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A Response to… We are Headed to the “Final Solution”
Long time member. First time messenger. I am writing because of a metastasizing mass hysteria of the mob around Trump that is now personally felt. Are we descending into a Civil War? One option is to pack a Sig Sauer P229 and hunker down, but instead, I am turning to the Ricochet community to at least ventilate my fears. This anxiety all came to a head yesterday when I received an email from a friend with a similar political persuasion who asked for solace after receiving an email from a longstanding friend. It was a crazy fanatical ranting, and my friend was frightened and sad. She thinks that friendship is over. I feel it in the distancing of neighbors. I cannot talk politics with my liberal family.
And one of my very best friends sent me an email asking me to comment on her sense that there may be a “Final Solution” after reading an article consistent with her liberal views. She is Israeli. I am sending a copy of both her email and my response that I sent to her. Forgive me if it is long winded, but I need to get it out.
Here is the email from my good friend:
Hi Peter,
I know you feel different about Trump, but I needed to send this to you to see what you think.
- Step One for Hitler was to discredit the media.
- Step Two was to silence scientists and government employees.
- Hate crimes against minorities grew to the highest in their country’s history. Clashes between parties became so extensive that Hitler ended civil liberties (Step Three), giving “law and order” as the cause. Those who opposed Hitler were ridiculed and threatened.
- In Step Four wealthy supporters purchased media outlets, employing only those faithful to the ruling party.
- In his final step (Step Five) Hitler declared that the only way the country could be unified was to restore traditional values. Minorities including gays, the disabled, Jews, Roma, and people of color were considered “inferior” and sent to death camps for slaughter.
We’re between Steps 2-4.
This is in case you were always confused by how so many people could go along with Hitler’s Final Solution, this is exactly how it happened. Cannot even believe that this [expletive] is happening in this country, in our time.
For me, this is appalling scary and sad very dark week….
Xxxx
Rachel
And here is my response:
Hi Rachel,
First of all, thank you for asking what my thoughts are regarding your concerns. It is an opportunity to voice different views respectfully, and I am sure that our deep friendship will endure those differences.
I am sorry to hear that you are frightened about this week, but it is understandable given your fear that we are headed towards the “Final Solution.” My sense is that conclusion is quite a stretch to make.
The steps outlined may or may not have been a part of how Hitler achieved the final solution, but it is not “exactly” the only elements that led to such a tragedy. My recollection of history is that central to the rise of Hitler was a severe economic depression with hyperinflation such that money was worthless and unemployment was rampant. Severe reparations imposed by the Versailles Treaty of WWI where Germany had an even more difficult time recovering from a worldwide depression exacerbated it. The constitution of the Weimar Republic was also weak leading to a greater avenue to centralized power. Such destitution, resentment, and lack of a tradition of checks and balances led to profound social unrest and the rise of a charismatic despot.
Defining some of our political differences may address some of your fears. Forgive me for repeating what I have said before. Liberals and progressives believe in power from the top down with a strong centralized authority while conservatives and libertarians believe in decentralized power from the ground up with an emphasis on individual freedom and states rights. Examples are too numerous to enumerate here, but the pattern is very consistent. Additionally, liberals and progressives assume the moral high ground of equality and social justice above individual freedom. Conservatives and libertarians would prefer to be free to do what is best for them and their loved ones so long as it does not hurt others. It would be less command and control, a higher tolerance of uncertainly, and an emphasis on individual responsibility, but I think that it would lead to greater prosperity for all including the poor if we adhered more to the economic philosophy of the “invisible hand” of Adam Smith, and we would avoid “The Road to Serfdom” as warned of by Frederick Hayek.
I would suggest that there is a greater chance for a Hitler to arise when moral righteousness is aligned with a strong centralized power, especially if some conditions are present such as economic despair. As government is given more power, it only wants more; there is never enough. And power corrupts. The Founding Fathers knew this when they formed a Constitution that was designed to decentralize power through an elaborate form of checks and balances. All politics is confrontation that hopefully leads to compromise, but I would submit that liberal politics, even if well intentioned, is the politics of coercion and force. (“I am smarter and know what is right for you, and we will use our power to force you to give something up for the good of others”). Centralized power leads to greater conformity (e.g., political correctness) and force. Decentralized power curbs the tyranny of the majority. In the conservative desire for smaller government and individual freedom that dovetails with capitalism, there is more of an emphasis on voluntary cooperation and persuasion. There is a patience and tolerance for evolution (versus the liberal’s bent towards revolution), where many local communities and families and institutions such as religions and cultures evolve into a consensus of what is best. The assumption is that there is greater wisdom in the many than in the few and that innovation through greater freedom leads to greater and lasting social change.
I also share your concern about Trump’s temperament, and we will all be subjected to a roller coaster of emotions with his actions. As you know, I was in the Never Trump camp, but in the end, I am more relieved that Hilary is not in power. His ideology is unclear, and I think that liberals and conservatives alike will disagree with many of his decisions. But to me, I think that he is imperfectly committed to smaller government (e.g., “drain the swamp”), greater individual choice and competition (e.g., school choice) and a stronger Constitution (Supreme Court). I am also more optimistic about emerging from this economic quagmire to have greater prosperity for all (reduced taxes and regulation). All of these factors mitigate against him becoming a Hitler. I actually think that Obama had a greater likelihood of becoming a dictator if it were not for the checks and balances of the Constitution. It is his lack of compromise regarding his singular piece of legislation in Obamacare and his sweeping dictatorial executive actions with pen and phone that will lead to the unraveling of his legacy to a footnote. Time will tell if Trump will also do the same. I, for one, will give him time and try to judge him more by his actions than his rhetoric.
Regarding the LBGT rights, I heard Trump say on election night that the issue of gay rights has been legally settled. However, your implied concern about being a victim of “the Final Solution” raises a question for me that perhaps you can help me understand. I cannot understand how you think that Trump is anti-Semitic? He is the most pro-Israel president we have had in a long time. His son-in-law is an Orthodox Jew. Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism. The Republican Party has been decidedly pro-Israel since its beginnings. Yet what perplexes me is why American Jews are at least 70 percent liberal? It is obvious that Obama is anti-Israel: the UN abstention establishes that any Israeli occupying the West Bank or worships at the Wall is a war criminal, and it takes away any need for the Palestinians to negotiate with Israel; he gave $221 million to the Palestinians who have repeatedly walked away from the table despite concessions from Israel. Alan Dershowitz has not only said that Steve Bannon is not anti-Semitic, but he also says that if you want to experience that bigotry, just join him when he goes on any liberal campus. I just don’t get it.
Finally, I will tell you my thoughts regarding each of the quoted steps:
• Step One for Hitler was to discredit the media.
I have no problem with discrediting the media. With the exception of Fox and the WSJ, every major outlet has been liberally biased: NYT, Washington Post, CNN, NPR. Whether directly or subtlety, consciously or unconsciously, Americans have been forced fed this pabulum for a very long time.
• Step Two was to silence scientists and government employees.
I actually think that it is the liberals who are silencing the scientists, whether through the withholding of federal grants, the withholding of tenure, or the oppression of group think of liberal institutions that do not tolerate dissenting views. It is my contention that the debate over climate change may be another example of this and that there may now be a more open debate. Academicians are now starting to voice their concerns. (Just to clarify, I have no doubt that human beings are affecting the climate. The question is can we measure the effect, does man truly have the ability to alter nature on such a scale, or is it hubris, and is it then fair to the poor that mammoth resources be diverted? So far, all the modeling has come up well short of predictions. I am inclined to put my government resources towards the basic sciences for cleaner energy and let the market develop technology. You can export new technology to other polluting countries; exporting regulations makes no sense. Finally, when you talk about silencing, read The Silencing by Kirsten Powers. She portrays the rampant oppression of political correctness on liberal campuses today with its use of micro-aggressions, safe spaces, trigger points, etc. Oberlin is the poster child for it. (One of her sons went there. I am a graduate) One example is that the classic Antigone was banned from the curriculum because a student complained that it traumatized him. Get real. And if by silencing government employees, we are talking about the “Deep State” or putting a curb on federal departments such as the EPA dictating regulation rather than following Congress, I am ok with that.
• Hate crimes against minorities grew to the highest in their country’s history. Clashes between parties became so extensive that Hitler ended civil liberties (Step Three), giving “law and order” as the cause. Those who opposed Hitler were ridiculed and threatened.
There is greater racial divide now than before Obama because of his divisiveness, but I do not believe that there are greater hate crimes today. And just an example of media bias: when that white developmentally disabled kid was systematically abused by those four black kids, the media was very challenged to call it a hate crime. As for “law and order,” I can understand that it does not make sense to the progressives when violence often accompanies the demonstrations of liberals. I think that reflects the revolutionary psyche of progressives in that the end justifies the means. There was not one unlawful violent behavior that occurred during the many demonstrations of the Tea Party.
•. In Step Four wealthy supporters purchased media outlets, employing only those faithful to the ruling party.
By definition, those who purchase media outlets need to be wealthy, and again, those outlets are predominantly liberal. I suppose this author may be referring to Steve Bannon, but there was certainly no outrage over Al Sharpton being at the side of Obama. I would put Bannon’s character up against Sharpton anytime.
•. In his final step (Step Five) Hitler declared that the only way the country could be unified was to restore traditional values. Minorities including gays, the disabled, Jews, Roma, and people of color were considered “inferior” and sent to death camps for slaughter.
We’re between Step 2-4.
This is in case you were always confused by how so many people could go along with Hitler’s Final Solution, this is exactly how it happened. Cannot even believe that this [expletive] is happening in this country, in our time.
Traditional values include the rule of law and respect for family and religion. Liberal progressive philosophy is rooted in Marxism, which is focused on the destruction of the family and religion so that the state takes over. People went along with the Final Solution where they were deprived of their voice because the government had taken over.
So when you have time, let me tell you what I really think.
Xxxx,
Peter
To the Ricochet community, thank you for listening. Do you feel me? I feel better already. But do you guys know the address of the closest local gun shop?
Sincerely,
A San Francisco Resident
Peter, your friend is scared and has lost her ability,if she ever had any, to reason. You make very factual historical points whereas she uses talking points from who knows where. BTW it is most likely that Trump’s father was Jewish although not practicing .
I keep having my liberal friends saying how Trump is the next Hitler. They seem to have almost no grasp of the history of Nazi Germany or of Hitler himself. They seem to have gotten all their info from junk TV shows and Facebook memes.
Somehow I doubt reason will work but why not give it a shot. Sigs are awesome handguns. I own 5 of them.
Your response was reasoned, factual and caring.
Well done Peter.
Sadly, it seems your friend has succumbed to the MSM’s propaganda.
Difficult times we’re navigating.
(As for the gun shop. Just follow that line of bumper-to-bumper cars headed for the packed parking lot)
I am incredulous that this email from your friend is “real”. It’s laughable on its face.
The only “inferior minorities” in this Country who have been ridiculed by their Government and threatened with fines, imprisonment and re-education (death) camps are Christians, Gun Owners, Smokers and people who love to drink Big Gulps from 7-Eleven.
It should surprise no one that Liberals have a tenuous, cartoonish grasp of history. Almost every one of those points apply to all tyrants or dictators including leftist sacred cows, and to apply them in such a manner to DJT at this juncture shows a complete disrespect for the victims of actual tyranny.
Drunken Wall Street frat bros humping the Brave Girl statue does not a holocaust make.
Your friend’s account of Hitler’s rise is wildly inaccurate, of course. One thing that might interest her is that Hitler’s rise was, in part, a backlash against the rising tide of communism in Germany – very much as the Spanish Civil War became a fight between fascists and communists. In the days before the 1933 election, Hitler’s storm troopers attacked officials of the communist party (the KPD) and Hitler blamed the Reichstag fire on the KPD. The Wikipedia account of the 1933 election recounts:
So if your friend, and her communist friends, are concerned about another Hitler, they might be well advised to recognize the role that they might be playing in setting the stage. We’ve seen it before.
a crucial point in understanding Europe in the 1930s and 1940s (and China and Japan as well).
The media spent months telling us that Trump is Hitler, so of course they must find every excuse to prove that he is Hitler, interpreting every statement and action with that goal in mind and hammering it home.
The Sig is a splendid pistol. I hope you find one. Consider a laser grip for it, and get an extra magazine with the finger extension. Don’t be fooled into buying a Colt Mustang Pocketlite, even though the two pistols are very similar (they can even use the same magazines). The Colt has a reputation for beating up your wrist. I have put 500 rounds through the Sig with no pain whatsoever. The double nested recoil spring and some other magic they did with the physics resulted in one of the best mid-frame pistols you can buy that isn’t made by Beretta.
I’d like to know her response to your comments. If she is thinking reasonably, you have just spelled out all her fears and worries under Obama. All of this mindset was created and left by Obama administration. Trump just got here. The media was already corrupt and supporting a left wing bias. That is more in line with the “Hitler” mentality. Conservatives were not disrespectful to Obama while in office. You cannot say the same for the liberals.
The media is not helping this problem either. There are constant references to DJT as Hitler. DJT removes some ambassadors like every other President before him and it is all over the news as the Night of the Long Knives. DJT MAGA campaign becomes Hitler’s fascism. About every other post on facebook is a meme or a news story with a Trump – Hitler or Trump racist or Trump Jew hater theme.
Hitler did not stress the importance of traditional values. Quite the opposite.
Gun registration became a tool for evil …
They also focussed very heavily on personal hygiene and exercise.
The fact is, Nazis came to power because people wanted them in power. On the one hand, they played to a lot of things that are perfectly true in moderation, and they obviously spoke to genuine concerns/fears/issues that germans at the time really had. That they emphasized a form of racism that resulted in the holocaust is unique to Nazism, but it cannot be said that literally everything associated with Nazism must therefore necessarily lead in the same direction. That sort of reasoning would lead to some pretty ridiculous outcomes.
@fluee: You should point out to your friend that it is possible to make pretty much the same sorts of observations with virtually any group or individual. You could take Obama and point out all of the things he had in common with Hitler if you wanted to, and it wouldn’t be any less than what Trump has in common. That should be obvious enough when you consider that all leaders must necessarily have certain traits in common, or they couldn’t be leaders. The more important thing is to spot the differences, and there are major differences between Conservatism and Nazism; far more than between Liberalism and Nazism. Identifying ideological and foundational differences will make that very clear.
Trump is not an American Hitler. Neither were W or Reagan. Facts have never prevented the left from portraying any elected Republican as a nascent Nazi. This kind of rhetoric is hyperbolic, irrational, and annoying, but it’s not new.
Yes, it is important to note that Hitler (just as with the communists in Russia) did not discredit the media. Rather, he owned the media. When the media is a propaganda arm for the government, you’ve got a problem.
Ask your friend to honestly assess the differences in the way our media covered George W. Bush vs. Obama vs. Trump. Which reporting looked more like the sort of propaganda you’d get under a totalitarian regime?
Also, as a point of pure logic, at some point discrediting “scientists and the media” becomes necessary. In the Arab world, you’ve got scientists who make flat-earth arguments because it fits with what their leaders want… Should those scientists be discredited? How about the media in Soviet Russia that “reported” on all of the successes of their eternal 5-year plans? Or the ever-changing Soviet encyclopedia?
I remember liberals calling GWB a Nazi for stepping up immigration enforcement after 9/11. It’s always the same for liberals and it’s never made a lick of logical sense.
The media said that Trump wouldn’t win the candidacy or the Presidency, that the economy would tank under him and that he would alienate minority voters and on and on and on. The Russian sex scandal was absurd and dumb. They deserve to be discredited.
We should only worry when Trump starts locking up journalists like Putin or Erdogan do. I have a sneaking fear that many liberals would be fine locking up people who disagree with them or otherwise using the power of the state to enforce their will. When Trump discredits the media they think he will then do what they wish they could do to people who disagree with them. The recent Harvard Lunch Club podcast has an excellent discussion on the nature of government and censorship and I suggest it as a companion piece to your letter.
This is exactly right.
Liberals are afraid of Trump because they inherently believe that a president (especially Obama) can and should have the kind of power that they fear he will use on them.
Most conservatives are not afraid of Trump, even if they dislike him, because their view of government is inherently different.
You wrote a wonderful response to her. Her letter was hard for me to read, as my irritation meter kept going off. Those talking points of hers were no doubt dreamed up by some 23-year-old hipster at Occupy Democrats. I say 23-year-old because nobody who got out of school before the 1970s has such a poor grasp of history. Does Rachel not realize the shocking rise of anti-semitism in the Democrat Party?! THEY are the ones, not us. And does she not realize that fascism comes from the Left, not the Right? I’ve laughed for years at the way the Democrats call themselves the Party of Education when the truth is they do best when the people are stupid.
Wait. Why would the Sig only be packed in time of tumult, turmoil, and turbulence? The Sig should be packed every day, and let the times be what they may.
@Front Seat Cat
I’d like to know her response to your comments. If she is thinking reasonably, you have just spelled out all her fears and worries under Obama. All of this mindset was created and left by Obama administration. Trump just got here. The media was already corrupt and supporting a left wing bias. That is more in line with the “Hitler” mentality. Conservatives were not disrespectful to Trump while in office. You cannot say the same for the liberals.
I called Rachel about two weeks later, and we had an affable and pleasant conversation, but at the end, she said that she did not want to discuss politics anymore with me. My guess is that many of you have had similar responses whenever there are discussions with liberals about issues. They become morally indignant and shut the conversation down. My brother hung up on me after I gently suggested that Trump may not be all bad, and we love each other. Now our conversations are confined to non political matters. I find that debating individual issues leads nowhere. Directly challenging them only leads to erecting more defenses. Instead, I will try to only ask questions about their thoughts regarding underlying philosophical differences such as should power be given more to the federal government or to the individual i.e. federalism; or to they value equality more than freedom.
Thank you all for your responses.
The next Hitler will more likely rise from the left than the right. Their identity concerns group approval and they are ripe for organizing, which is where Obama started his career.
A very good read for her would be the introduction on Amazon of “The Dictator’s Handbook”. It explains how Bell, CA. was corrupted right under its citizens noses. The press can be used for bad things without their knowledge. It only takes a few voters in a seeminly boring election to open the door to the greedy.
The number one thing a dictator needs is supporters. Even in North Korea. A dictator has to take care of his supporters, and get rid of rivals. In a democracy, there are a lot of people to pay off. In a dictatorship, it is usually the military. Every once in a while you take out a supporter to keep the rest in line. Hence in our softened Obama dictatorship, we used the imagery of a bus.
I would answer her on how people go along with a reference to Stanley Millgram’s experiment in the 50s.
Edward Hall’s classic “The Hidden Dimension” explains the differences in cultures. The Polish love nothing better than to mess up the Germans straight ques. Germans were also receptive to a Hitler. There cannot be a Hitler if the mood is not ripe for a movement.
When Trump was only a candidate, his cover picture on a prominent magazine was next to several magazines on Hitler at a prominent national bookstore. It was displayed that way. I took a picture of it – I’ll try to find it – I’m wondering why a magazine on Hitler was even on the news stands last year in the middle of an election year.
Here it is – I posted this June 7, 2016:
http://ricochet.com/archives/summer-reading-anyone/
I’d like to comment, but I’m too busy trying to memorize your entire post.
A good friend of mine’s advertising firm was involved in putting up that statue. I had a massive eye roll that might have sprained my retina when she sent me the text. I have been having a lot of problems with friends of mine who I have been friends with for a long time over this election. I have been actually suprised at how brainwashed so many people are. They spout off crap that they’ve read in the Huffpo, like it’s gospel. There is no skeptisim with these people. AT ALL. No curiousity to seek out opposing points of view. These are grown ups, people in their late 30’s who should know better, but still act like they are in college and absorb this propoganda up like sponges. It has been eye opening and scary to me that in this age of information, that anyone has the abilty to look up facts in a moments notice, that so many people are so easily taken in by propaganda, and can’t be bothered to accept another worldview outside of their leftist bubble. The left has been largly successful in brainwashing a mass of people this way but the problem is that they have to stay in their geographical bubble as well.
Also, on the Hitler thing. Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, before he was elected and his rampant anti Semitism was pretty much out there for anyone to read if they actually took the time to. Also that he was a crack pot.
Donald Trump has been in the public eye since I was a kid, and considering the opposition research that was done on him by a hostle media and they haven’t found any evidence of real bigotry in the man. I would have to say that much of paranoia our friends on the left are experiencing, is in their heads.
What stood out to me about your post was it took her one paragraph to emote but it took you a whole page to explain your point of view. That is what is so difficult with conservatism – it takes more than a paragraph to explain.
But it IS out there. Once you are “woke” you can see the secret language of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islam phobia everywhere.
I, too, live in the Bay Area. All the mainstream media outlets here are singing from the same song sheet. I fear for California’s sanity with its government galloping toward Marxism. Today’s news is featuring how gentrification in the Progressive Paradise is making housing unaffordable for poor minorities. So how is that Rich-Poor coalition going to work out? Gated communities within the state, but no wall on the border. Don’t let go of Obamacare (and give freedom of choice to the ignorant masses) because so many will make bad choices. SJWs are celebrated at every turn. As Trump would say: sad.