I am not overreacting when I state that the repub party as it is today is dangerous. They have made it clear they want to trash the constitution, that human rights, equal rights, women’s rights, and specifically LGBTQ+, equality rights are not part of the United States of America. The Professor provides a threat assessment that should ca…
I am not overreacting when I state that the repub party as it is today is dangerous. They have made it clear they want to trash the constitution, that human rights, equal rights, women’s rights, and specifically LGBTQ+, equality rights are not part of the United States of America. The Professor provides a threat assessment that should cause fear in all of us. “Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. It warned that transnational “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists” (RMVEs) continue to pose a threat more lethal to U.S. persons and interests than do Islamist terrorists.” We cannot stand by because we think we aren’t directly targeted, because we all are. The poetic warning, “First They Came” by Pastor Martin Niemöller” could have been written today. Change the targets. Who are “they” coming after today? We must speak out.
I dug out and am re-reading Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and it is no exaggeration to understand the peril the nation is in is not much different than 1933. Germany.
Hitler used illegal and criminal tactics to use the threat of relieving the crushing debt and depression of the time to become Dictator.
He didn’t even have a major base but used Goebbel’s propaganda to manufacture the illusion of support.
We are fortunate to have Joe Biden and the responsible leadership intact rather than a befuddled Hindenburg and ridiculous Von Papen allowing the Furher to slither into power, but the ingredients for catastrophe are present and must be examined.
Read “Adventures of A Bystander” if you want a clue what it was like about late 1930’s thru 1940’s. First hand account and riveting, but covered much more than that period
"...but the ingredients for catastrophe are present and must be examined." Truth right there. Trump is the most prominent cause of all this - he's the one who let the cat out of the bag. Lit the fire, if not assembled the fuel. Our beloved system of government has been exposed (by him and his ilk) to be a big sieve, where "norms" have been respected and followed in the past, only to be exploited by him. Most of what he has done to us cannot be prosecuted because it technically didn't break any law!! Where he has gotten into trouble is when he crossed the line - and so far he has NOT gotten into trouble at all even for that. He'll be in trouble when/IF he is indicted (note the "IF" is in caps). Our system for the most part allows this travesty. That's gotta be fixed, somehow. But Republicans are not going to allow it, for it helps their cause.
T just gave permission to turn over the hidden under belly of what was already present. I was hoping that exposing it to the light would stop the decay but it seems to be festering. Interesting opinion piece in the NYT A NEW VOICE FOR WINNING BACK LOST DEMOCRATIC VOTES. The appeal to elect people with grease under their finger nails & putting shop classes back in high schools. The rural people need a voice.
I was with you on this until the last sentence. Rural people have a voice. Unfortunately, it’s Trump’s voice. Rural people needdto be outvoted, which is a major challenge, what with 52 Senate seats controlled by 17% of the population, most of them in rural states, plus gerrymandering, which puts the House in control of a minority of the electorate, plus the Electoral College.
The 3rd district in Washington elected just such a person, a woman who owns an auto shop. Already there is an ad fill of lies about Biden and referencing her. Here in Salem Keizer, the school district has a couple career centers where students can pursue shop classes and I am not sure what else. One of the problems with shop classes in the past at least was/is finding people to teach them as often they could/can make more money elsewhere.
That was in the olden days, but not true in today’s time. I remember it well. Actually, the district’s knew that girls would kick ass so they denied them that right.
I’m always caught up by “the genie out of the vase” but retracing some of my comments back when, I am reminded that bin Laden made a comment about he was (my words) pleased of the tumbling of the towers but his main goal was to (his words) “…bleed(ing) America to the point of bankruptcy…” This can be taken monetarily or in terms of democracy! We, with the help of the existing GOP, are fulfilling this man’s aspirations for our country! If I could put it simply—fear-based!
Shirer was an invaluable journalist. Having lived through most of the period of Hitler’s Germany (my father and I listened to Mutual Broadcasting System news from the time I was four years old), reading “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” years later, I could feel the cold horror of the news broadcasts and photos in Life magazine, especially as the camps were liberated.
Anyone curious about the fall of France can read “The Nightmare Years,” Shirer’s account of Europe before WWII.
The major difference is the economy. Germany's was in tatters, our is strong. But Republicans are on a jihad about the debt ceiling that could well bring about economic calamity. And the match will be lit.
Art Shirer’s book is still among the best on Hitler’s rise. Shirer was an excellent journalist in Germany for much of the 1930s . To feel the full thrust of how the judicial system was Hitlerized, watch Judgment at Nuremberg. John Toland’s Hitler: The Definitive Biography in 1976 is also excellent for the general reader.
Indeed, the ingredients for catastrophe most certainly exist today. To update the cast of characters I offer the following.
1- Frank von Papen was Chancellor of Germany in 1932 however, in Dec of 1932 he lost favor in the Richstag which led to his dismissal by President von Hindenburg. Determined to return to power he convinced von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and he as Vice Chancellor believing he, Hitler, could be controlled. The rest is history.
2- von Popen’s role would be played by Mitch (The Great Enabler) McConnel and the entire right wing of the Republican Party, which at present includes 90% of the GOP. With their battle cry of “What ever it takes to win” they chose trump who they thought could garner votes of the so called “Base”that they had been gaslighting for several decades.
3- The part of Hitler goes to of course TFG, whose distaste for our friends and allies was only out done by his love for dictators such as Putin, Kim Jung Un, Zi and Benjamin Netanyahu.
4- I consider the befuddled ones to be TFG’s “Base”.
5- The part of Goebbles goes to Fox News which shouldn’t require explanation.
6- Lastly, the roll of FDR goes to Pres. Joe Biden who I consider a man for his time. No explanation required on that one either.
ROBERT Remember that Hitler was actually elected and supported by the legendary Hindenburg, who was old and faltering. Indeed, some major German businessmen thought they could ‘handle’ Hitler. When Hitler became chancellor, the story is that, when he entered the Reichstag, he said that the only way he would leave was ‘feet first.’
He was charismatic and attacking others—the first being the Communists. He also used his Brown Shirts to intimate and attack. By 1935 he was able to take over the judiciary. And the beat went on.
Keith, I thought I corrected you a couple of days ago. In Dec of 1932 Pres. Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany and Franz von Papen as Vice Chancellor. It appears something strange is going on with the posting of these comments.
Robert I have difficulty keeping up with your corrections of what I wrote inc the middle of the night or your corrections of your corrections. Of course I appreciate your proofreading. My weakness is focusing on substance> I’ll endeavor to correct this.
Indeed, the ingredients for catastrophe most certainly exist today. To update the cast of characters I offer the following.
1- Franz von Papen was chancellor of Germany in 1932 however, in Dec of 1932 he lost favor in Richstag which led to his dismissal by Pres. von Hindenburg. Determined to return to power he convinced von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and he as vice Chancellor believing that he, Hitler, could be controlled. The rest of course is history.
2- von Papen’s roll would be played by Mitch ( The Great Enabler) McConnell along with the entire right wing of he Republican Party, which at the moment includes 90% of the not so GOP. With their battle cry of “What ever it takes to win” they chose trump who they thought could garner votes of the so called “Base” that they had been gaslighting for several decades.
3- The part of Hitler of course goes to TFG, whose distaste for our friends and allies is only out done by his love for dictators such as Putin, KimJung Un,Zi and Netanyahu.
4- The part of the befuddled goes to TFG’s “Base”.
5- The part of Goebbles goes to Fox News, which
shouldn’t explanation.
6- Lastly, the roll of FDR goes to Pres. Joe Biden who I consider a man for his time. No explanation required on that one either.
Indeed the ingredients for catastrophe most certainly exist today. To up date the cast of characters I offer the following.
1- Fran von Papen was Chancellor of Germany on 1932 however, in Dec of 1932 he lost favor in Richstag which led to his dismissal by Pres. von Hindenburg. Determined to return to power he convinced von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and he as Vice Chancellor believing he, Hitler, could be controlled. The rest is history.
2- von Papen’s role would be played by Mitch (The Great Enabler) McConnell and the entire right wing of the Republican Party, which at present includes 90% of the GOP. With the battle cry of “what ever it takes to win” they chose trump who they thought could garner votes of the so called “base” that they had been gaslighting for several decades
3- The part of Hitler goes to of course TFG, whose distaste for our allies was only out done by his love for dictators such as Putin, Kim Jung Un, Zi and Benjamin Netanyahu.
4- I consider the befuddled ones to be TFG’s ( base).
5- The part of Goebbles goes to Fox News which shouldn’t require explanation.
6- Lastly, the roll of FDR goes to Pres. Joe Biden who I consider a man for his time. No explanation required on that one either.
It's all about predatory abuse of power. Bullies in a schoolyard, domestic violence, war, racism, sexism, homophobia, corrupt and tyrannical governance, Bundys et al intimidating whomever with guns. Until we get a better grip on the nature of abuse of power, humanity is it's own worst enemy, and of a vast array of other species as well.
Niemöller's poem is well known, but I am not sure that everybody knows that it was autobiographical (I did not until years after I first heard it). Initially sympathetic to Hitler, they really did come for him. He was saved at a Nazi concentration camp by the Allies. He too knew of what he was speaking.
@ J L Graham: There are too many "moderates" who do not pay enough attention to these clues and how important they are. Repubs who voted for Trump, even thought it was quite clear what he was, and ignored the writing on the wall. Small acts of violence are just that, acts of violence, and are not to be discounted. When a person bullies, abuses, neglects...anything...women, children, animals, minorities, others...it is a sign of more violence to come, and we must pay attention.
JL and Debbie, I agree 100%. I abhor their premises, but have to admit the Republicans are much better at distilling concepts into a phrase and rallying their followers to use it relentlessly - "woke" and "anti-woke" being the most obvious recent example.
Definitely so Louis. The varied cultures within our culture emanate noise from as far away as sing-song verses of childhood and windup doll jokes. Most being launched in negativism which vehicle moves with greater ease in the gen pop of political dogma. Yards barns and signs bear these doozies. Let’s go Brandon! Maga maga gaga.
Found that word woke on a UO basketball thread. I decided to leave it alone until someone else questioned it and then I mentioned people inserting politics into the discussion. What was woke in the person's post was the fact that for a while people had to be masked (and some still wear masks) when attending games in the arena. Yesterday a site for discussing the Congressional district 6 here in Oregon posted that there would be no toleration for name calling, etc. So trolls will have a hard time there.
Michele, I think most of us have encountered this, and more and more often. So what, I wonder, is a non-or minimally!-combative way to address this weaponizing of "Woke"? (Which has been completely co-opted and perverted from its original meaning and importance, but that argument won't help in these situations).
Something like - "Why would you want to bring a word that politicians have weaponized to serve their own agendas into a football forum?
Personally I have absolutely no problem with politics in any forum. I do have a huge problem with appropriation and weaponization.
I would love to know a concise and effective call-out for these situations.
We had one person who used the word woke to describe the new hire for superintendent for the Salem/Keizer school district. He got some nasty feed back immediately and then claimed that he was only concerned because she has no classroom or building principal experience and said he was only concerned about students and staff on that basis. I then asked him why he had not just said that instead of using a politically loaded word. That was on Tuesday and no answer from him yet. As for woke in a basketball thread, no thank you. I do not want politics there. I dealt with it there by answering the person who had questioned it and not the original poster. No reply there either. I think I would ask them exactly what it is about woke that they object to and then ask if they think people should have empathy.
But, in fact, first they came for the queer people.
A year before Nazis began attacking union leaders and socialists, a full five years before attacking Jewish-owned stores on Kristallnacht, the Nazis came for the trans people at the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin.
Yes. Read “ In the Garden of the Beasts” by Erik Larson. Non-fiction. U.S. Ambassador Dodd in Berlin, Nazi Germany was warning the State Department in 1933 and earlier about the Brown Shirts/Nazis and random as well as targeted violence and abuse. Our State Department and President knew.
Martin Niemöller's 1946 poetic confession. Though at first, he was Nazi-friendly, he became one of the most outspoken of the Confessing Church, spending - I think - 5 years in a Nazi prison camp. Niemöller's first night out of prison was in the Pastor's house of the Bergkirche in Wiesbaden - my church here - which was the only anti-Nazi church in the entire region.
After his death, Niemöller's wife converted to Judaism. I don't know, but I like to think this was to distance herself from the National Church of the Nazi occupation. Many of the Republicans have allied themselves with the National Church in America. Horrifying connection.
What should we all do? The threat is not an exaggeration. True believers are hard to stop. No amount of facts/reality changes their minds/positions. Their leaders must be held accountable. Trump is guilty and should spend time in prison, but it will not stop his army of true believers. Hitler spent time in prison and it did not stop him. (Comparing Trump to Hitler?)
Steve Hassan has good information on this. I believe we are doing it, just not fast enough. Most are very slow to wake up to it. Hard to wrap your mind around malice when it slaps you in the face. We should focus on the good and grow the good (Non voters). Be loud. Take a stand. Be kind. Do NOT be afraid. We want “just” accountability not the vengeance, like that which comes from bullies and tyrants. https://freedomofmind.com/
“What should we all do? The threat is not an exaggeration. True believers are hard to stop.” This is the question without an easy answer. Or without an answer. Don’t we often make decisions for future generations? We speak out and stand up, knowing we are at risk. For our children and our grandchildren and the future we take those risks. How naive I once was to think the Holocaust was the “only genocide.” Then I went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. One of my poems, about this journey is about Genocide. I made a list. I stopped at 30 and then remembered our America. Remembered. The list. “The roll call is longer than we can carry.” How can we forget? We say Never again.
One of my husband's cousins who lives in Rapid City posted yesterday that she had been banned from the South Dakota legislative account and their Twitter account. She does not name call, etc, but does call out Rs for their nonsense (and there is a lot of it in South Dakota), so she is banned. So now citizens cannot have access to what their legislature posts if they disagree with them. Fascism 101.
Pastor Martin Niemöller says so much in a relatively short poem. So many lessons there. First off, if the people and groups representing them do not band together, we'll all be picked off one by one. All of the individual groups focused only on their particular race or religion or creed or gender will have to bind together to contend with the power which rules. Once bound together, the groups will have to come up with a common agenda--an agenda which is based primarily on the common denominators all people face (e.g., corruption, graft, public accountability of politicians and other public servants, et al).
Interesting that the Nazis chose to first go after the Communists. They knew the Communists represented the biggest threat to the Nazi's control of the country. There were so many brawls and street fights of large numbers of Nazis and Communists. After the Reichstag fire, the Nazis blamed the Communists and got away with it. After Hitler and the Nazis were in power, they banned all other political parties, so the Nazis had the field to themselves.
I believe all sane people want the same thing--Justice. The question is how are we The People going to achieve that? It seems to me that we have to move beyond political party rhetoric to achieve that.
Just one curious comment. I'd never thought of Niemöller's piece as a poem, the idea's new to me. Not even a prose poem, though I suppose we could call it that.
But then, I never regarded Brecht's Die Lösung as a poem either -- and that man was one hell of a poet.
Our times call for highly concentrated rhetoric. Ordinary prose won't do.
I faced the same issue in how to define this piece of Niemöller's writing. In years past, I've most often seen ("First they came...") referred to as a poem, so I decided to see it as a prose poem. I imagine it could also be referenced as a "Thought" or "Reflection" or "Account" or "Declaration".
"Our times call for highly concentrated rhetoric. " Definitely. Brevity is most effective in delivering a message, especially in these times. An excellent example of brevity quickly summing up an important point is the great Scottish Poet Robbie Burns summing up world history in four words--"Man's inhumanity to man."
I've read Brecht's Die Lösung. Great satire. In that vein, I think of Jonathan Swift's satirical essay "A Modest Proposal."
I don't know if Niemöller considered it a poem, but it carries an experientially evocative package that exceeds the literal meaning of the text. I don't know if that makes something a poem (increasingly poems are not written in rhyme, although there is always a certain crafted "choreography" to them). I doubt that the Gettysburg Address was meant to be poetry, but it reads like poetry. Shakespeare's prose, "We strut and fret our hour upon the stage", packs that same musical clarity. I think there is a certain degree of music to all writing, even technical writing, when it is well composed.
I think there is a narcissistic urge to make everyone over in the mold of one's self, or like the self we like to imagine ourselves to be; the "master race" etc., irrespective of the fact it is hubris. I too am a fool in many ways, and converse here because I want to propagate my perspective; but also to learn what others know, and to fill some of the many gaps that are far too numerous for any human brain to fill. That's how our species got to the point that I can send this thought around the globe literally though the air, since my only Internet connection here is broadband cell service. We sniff around like puppies seeking any opportunity, and then pool our efforts though conversation, recordings, and commerce.
I think at some level, all, or at least most people have shared needs and desires but we seem to be prone to tunnel-think as well as doublethink. Tunnel-think (I think I just made that word up, but it's just tunnel vision in the sense of self-absorption) is like road rage, where the reptile rises to endanger lives of all concerned, for the sake of a real or imagined petty slight. Despots conspire to keep enough of the public in a state of "road rage" to the point that they will sacrifice their own decency, and ultimately their quality of life to champion the whims of a manipulative predator.
Yes, despots [and their puppetmasters] conspire to keep conflict alive, pitting one group against another and on... They thrive on conflict among the masses. People need to wake up to the fact that they are being used.
Ally, it’s time for Americans to wake up. The list of people in the “crosshairs” is long. I’m sorry. And I, too, am in the crosshairs. Because of that fear, there are more who are in the crosshairs and will not speak up. The saying “Silence equals consent” is not always true. Silence is often fear. For our lives. Is that how the bullies of the world operate?
I am not overreacting when I state that the repub party as it is today is dangerous. They have made it clear they want to trash the constitution, that human rights, equal rights, women’s rights, and specifically LGBTQ+, equality rights are not part of the United States of America. The Professor provides a threat assessment that should cause fear in all of us. “Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. It warned that transnational “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists” (RMVEs) continue to pose a threat more lethal to U.S. persons and interests than do Islamist terrorists.” We cannot stand by because we think we aren’t directly targeted, because we all are. The poetic warning, “First They Came” by Pastor Martin Niemöller” could have been written today. Change the targets. Who are “they” coming after today? We must speak out.
“First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me”
I dug out and am re-reading Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and it is no exaggeration to understand the peril the nation is in is not much different than 1933. Germany.
Hitler used illegal and criminal tactics to use the threat of relieving the crushing debt and depression of the time to become Dictator.
He didn’t even have a major base but used Goebbel’s propaganda to manufacture the illusion of support.
We are fortunate to have Joe Biden and the responsible leadership intact rather than a befuddled Hindenburg and ridiculous Von Papen allowing the Furher to slither into power, but the ingredients for catastrophe are present and must be examined.
Read “Adventures of A Bystander” if you want a clue what it was like about late 1930’s thru 1940’s. First hand account and riveting, but covered much more than that period
"...but the ingredients for catastrophe are present and must be examined." Truth right there. Trump is the most prominent cause of all this - he's the one who let the cat out of the bag. Lit the fire, if not assembled the fuel. Our beloved system of government has been exposed (by him and his ilk) to be a big sieve, where "norms" have been respected and followed in the past, only to be exploited by him. Most of what he has done to us cannot be prosecuted because it technically didn't break any law!! Where he has gotten into trouble is when he crossed the line - and so far he has NOT gotten into trouble at all even for that. He'll be in trouble when/IF he is indicted (note the "IF" is in caps). Our system for the most part allows this travesty. That's gotta be fixed, somehow. But Republicans are not going to allow it, for it helps their cause.
T just gave permission to turn over the hidden under belly of what was already present. I was hoping that exposing it to the light would stop the decay but it seems to be festering. Interesting opinion piece in the NYT A NEW VOICE FOR WINNING BACK LOST DEMOCRATIC VOTES. The appeal to elect people with grease under their finger nails & putting shop classes back in high schools. The rural people need a voice.
Rural red America needs to turn off the radio. They cannot allow doubt to assail their beliefs.
I was with you on this until the last sentence. Rural people have a voice. Unfortunately, it’s Trump’s voice. Rural people needdto be outvoted, which is a major challenge, what with 52 Senate seats controlled by 17% of the population, most of them in rural states, plus gerrymandering, which puts the House in control of a minority of the electorate, plus the Electoral College.
The 3rd district in Washington elected just such a person, a woman who owns an auto shop. Already there is an ad fill of lies about Biden and referencing her. Here in Salem Keizer, the school district has a couple career centers where students can pursue shop classes and I am not sure what else. One of the problems with shop classes in the past at least was/is finding people to teach them as often they could/can make more money elsewhere.
Another problem with shop classes of the past was that girls weren't allowed.
That was in the olden days, but not true in today’s time. I remember it well. Actually, the district’s knew that girls would kick ass so they denied them that right.
I can't remember, but the home ec classes had boys in them.
I’m always caught up by “the genie out of the vase” but retracing some of my comments back when, I am reminded that bin Laden made a comment about he was (my words) pleased of the tumbling of the towers but his main goal was to (his words) “…bleed(ing) America to the point of bankruptcy…” This can be taken monetarily or in terms of democracy! We, with the help of the existing GOP, are fulfilling this man’s aspirations for our country! If I could put it simply—fear-based!
Bin Laden wins again every time you take off your shoes or empty out your drink...
Exactly!!
Shirer was an invaluable journalist. Having lived through most of the period of Hitler’s Germany (my father and I listened to Mutual Broadcasting System news from the time I was four years old), reading “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” years later, I could feel the cold horror of the news broadcasts and photos in Life magazine, especially as the camps were liberated.
Anyone curious about the fall of France can read “The Nightmare Years,” Shirer’s account of Europe before WWII.
The major difference is the economy. Germany's was in tatters, our is strong. But Republicans are on a jihad about the debt ceiling that could well bring about economic calamity. And the match will be lit.
Art Shirer’s book is still among the best on Hitler’s rise. Shirer was an excellent journalist in Germany for much of the 1930s . To feel the full thrust of how the judicial system was Hitlerized, watch Judgment at Nuremberg. John Toland’s Hitler: The Definitive Biography in 1976 is also excellent for the general reader.
Indeed, the ingredients for catastrophe most certainly exist today. To update the cast of characters I offer the following.
1- Frank von Papen was Chancellor of Germany in 1932 however, in Dec of 1932 he lost favor in the Richstag which led to his dismissal by President von Hindenburg. Determined to return to power he convinced von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and he as Vice Chancellor believing he, Hitler, could be controlled. The rest is history.
2- von Popen’s role would be played by Mitch (The Great Enabler) McConnel and the entire right wing of the Republican Party, which at present includes 90% of the GOP. With their battle cry of “What ever it takes to win” they chose trump who they thought could garner votes of the so called “Base”that they had been gaslighting for several decades.
3- The part of Hitler goes to of course TFG, whose distaste for our friends and allies was only out done by his love for dictators such as Putin, Kim Jung Un, Zi and Benjamin Netanyahu.
4- I consider the befuddled ones to be TFG’s “Base”.
5- The part of Goebbles goes to Fox News which shouldn’t require explanation.
6- Lastly, the roll of FDR goes to Pres. Joe Biden who I consider a man for his time. No explanation required on that one either.
MAY GOD HELP US,
ROBERT🙏
ROBERT Remember that Hitler was actually elected and supported by the legendary Hindenburg, who was old and faltering. Indeed, some major German businessmen thought they could ‘handle’ Hitler. When Hitler became chancellor, the story is that, when he entered the Reichstag, he said that the only way he would leave was ‘feet first.’
He was charismatic and attacking others—the first being the Communists. He also used his Brown Shirts to intimate and attack. By 1935 he was able to take over the judiciary. And the beat went on.
Keith, I thought I corrected you a couple of days ago. In Dec of 1932 Pres. Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany and Franz von Papen as Vice Chancellor. It appears something strange is going on with the posting of these comments.
Robert 🙏🤔
Robert I have difficulty keeping up with your corrections of what I wrote inc the middle of the night or your corrections of your corrections. Of course I appreciate your proofreading. My weakness is focusing on substance> I’ll endeavor to correct this.
Correct
CORRECTION
FRANZ VON PAPEN
Indeed, the ingredients for catastrophe most certainly exist today. To update the cast of characters I offer the following.
1- Franz von Papen was chancellor of Germany in 1932 however, in Dec of 1932 he lost favor in Richstag which led to his dismissal by Pres. von Hindenburg. Determined to return to power he convinced von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and he as vice Chancellor believing that he, Hitler, could be controlled. The rest of course is history.
2- von Papen’s roll would be played by Mitch ( The Great Enabler) McConnell along with the entire right wing of he Republican Party, which at the moment includes 90% of the not so GOP. With their battle cry of “What ever it takes to win” they chose trump who they thought could garner votes of the so called “Base” that they had been gaslighting for several decades.
3- The part of Hitler of course goes to TFG, whose distaste for our friends and allies is only out done by his love for dictators such as Putin, KimJung Un,Zi and Netanyahu.
4- The part of the befuddled goes to TFG’s “Base”.
5- The part of Goebbles goes to Fox News, which
shouldn’t explanation.
6- Lastly, the roll of FDR goes to Pres. Joe Biden who I consider a man for his time. No explanation required on that one either.
God help us,
Robert🙏
Indeed the ingredients for catastrophe most certainly exist today. To up date the cast of characters I offer the following.
1- Fran von Papen was Chancellor of Germany on 1932 however, in Dec of 1932 he lost favor in Richstag which led to his dismissal by Pres. von Hindenburg. Determined to return to power he convinced von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and he as Vice Chancellor believing he, Hitler, could be controlled. The rest is history.
2- von Papen’s role would be played by Mitch (The Great Enabler) McConnell and the entire right wing of the Republican Party, which at present includes 90% of the GOP. With the battle cry of “what ever it takes to win” they chose trump who they thought could garner votes of the so called “base” that they had been gaslighting for several decades
3- The part of Hitler goes to of course TFG, whose distaste for our allies was only out done by his love for dictators such as Putin, Kim Jung Un, Zi and Benjamin Netanyahu.
4- I consider the befuddled ones to be TFG’s ( base).
5- The part of Goebbles goes to Fox News which shouldn’t require explanation.
6- Lastly, the roll of FDR goes to Pres. Joe Biden who I consider a man for his time. No explanation required on that one either.
May God Help Us,
Robert🙏
Robert I am reminded of a sign in a store: “God can get credit, all others must pay cash.” Should the Republicans visit a taxidermist?
It's all about predatory abuse of power. Bullies in a schoolyard, domestic violence, war, racism, sexism, homophobia, corrupt and tyrannical governance, Bundys et al intimidating whomever with guns. Until we get a better grip on the nature of abuse of power, humanity is it's own worst enemy, and of a vast array of other species as well.
Niemöller's poem is well known, but I am not sure that everybody knows that it was autobiographical (I did not until years after I first heard it). Initially sympathetic to Hitler, they really did come for him. He was saved at a Nazi concentration camp by the Allies. He too knew of what he was speaking.
@ J L Graham: There are too many "moderates" who do not pay enough attention to these clues and how important they are. Repubs who voted for Trump, even thought it was quite clear what he was, and ignored the writing on the wall. Small acts of violence are just that, acts of violence, and are not to be discounted. When a person bullies, abuses, neglects...anything...women, children, animals, minorities, others...it is a sign of more violence to come, and we must pay attention.
Kim, I agree 100%. It's incomprehensible.
JL and Debbie, I agree 100%. I abhor their premises, but have to admit the Republicans are much better at distilling concepts into a phrase and rallying their followers to use it relentlessly - "woke" and "anti-woke" being the most obvious recent example.
Our culture is mired in a ‘sound bite’ world!
Louis, it is! But we have to use it well, as —one— of many tools to reach people who are reachable.
Definitely so Louis. The varied cultures within our culture emanate noise from as far away as sing-song verses of childhood and windup doll jokes. Most being launched in negativism which vehicle moves with greater ease in the gen pop of political dogma. Yards barns and signs bear these doozies. Let’s go Brandon! Maga maga gaga.
Found that word woke on a UO basketball thread. I decided to leave it alone until someone else questioned it and then I mentioned people inserting politics into the discussion. What was woke in the person's post was the fact that for a while people had to be masked (and some still wear masks) when attending games in the arena. Yesterday a site for discussing the Congressional district 6 here in Oregon posted that there would be no toleration for name calling, etc. So trolls will have a hard time there.
Michele, I think most of us have encountered this, and more and more often. So what, I wonder, is a non-or minimally!-combative way to address this weaponizing of "Woke"? (Which has been completely co-opted and perverted from its original meaning and importance, but that argument won't help in these situations).
Something like - "Why would you want to bring a word that politicians have weaponized to serve their own agendas into a football forum?
Personally I have absolutely no problem with politics in any forum. I do have a huge problem with appropriation and weaponization.
I would love to know a concise and effective call-out for these situations.
We had one person who used the word woke to describe the new hire for superintendent for the Salem/Keizer school district. He got some nasty feed back immediately and then claimed that he was only concerned because she has no classroom or building principal experience and said he was only concerned about students and staff on that basis. I then asked him why he had not just said that instead of using a politically loaded word. That was on Tuesday and no answer from him yet. As for woke in a basketball thread, no thank you. I do not want politics there. I dealt with it there by answering the person who had questioned it and not the original poster. No reply there either. I think I would ask them exactly what it is about woke that they object to and then ask if they think people should have empathy.
Thank you, Irenie, for voicing Niemoeller's words, very much in my thoughts as I read and commented on Letters from an American today.
If the Law and We the People do not come for them, they will surely come for us.
Irenie “First they came for the Communists"
But, in fact, first they came for the queer people.
A year before Nazis began attacking union leaders and socialists, a full five years before attacking Jewish-owned stores on Kristallnacht, the Nazis came for the trans people at the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin.
https://hartmannreport.com/p/what-will-happen-to-everyone-who?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
This.
It's happening NOW.
Trans/gay rights have been taken away.
Abortion has been outlawed in many red states, and they will come after birth control next.
NEW: The Tennessee House Just Passed a Bill Completely Gutting Marriage Equality: https://newrepublic.com/post/171025/tennessee-house-bill-gutting-marriage-equality
I feel insulated in my blue state... but I'm not.
OMG!
😢
Yes. Read “ In the Garden of the Beasts” by Erik Larson. Non-fiction. U.S. Ambassador Dodd in Berlin, Nazi Germany was warning the State Department in 1933 and earlier about the Brown Shirts/Nazis and random as well as targeted violence and abuse. Our State Department and President knew.
A warning for everyone. What’s our category?
Thank you for posting this poem and your observations. They are so poignant.
Martin Niemöller's 1946 poetic confession. Though at first, he was Nazi-friendly, he became one of the most outspoken of the Confessing Church, spending - I think - 5 years in a Nazi prison camp. Niemöller's first night out of prison was in the Pastor's house of the Bergkirche in Wiesbaden - my church here - which was the only anti-Nazi church in the entire region.
After his death, Niemöller's wife converted to Judaism. I don't know, but I like to think this was to distance herself from the National Church of the Nazi occupation. Many of the Republicans have allied themselves with the National Church in America. Horrifying connection.
What should we all do? The threat is not an exaggeration. True believers are hard to stop. No amount of facts/reality changes their minds/positions. Their leaders must be held accountable. Trump is guilty and should spend time in prison, but it will not stop his army of true believers. Hitler spent time in prison and it did not stop him. (Comparing Trump to Hitler?)
Steve Hassan has good information on this. I believe we are doing it, just not fast enough. Most are very slow to wake up to it. Hard to wrap your mind around malice when it slaps you in the face. We should focus on the good and grow the good (Non voters). Be loud. Take a stand. Be kind. Do NOT be afraid. We want “just” accountability not the vengeance, like that which comes from bullies and tyrants. https://freedomofmind.com/
Christy, great response/comment. Thank you.
“What should we all do? The threat is not an exaggeration. True believers are hard to stop.” This is the question without an easy answer. Or without an answer. Don’t we often make decisions for future generations? We speak out and stand up, knowing we are at risk. For our children and our grandchildren and the future we take those risks. How naive I once was to think the Holocaust was the “only genocide.” Then I went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. One of my poems, about this journey is about Genocide. I made a list. I stopped at 30 and then remembered our America. Remembered. The list. “The roll call is longer than we can carry.” How can we forget? We say Never again.
I used to post this before I got banned, violated SM “community standards.” Ha
One of my husband's cousins who lives in Rapid City posted yesterday that she had been banned from the South Dakota legislative account and their Twitter account. She does not name call, etc, but does call out Rs for their nonsense (and there is a lot of it in South Dakota), so she is banned. So now citizens cannot have access to what their legislature posts if they disagree with them. Fascism 101.
Yikes. Sounds all too familiar It really makes me want to cry for all the craziness in people’s hearts and minds.
Pastor Martin Niemöller says so much in a relatively short poem. So many lessons there. First off, if the people and groups representing them do not band together, we'll all be picked off one by one. All of the individual groups focused only on their particular race or religion or creed or gender will have to bind together to contend with the power which rules. Once bound together, the groups will have to come up with a common agenda--an agenda which is based primarily on the common denominators all people face (e.g., corruption, graft, public accountability of politicians and other public servants, et al).
Interesting that the Nazis chose to first go after the Communists. They knew the Communists represented the biggest threat to the Nazi's control of the country. There were so many brawls and street fights of large numbers of Nazis and Communists. After the Reichstag fire, the Nazis blamed the Communists and got away with it. After Hitler and the Nazis were in power, they banned all other political parties, so the Nazis had the field to themselves.
I believe all sane people want the same thing--Justice. The question is how are we The People going to achieve that? It seems to me that we have to move beyond political party rhetoric to achieve that.
Agreed.
Just one curious comment. I'd never thought of Niemöller's piece as a poem, the idea's new to me. Not even a prose poem, though I suppose we could call it that.
But then, I never regarded Brecht's Die Lösung as a poem either -- and that man was one hell of a poet.
Our times call for highly concentrated rhetoric. Ordinary prose won't do.
I faced the same issue in how to define this piece of Niemöller's writing. In years past, I've most often seen ("First they came...") referred to as a poem, so I decided to see it as a prose poem. I imagine it could also be referenced as a "Thought" or "Reflection" or "Account" or "Declaration".
"Our times call for highly concentrated rhetoric. " Definitely. Brevity is most effective in delivering a message, especially in these times. An excellent example of brevity quickly summing up an important point is the great Scottish Poet Robbie Burns summing up world history in four words--"Man's inhumanity to man."
I've read Brecht's Die Lösung. Great satire. In that vein, I think of Jonathan Swift's satirical essay "A Modest Proposal."
I don't know if Niemöller considered it a poem, but it carries an experientially evocative package that exceeds the literal meaning of the text. I don't know if that makes something a poem (increasingly poems are not written in rhyme, although there is always a certain crafted "choreography" to them). I doubt that the Gettysburg Address was meant to be poetry, but it reads like poetry. Shakespeare's prose, "We strut and fret our hour upon the stage", packs that same musical clarity. I think there is a certain degree of music to all writing, even technical writing, when it is well composed.
I think there is a narcissistic urge to make everyone over in the mold of one's self, or like the self we like to imagine ourselves to be; the "master race" etc., irrespective of the fact it is hubris. I too am a fool in many ways, and converse here because I want to propagate my perspective; but also to learn what others know, and to fill some of the many gaps that are far too numerous for any human brain to fill. That's how our species got to the point that I can send this thought around the globe literally though the air, since my only Internet connection here is broadband cell service. We sniff around like puppies seeking any opportunity, and then pool our efforts though conversation, recordings, and commerce.
I think at some level, all, or at least most people have shared needs and desires but we seem to be prone to tunnel-think as well as doublethink. Tunnel-think (I think I just made that word up, but it's just tunnel vision in the sense of self-absorption) is like road rage, where the reptile rises to endanger lives of all concerned, for the sake of a real or imagined petty slight. Despots conspire to keep enough of the public in a state of "road rage" to the point that they will sacrifice their own decency, and ultimately their quality of life to champion the whims of a manipulative predator.
Yes, despots [and their puppetmasters] conspire to keep conflict alive, pitting one group against another and on... They thrive on conflict among the masses. People need to wake up to the fact that they are being used.
Irenie, as someone who is in the crosshairs of the MAGAts, this poem is more and more real to me.
Ally, it’s time for Americans to wake up. The list of people in the “crosshairs” is long. I’m sorry. And I, too, am in the crosshairs. Because of that fear, there are more who are in the crosshairs and will not speak up. The saying “Silence equals consent” is not always true. Silence is often fear. For our lives. Is that how the bullies of the world operate?
I believe what you said Irene. Silence is definitely out of Fear!😔