For those of you not familiar with Godwin's law, it simply states that the longer a debate continues, the more likely it becomes that someone will make a comparison to Hitler, the Nazis, or both. Check out any video with more than one million views on YouTube, and the word Nazi will appear somewhere. Of course, this doesn't just apply to trivial online quarrels. Turn on any major news network and someone, be it a politician, host, commentator, or some other big talking head, and I guarantee one of them will bring up Nazis, Hitler, Goebbels, Goring, Himmler, the SS, swastikas, or something. So and so would do something, just like Hitler did. You get the point. But, like Inigo Montoya said to Vizzini in The Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."
What is a Nazi? I mean, besides guys with brown shirts and red armbands with their hands in the air or the bald goofballs who still worship Adolf like he was their freaking Messiah. People wanna say it, people oughta learn what it means. First of all, it's fascist. Unite all the people under one cause and one ideal, then use fear and power to get your way. Simple, right? Worked for a little while, anyway. It's also anti-communist. I repeat, ANTI-communist. Germany was in shambles after the first World War, and was in desperate need of rebuilding. Much like the French Revolution had done in the 1790s, the Bolshevik Revolution put fear in the countries of Europe that they could be next, and a weakened Germany would be a prime target. The middle class were genuinely scared, since if communism came to Germany, they were going to be in deep trouble. So, when a mustached man comes on the scene with the promise that his ideas and his politics will stop the spread of communism and preserve as well as restore German power and honor, he gains popularity. Still don't believe it? While most people know that the Holocaust resulted in the death of nearly 6 million Jews, the most persecuted group after the Jews were the communists. Hitler knew the pact with the Soviets would never last, and why the unusually paranoid Stalin fell for it in the first place is bizarre, but the war on the eastern front came from the need to exterminate the Soviets for the German people and to eradicate communism. So, when someone makes a poster or posts a picture with the president with Hitler and Lenin/Stalin to prove a point of how they all had the same ideals, the only point they have proven is that they are an ignorant jackass.
Nazism was indeed far right, but it was in no means conservative, despite the fact that most Americans make the two words completely synonymous in their minds. It was, in essence, right-wing liberalism. See if you hear that term anytime soon. The Nazi Party was formed to create jobs for the (white Protestant heterosexual middle class) Germans and stimulate the economy (by starting a war that would kill millions.) Both of these would be excellent positions, were it not for the sinister undertones.
Nazi is not necessarily a bad word. Most people think if the Nazis as uncivilized, but what defines civilization? Organization, government, unity, common language, military power, technologically advanced. Certainly, the Nazis were all of these. At the core, however, was a terrifying machine, built solely for the advancement of one race and the extermination of others. In that spirit, until people learn exactly what the word means, Nazi should be excluded from political rhetoric from all sides and sources. No one is a Nazi. Not Obama or Bush or Plain or Biden or Giuliani or Clinton or Cheney or Beck or O'Reilley or Olbermann or any of them. Yeah, you may strongly disagree with them, but they haven't destroyed a race for being different, nor have they launched wars that kill millions. God forbid that ever happen again, but until it does, leave the word to the history books. Sadly, the chances of that happening any time soon are inconceivable.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Happy Birthday
Today, January 15th, marks the anniversary of the birth of one of the most important men in history. Born over 80 years ago, this man came from a inconspicuous background and became one of the most important figures of the 20th century. He was a leader, to be sure, loved by all who adhered to him and his agenda. His speeches stirred the hearts and emotions of multitudes of people. He was a revolutionary in every sense of the word, with his call for unity and a stand against what he saw as injustice and oppression. He was truly one of a kind, although many would try to accomplish what he had. Of course, he was not without his enemies, and many saw him as a threat. To some, he was dangerous, but to others he was a beloved icon, whose untimely death drew millions to the streets in mourning. Of course, I am speaking of......Gamal Abdel Nasser.
What? You were expecting someone else?
Look at the Middle East today, and you will find a laundry list of names and leaders, but to politicos during the 1950s and 1960s, only one name mattered: Nasser. He was a playboy, he was charismatic, energetic, and had an ego the size of the pyramids in his homeland of Egypt. But he was also very dangerous. At a time when the major powers of the world are all trying to assert their influence in every corner of the world, attempting to either instill or defend against communism, the Middle East was a scary place. The USSR loomed to the north, a handful of recently independent but still American/British influenced countries in the area, and the young nation of Israel all together sitting on a powder keg. Then, come 1952, a rebellion against the monarch and five minutes of President Naguib later, Gamal Abdel Nasser is the President of Egypt. It also becomes very clear that he wants what he wants and he would do whatever it took to get it, even if it took a little bit of crooked dealing along the way. A clever man, he knew that to get rid of the shackles of Western imperialism, the Arab world had to unite under one flag. In a move not seen in centuries, he attempted to unite the people of Egypt and Syria into one country. However, his narcissism seems to have gotten in the way, and the union under Arabism turned into union under Nasser, and the countries split again. Yes, the experiment failed, but he tried, which is more than most ever did.
His presidency was full of dealing with both the West and the Soviets, giving in to whichever side was more pleasant at the time, without ever giving his allegiance to anyone but himself. US won't give me guns, but the Soviets will? Communism doesn't sound so bad. He also nationalized the Suez Canal, telling the other world powers to step off. The canal was theirs. Imagine Panama telling the United States, after all their work building the canal, to get the hell out, this canal is ours, and we will decide who gets to use it. Crazy, right? Nasser did it. Now, don't get me wrong. The man was not a saint by any means. His actions nearly brought us into a nuclear war, and he did want to wipe Israel off the map. His embarrassing defeat during the Six Day War tarnished his reputation, but to the people of Egypt, he was still their leader. He was modern, advanced, and is still viewed as a hero in many parts of the Arab world. When a heart attack claimed his life at the age of 52 in 1970, 5 million Arabs flocked to the streets in mourning. That's more than attended the funeral of Princess Diana or Pope John Paul II.
History is full of interesting characters and stories. Unfortunately, a lot of them are either barely mentioned in the footnote of a textbook or are left out entirely. So, in that spirit, I say Happy Birthday, President Nasser. At least one person in this part of the world remembers the importance of your life on the world.
What? You were expecting someone else?
Look at the Middle East today, and you will find a laundry list of names and leaders, but to politicos during the 1950s and 1960s, only one name mattered: Nasser. He was a playboy, he was charismatic, energetic, and had an ego the size of the pyramids in his homeland of Egypt. But he was also very dangerous. At a time when the major powers of the world are all trying to assert their influence in every corner of the world, attempting to either instill or defend against communism, the Middle East was a scary place. The USSR loomed to the north, a handful of recently independent but still American/British influenced countries in the area, and the young nation of Israel all together sitting on a powder keg. Then, come 1952, a rebellion against the monarch and five minutes of President Naguib later, Gamal Abdel Nasser is the President of Egypt. It also becomes very clear that he wants what he wants and he would do whatever it took to get it, even if it took a little bit of crooked dealing along the way. A clever man, he knew that to get rid of the shackles of Western imperialism, the Arab world had to unite under one flag. In a move not seen in centuries, he attempted to unite the people of Egypt and Syria into one country. However, his narcissism seems to have gotten in the way, and the union under Arabism turned into union under Nasser, and the countries split again. Yes, the experiment failed, but he tried, which is more than most ever did.
His presidency was full of dealing with both the West and the Soviets, giving in to whichever side was more pleasant at the time, without ever giving his allegiance to anyone but himself. US won't give me guns, but the Soviets will? Communism doesn't sound so bad. He also nationalized the Suez Canal, telling the other world powers to step off. The canal was theirs. Imagine Panama telling the United States, after all their work building the canal, to get the hell out, this canal is ours, and we will decide who gets to use it. Crazy, right? Nasser did it. Now, don't get me wrong. The man was not a saint by any means. His actions nearly brought us into a nuclear war, and he did want to wipe Israel off the map. His embarrassing defeat during the Six Day War tarnished his reputation, but to the people of Egypt, he was still their leader. He was modern, advanced, and is still viewed as a hero in many parts of the Arab world. When a heart attack claimed his life at the age of 52 in 1970, 5 million Arabs flocked to the streets in mourning. That's more than attended the funeral of Princess Diana or Pope John Paul II.
History is full of interesting characters and stories. Unfortunately, a lot of them are either barely mentioned in the footnote of a textbook or are left out entirely. So, in that spirit, I say Happy Birthday, President Nasser. At least one person in this part of the world remembers the importance of your life on the world.
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