by Joseph O’Shaughnessy
There he stands, the all-powerful leader. The man whom some envy and others hate. The man who brooks no enemies, tolerates no deviation from the party line. The man who is popular with the local businessman, the disaffected worker, the local police.
He calls himself a man of the people. He wants to give back to the people. Yet, look a little deeper. He has made promises to the people. They trust him. His followers trust him, even when they cringe at his words.
He has insulted many. His words are often angry, calling for violent action against others. Some of his followers say that this is just his way of talking. But others, with guns and clubs and torches in their hands and hatred in their hearts say that their time will come.
He has made alliances with the rich and powerful, industrialists and giant corporations. He is building a military power that he wishes other nations to fear. He maintains that his country and people of his race and creed and nationality are superior.
He makes many disparaging comments about other people and other countries. He has already attacked countries that he says are a danger to the citizens of his country while making alliances with countries that are themselves despotic.
He sends out a daily barrage of supposed facts about the dangers of other countries and their citizens. Each year he increases military spending. He works daily to increase patriotism, his version of patriotism, reminding people of the differences among citizens, reminding us that some citizens are lesser humans and unpatriotic.
He has control of the radio, with paid propagandists spreading the word every day. His followers have control of the airwaves, justifying his speeches and his comments about those who do not agree with him. He would silence them altogether.
His party has complete control of government, insuring that others within the party toe the line. Either they subordinate their wishes to his will or they pay a deadly penalty. He and his propaganda specialists ridicule anyone who argues against him, and those who control the one dominant political party see to it that anyone who disagrees is quickly removed from any position of authority.
He has enacted, through his deputies, legislation that would limit the freedoms of citizens. He packs the courts with his own carefully selected judges so that dissenters to his policies quickly find that they have no alternative in the “justice” system. seriously reduced the right of trial by one’s peers. In fact, in some cases, if the suspect is a potential risk for terror against the state, there is no trial at all. People are removed from positions solely based on suspicion of loyalty.
His position is that the state, by which he means he, himself, has ultimate authority to decide who is loyal and who is not. And the penalty for disloyalty to him, personally, is dire. He wants his own judges on the courts, ones who will make decisions that will not pander to the weak or the minorities or the unwanted elements in society.
His party obstructed government for many years, simply so that it could claim incompetence on the part of prior governments, and take over government themselves, with the aid of their powerful supporters. Still, he is the all-important person in society, he has said, many times. He alone knows what is best for the country, he says, and he has many true believers.
His government is filled with people that he has appointed or people in the one ruling party have approved as his appointees, whether qualified or not. He controls the Party and the Party does his bidding. The penalty, at the very least, is to be excluded from all participation and punished for being a dissenter.
He says that he wants to help the average citizen. But he does not plan for their future. Instead, his tight little group plans what they want for the people–nationalism, even war. They want to bend other countries to their will. Their image, after all, has historical, philosophical and even anthropological evidence to support its superiority. Their way is the way of the future, a superior people, Homeland first, a true nationalistic policy.
Yet, he stands alone, atop a pillar of public approval, for a selected but large group, the charismatic, dominant leader. Others have foolishly called him a second-rate leader, a reckless, comic figure who will never accomplish what he wants because he is too far on the fringe, a man driven by his own selfish goals.
But he has the determination not to concede unless forced to do so, no matter the cost to millions. He has a huge following who trust him implicitly, who believe his words, even though many are filled with anger, even hatred, for those who do not agree with him. His admirers, however, follow him blindly, without question.
Who is this man? Well, isn’t it obvious? From all you have read, it should be quite clear.
The year is 1938. The country is Germany The man is Adolph Hitler.