. . . even if a regime practices the politics of it
Interesting piece from “Hot Air Pundit”, a respected conservative blog.
The writer questions whether Dr. Ben Carson, as a potential candidate for president, is “ready for prime time”, as a politician.
One of the prime quotes from Carson the writer cites was made in an interview with Wolf Blitzer:
“Neurosurgeon Ben Carson stood by his controversial comparison of the United States to Nazi Germany in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday.
Asked by Blitzer whether he would amend or take back his comments, Carson said “Absolutely not.”
Carson made the comments during a March interview with conservative news outlet Breitbart.com. He noted that the Third Reich was “using its tools to intimidate the population,” and said that “we now live in a society where people are afraid to say what they actually believe.”
Now we agree with “Hot Air” that any comparison of America with Nazi Germany will be aggressively used by the left and their enablers, the mainstream media as sufficient to disqualify Carson and any other politician from any elective office.
“Hot Air”, however, makes another observation:
“Again, I completely understand where Carson was going with this. When the government is using the Internal Revenue Service, the NSA, the EPA and God only knows how many other agencies to go after and intimidate its own citizens, there’s a problem. It’s a significant issue to run on. And clearly Germany did the same and far worse during Hitler’s reign. But… again… you just don’t say that. All you’re doing is tossing up a big red flag to attract the bulls and giving them something to hang around your neck while distracting from your core message.”
Well, okay. According to the Hot Air, however true it might be, it must never be spoken or you will be destroyed by the left’s smear machine.
Who can argue with that. We’ve seen it with Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, et al.
Nevertheless, can Americans, the electorate, be made to understand how dangerous the very things cited by Dr. Carson are? Nazi Germany did not just overnight “transform” itself into a brutal, totalitarian nation which became a threat to the entire world.
It began with much more subtle repression tactics, by identifying certain groups as “enemies” of “good order” and as threats to the larger population. Use of government agencies, not unlike the current US Justice Department, the IRS, EPA, others, all invested with policing powers, were early characteristics of the Nazi regime.
Does this mean that Barack Obama and members of his regime, like an Eric Holder, are reincarnations of Adolph Hitler and Heinrich Himmler? No and no sane and reasonable person, including Ben Carson or those of us at Veritas, are making any such claim.
But, if there is anyone who does not recognize certain ominous events, and that includes the alarming use and abuse of the current administration’s governing, regulating, and policing powers, it’s likely out of ignorance or because they don’t want to…or because they support such behavior.
Thoughtful Americans should consider the larger points Ben Carson is trying to make.
And when he is attacked as unqualified for public office for suggesting such potential comparisons, consider that didn’t seem to disqualify prominent Democratic Senator Dick Durbin when he made similar comparisons of the United State military and its civilian leadership. Or is it only because Dick Durbin is a Democrat?
DLH
Most people in “Nazi Germany” were not members of the Nazi Party and ironically, knowing then what history now knows would probably have resented being called “Nazi.”
Americans still have more freedoms and information but that 40% or more would still vote for the Obamanation is beyond me.