O Pinions!

R U A ... article from 1941!

Dorothy Thompson writes in 1941 "It’s fun—a macabre sort of fun—this parlor game of “Who Goes Nazi?”.

She describes various people, those who are born Nazis, become Nazis, will never become a Nazi. She concludes:

"Kind, good, happy, gentlemanly, secure people never go Nazi. They may be the gentle philosopher whose name is in the Blue Book, or Bill from City College to whom democracy gave a chance to design airplanes—you’ll never make Nazis out of them. But the frustrated and humiliated intellectual, the rich and scared speculator, the spoiled son, the labor tyrant, the fellow who has achieved success by smelling out the wind of success—they would all go Nazi in a crisis.

Believe me, nice people don’t go Nazi. Their race, color, creed, or social condition is not the criterion. It is something in them.

Those who haven’t anything in them to tell them what they like and what they don’t—whether it is breeding, or happiness, or wisdom, or a code, however old-fashioned or however modern, go Nazi. It’s an amusing game. Try it at the next big party you go to."

This is the article from Harpers:

https://harpers.org/archive/1941/08/who-goes-nazi/?fbclid=IwAR0wOV15nMleETvApGMe...

I find it disturbing. I have a core. It may seem silly that I don't drink (neither does Trump) or that I've said in the past that marriage is a good thing (not for me... alack... and no longer in the strict 'covenant' sense of Johnson & Pence). But... my core is a belief in humanity; and, no matter how much people have hurt me, I don't think vindictiveness is the answer and refuse to hate the species. I've spent a lifetime of bringing people together and crossing barriers so I can feel comfortable in a larger world. It hasn't always been easy. I haven't always had a mentor. I made lots of mistakes.

Travel has helped me internalize "the kindness of strangers" through multiple experiences. And making friends who aren't my doppelgangers has helped me relax around people in general. I've learned that "Mankind is One" and would protect those I've met. It's easier for me to say that as I age. I admittedly have lived my life and have less to lose.

I believe it takes a village and a community, even one I don't fit into well. I believe that all religions come from the same source, even if corrupted by time and misinterpretations. I believe love is more important than status or wealth.

I wouldn't make a good Nazi. Even now I feel the urge to leave the USA to avoid November 2024. The possibility of a Nazi Regime is very frightening. A weak leader (good at domestic governing and political negotiations and compromise), who spouts abstractions about the economy, easily loses to a public outcry about the price of eggs and oil which is manipulated by a strong leader (authoritarian and no interest in the public good) who reminds people how much they hate certain people they use as scapegoats.

Oh... I would like to be wrong; but, I cried in 2016 and the stress of the next 4 years was only bearable when I could travel and was crushing when covid prevented me from leaving. 2020? A relief until the Insurrection and 3 more years of the Insurrectionist manipulating the public, the media, the courts... and grabbing every headline, whilst his sycophants in Congress remain untouched as they obstruct any progress on global issues or human rights.

I'm tired. I'm old. I think Dorothy Thompson is too close to the truth to be ignored. But my prediction? She'll be ignored.

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