George W. Bush: Hitler reincarnated?
By Troy Pickard
Special to The Panther
Envision a troubled country. People are desperate; the economy has turned sour; except for the very rich, everyone else is doing terribly. The people want change. A charismatic, right-leaning leader, who had failed at almost everything he'd done up until now, seizes the opportunity to become the un-elected ruler of the country. At first, some resist this power seizure. The leader realizes that he is indeed in jeopardy, so he creates a situation that will rally the people behind him, and simultaneously allow him to entirely restrict their civil liberties: he destroys one of the country's major buildings and blames it on his political foes.
Next, he takes steps to assure that people he considers "traitors" be put on trial, not in a civilian court, but in a special tribunal, which is almost certain to convict people of any illegal act, simply because the tribunal's judges will be entirely biased. Then, he ramrods new, broadly-worded laws through the legislature, which gives him, and the rest of his executive branch, vastly increased powers, specifically in the areas of surveillance, and harsh repression of those who speak out against the government.
In this streak of new legislation, he also creates new governmental departments meant to provide strict internal security. These new security departments are mainly intended to disorganize or otherwise silence people who disagree with his government. He manages to get the press in his pocket and, even though millions of people take to the streets to protest this man's tyrannical rule, the press reports none of it. And, eventually, Time names him "Man of the Year."
What country is this, when in history, and who is this man? It is Nazi Germany, in the late 1930s, led by a man named Adolph Hitler. It is also the 21st century United States, led by George W. Bush. The similarities are shocking. Before Bush and Hitler took power, both countries were economically suffering, had enormous debts, and the distribution of wealth was very similar.
Before coming into national office, both Hitler and Bush had proven to be failures in most of what they'd previously done. Hitler dropped out of elementary school at age 16. Time magazine described Hitler as a man "whose reading has always been very limited."
When asked what his favorite book as a little boy was, Bush answered "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," which didn't even exist until after Bush was at Yale.
Both Bush and Hitler came into office without the consent of most of the citizens in the country. In order to gain legitimacy, rally the people behind them and enact repressive laws, both Bush and Hitler were very suspiciously assisted by the destruction of a famous building. In 1933, the Reichstag (the German parliament) burned to the ground. Hitler used this as an excuse to arrest thousands of communists, who he blamed for the arson. He also began arrests and repression of tens of thousands of people he claimed were communist sympathizers. The media in Nazi Germany were silent. Hitler's right-hand man, Joseph Goebbels, wrote that the "press are at our disposal."
In 2001, the World Trade Center crumbled to the ground. Bush used this as an excuse to arrest, or "detain," thousands of "possible terrorists," who he blamed for the attack, as well as arresting and repressing tens of thousands of people who, he claimed, were terrorist sympathizers. Bush's right-hand man, John Ashcroft, asked the major networks and newspapers to selectively report the news.
Even though thousands of people took to the streets to speak out against Hitler, he made sure that the press only minimally reported it, and these demonstrations were quickly broken up by Hitler's newly created security forces. The exact same thing is happening in the United States right now. Along with the creation of new security forces, called the SS and the SA, Hitler rammed through his "Enabling Acts," which were broadly-worded laws that gave the executive branch vastly increased powers over surveillance and action against those that the government didn't like. These Enabling Acts are essentially mimicked by Bush's USA Patriot Act. Both acts serve to severely limit civilian freedoms, specifically the right to due process, and the writ of habeas corpus.
Hitler was Time's Man of the Year in 1938, and Bush had that same dubious honor in 2000. Remember what Bush said: If he could run the government his way, "it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
By Troy Pickard
Special to The Panther
Envision a troubled country. People are desperate; the economy has turned sour; except for the very rich, everyone else is doing terribly. The people want change. A charismatic, right-leaning leader, who had failed at almost everything he'd done up until now, seizes the opportunity to become the un-elected ruler of the country. At first, some resist this power seizure. The leader realizes that he is indeed in jeopardy, so he creates a situation that will rally the people behind him, and simultaneously allow him to entirely restrict their civil liberties: he destroys one of the country's major buildings and blames it on his political foes.
Next, he takes steps to assure that people he considers "traitors" be put on trial, not in a civilian court, but in a special tribunal, which is almost certain to convict people of any illegal act, simply because the tribunal's judges will be entirely biased. Then, he ramrods new, broadly-worded laws through the legislature, which gives him, and the rest of his executive branch, vastly increased powers, specifically in the areas of surveillance, and harsh repression of those who speak out against the government.
In this streak of new legislation, he also creates new governmental departments meant to provide strict internal security. These new security departments are mainly intended to disorganize or otherwise silence people who disagree with his government. He manages to get the press in his pocket and, even though millions of people take to the streets to protest this man's tyrannical rule, the press reports none of it. And, eventually, Time names him "Man of the Year."
What country is this, when in history, and who is this man? It is Nazi Germany, in the late 1930s, led by a man named Adolph Hitler. It is also the 21st century United States, led by George W. Bush. The similarities are shocking. Before Bush and Hitler took power, both countries were economically suffering, had enormous debts, and the distribution of wealth was very similar.
Before coming into national office, both Hitler and Bush had proven to be failures in most of what they'd previously done. Hitler dropped out of elementary school at age 16. Time magazine described Hitler as a man "whose reading has always been very limited."
When asked what his favorite book as a little boy was, Bush answered "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," which didn't even exist until after Bush was at Yale.
Both Bush and Hitler came into office without the consent of most of the citizens in the country. In order to gain legitimacy, rally the people behind them and enact repressive laws, both Bush and Hitler were very suspiciously assisted by the destruction of a famous building. In 1933, the Reichstag (the German parliament) burned to the ground. Hitler used this as an excuse to arrest thousands of communists, who he blamed for the arson. He also began arrests and repression of tens of thousands of people he claimed were communist sympathizers. The media in Nazi Germany were silent. Hitler's right-hand man, Joseph Goebbels, wrote that the "press are at our disposal."
In 2001, the World Trade Center crumbled to the ground. Bush used this as an excuse to arrest, or "detain," thousands of "possible terrorists," who he blamed for the attack, as well as arresting and repressing tens of thousands of people who, he claimed, were terrorist sympathizers. Bush's right-hand man, John Ashcroft, asked the major networks and newspapers to selectively report the news.
Even though thousands of people took to the streets to speak out against Hitler, he made sure that the press only minimally reported it, and these demonstrations were quickly broken up by Hitler's newly created security forces. The exact same thing is happening in the United States right now. Along with the creation of new security forces, called the SS and the SA, Hitler rammed through his "Enabling Acts," which were broadly-worded laws that gave the executive branch vastly increased powers over surveillance and action against those that the government didn't like. These Enabling Acts are essentially mimicked by Bush's USA Patriot Act. Both acts serve to severely limit civilian freedoms, specifically the right to due process, and the writ of habeas corpus.
Hitler was Time's Man of the Year in 1938, and Bush had that same dubious honor in 2000. Remember what Bush said: If he could run the government his way, "it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."
