes. And then they look at the leadership of the Democratic Party and the leadership of the Republican Party and they don’t see people addressing – or even paying attention to – their needs. And Trump comes along and starts to blame Mexicans or Muslims or women for the problems facing society. The people are seeing that someone at least is speaking to their anger. And that’s unfortunate. That’s a very ugly approach. But that’s why he’s succeeding ” ~ which, I would add, is exactly what happened to Germany in the 1930’s with the rise of fascism and Adolf Hitler.
See Rolling Stone article ~
“A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
Allen L Roland, PhD
Heart centered spiritual consultant and advisor Allen L Roland can be contacted at allen@allenroland.com Allen is also a lecturer and writer who shares a weekly political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com. He is also featured columnist on Veterans Today and is a featured guest on many radio and Television programs.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/06/04/trump-and-hitler-both-rose-from-political-apathy-and-oppression/