Since the left is so eager to use the Hitler/Nazi card on the people of the right let us see how they like it if we use the same tactics, but with one caveat. We will not tell any lies or distort anything that Bernie has said.
Surely you must be joking,” says a Bernie supporter. “Bernie is just a kind old man, the furthest thing from Hitler.”
I have news for you. Many on the right think the accusations of their guys being like Hitler are ridiculous and mean spirited also. Turnabout is fair play, so let us compare Bernie to Hitler and Nazism and see how he measures up.
Here are some correspondences just as good or better than those made recently against Trump.
(1) Bernie draws large enthusiastic supportive crowds, just like Hitler did.
(2) Bernie’s supporters use intimidating methods in attempts to silence those who may oppose him or speak against him.
Just as Hitler did not need to give direct orders to silence opposition Bernie’s supports knew what to do and shut down Trump’s Chicago rally while shouting out Bernie’s name. They are trying to prevent Trumps free speech in numerous other towns even going so far as to block a major highway in Arizona. That could not only have limited free speech but was also a route to a hospital and may have endangered lives. The protesters did not care though just as the Nazis did not care about such things.
(3) Hitler’s National Socialist Party had much in common with Bernie’s national socialism. It is a fact that they both called themselves socialists.
Both of them support the power of the state stepping in and forcing business to work toward the common good.
Both advocate free education with the government making sure the youth are educated properly.
Both advocated freedom of religion UNLESS they offend the “moral and ethical sense” of those in charge.
The stated Nazi goal was:
COMMON GOOD BEFORE INDIVIDUAL GOOD
In order to carry out this program we demand: the creation of a strong central authority in the State, the unconditional authority by the political central parliament of the whole State and all its organizations.
Bernie indeed wants a strong central government which would be necessary to carry out his reforms.
(4) Both Sanders and Hitler believed in “common sense” gun control and restrictions regulated by the national, not state or local governments.
(5) Neither Hitler and Sanders had a regular job until they were about 40. Until that time they spent much of their time promoting their political agendas. Both got in trouble with the law because of their political activities.
(6) The only real and regular jobs both men had was working for the state and being paid by taxpayers.
(7) Both Sanders and Hitler believed and promoted universal health care.
(8) Both men stressed the importance of creating a “living wage” for the masses.
(9) Both men liked carrots.
We could continue, but you get the point, right?
Bernie Sanders must be Hitler come again.
Don’t laugh. That is what I would be proclaiming if I had the same mindset as Bernie and Clinton supporters calling Trump and others Hitler.
Do I really think Bernie is like Hitler?
Overall, the answer is no, but there are some similarities. After all, all of us have some things in common with Hitler as well as every other human being on the planet.
Both Hitler and Bernie like carrots. I also like carrots, but I am not much like either of them.
These comparisons were done to make a point. You can find as much or more that Bernie has in common with Hitler than Trump, Cruz or any conservative.
In real life I would not compare Sanders or anyone else, as a whole, to Hitler unless they really started acting out the horrific things Hitler did. Such accusations are below the belt.
Instead of mindless Hitler accusations we are much better off debating the issues involved in a civil manner. Maybe if we actually do some thinking instead of just reacting on an emotional level some minds may be changed for the better.
I do not know how many times I have heard haters lately speak of Donald Trump in comparison to Hitler and other dictators since he announced a run for the presidency. I believe that a new record level of mean spiritedness has been achieved as well as a distortion and outright fabrication of the facts.
What is the source of all this fear and attack, rampant to the extent that all effort is being made to stop Trump from even speaking or supporters to even hear his words?
It is clearly revealed in a principle which is this:
That thing which an individual most despises and fears is that which strongly exists within him or her, but is not recognized or acknowledged by such a person.
Applying this principle it becomes clear that those who most loudly attack others as being like Hitler or dictators are internally acknowledging that they themselves would be a supporter of strong authoritarian dictatorial rule. Of course, that assumes that a dictator-like leader would support their own personal dogmas.
It is amazing how many see authoritarian power as benevolent as long as the dictator agrees with them, but when the tables are turned then things are different. Whether there is abuse of power or not, if the guy doesn’t get his way the cry of Hitlerism may go forth.
The ideal here is to be objective and balanced and be against an abuse of power whether we benefit or not. Instead of asking, “What is the benefit to me?” one needs to first ask, “Is there a misuse of power that is going against the will of the people?”
Now as far as Trump goes, the guy has never held office, never raised anyone’s taxes, never raised the national debt limit, never passed any restrictive laws so comparing him to Hitler is extreme indeed. When we examine his life we see positive and negative things but nothing much out of the ordinary for your average billionaire. If he was going to be like a Hitler you would think there would be some signs of it by now as he approaches 70 years of age.
After all, the real bad guys showed their true colors at a fairly young age. These include Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Stalin, and Mao.
One of the first things to take into consideration with Hitler accusations is Godwin’s Law which is basically this:
When a person runs low on reason in an argument, the tendency is to resort to comparing opponents to Hitler or the Nazis. When this happens the perpetrator has generally stooped low enough to be considered the loser in the debate.
Now Godwin recognized that there are rare times that a legitimate comparison to Hitler may be in order, but over 90% of the Hitler or Nazi accusations have no foundation in reality. They are just thrown out there by insecure people who do not have the intelligence to debate the real issues with facts and reason.
This seems to be the case with the Trump accusations as most of them are just plain silly. They seem to be contrived to deceive and destroy rather than to reveal any truth.
Let us take a look at some of the Hitler accusations against Trump.
(1) He draws large enthusiastic crowds like Hitler did.
The reality:
Drawing a large supportive crowd is not a sign that the person is good or bad, right or wrong. It is merely an indication that the person is interesting.
Bernie Sanders also draws large enthusiastic crowds and I see no Democrats comparing him to Hitler. Obama, Reagan, JFK, FDR and others drew large crowds and I do not see anyone today comparing any of them to the great dictator.
And how about Elvis, the Beatles and the Stones? They drew more enthusiastic large crowds than any politician?
Were they like Hitler?
Like I say, this is a silly comparison.
(2) Trump is anti immigration and wants to build a wall.
This is supposed to make him like Hitler who hated Jews and exterminated 6,000,000 of them.
This is a very mean spirited deceptive comparison. First, it is a total lie that Trump is anti immigration. He is pro immigration which is legal according to laws passed by both parties. He is against those who cross our boarders illegally. These are not even immigrants, but illegals. He wants a wide door open for those who respect our laws.
Few seem to realize today that both Sanders and Clinton took positions in the past similar to Trump’s current one.
In 2003 during an interview on The John Gambling Radio Show when she was a New York senator, Clinton said, “I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants. … We’ve got to do more at our borders and people have got to stop employing illegal immigrants.”
During a CNN interview with Lou Dobbs in 2007 Sanders said:
“If poverty is increasing and if wages are going down, I don’t know why we need millions of people to be coming in to this country as guest workers who will work for lower wages than American workers and will drive wages down even lower than they are right now,”
In a speech on the Senate floor in 2007 concerning his no vote on an immigration bill Sanders said the bill was about “bringing into this country over a period of years millions of low-wage temporary workers with the result that wages and benefits in this country, which are already going down, will go down even further.”
Both Sanders and Clinton sounded like Trump just a few years ago yet I do not recall anyone calling them racist, Nazis or like Hitler.
(3) Trump has a plan to register Muslims. The trouble is this is not what Trump said. To this accusation he stated: “I didn’t suggest a database-a reporter did. We must defeat Islamic terrorism & have surveillance, including a watch list, to protect America.”
Obama’s government is already doing more than this in tracking every possible email sent throughout the world and seeking entrance to our mobile devices but I see no Trump critics calling him Hitler.
(4) Trump wants to ban Muslims from entering the United States. At least this is partially true. Trump does want a temporary ban until more security can be established. But this does not correlate to anything Hitler did with the Jews. Jews were not complaining about not being able to get into Nazi Germany. Their complaint was that they couldn’t get out. Muslims here are not complaining that they cannot leave.
(5) Trump’s delivery is similar to Hitler. This is silly. Anyone who has watched old films of Hitler speaking will see little in comparison. Obama’s guru, Jeremiah Wright, spoke much more on the emotional level like Hitler – though a similar delivery does not make him like Hitler overall.
(6) Trump discredits everybody who disagrees with him.
Most candidates of both parties do this, but it does not make them like Hitler.
(7) Trump advocates enforcing the law.
It may be hard to believe but some are actually equating Trump with Hitler for wanting to enforce existing law. If this is the case then we must have millions of potential Hitlers in this country for most people support having laws and obeying them.
They do not realize that Hitler was his own law and didn’t respect any law with which he did not agree.
This is another accusation I place in the silly category.
(8) Trump sells hate to the poor and ignorant.
Now Hitler was a true promoter of hate toward the Jews and discriminated against many others. He blamed the Jews as being a part of an international conspiracy wanting to take over the world. He saw them as sub human and denied them citizenship because of their race.
This is nothing like anything Trump advocates. Trump has expressed no hate toward any race, sex or religion and has employed many of them. Some individuals get under his skin, but they are mostly white guys.
Trumps supporters come from the rich and the poor, the educated and the no so educated.
Again, comparing Trump to Hitler because he is supposed to hate certain groups is silly.
(9) Trump is in possession of a book of Hitler’s speeches which was given to him as a gift from a friend.
One article I read made a big deal out of this thinking it was solid proof Trump is like Hitler.
Again this is silly. I have the same book and also have read Mein Kampf, but I am totally against what Hitler stood for. I also have and have read Obama’s autobiography, but that does not make me a supporter. Many people read all kinds of books about both good and bad guys that that does not make them like any of them.
That is enough to give any honest reader a general idea of the crazy thinking out there. What has been overlooked here is that two can play this game.
If the left can make crazy and illogical links between those on the right and Hitler then it should be fair game to use their own rules and equate their guys with Hitler.
