The Repeal of Godwin’s Law

Since the first election I can remember, and probably through all American history (perhaps all of history), we have heard each election talk as if no other election was as importance as this.

From the podium, someone in a blue suit and red tie would eventually say. “This time is special….. If the other side wins, life in America will irrecoverably changed to tyranny….. The Earth will crack. Demons will usher in the End of Times….. And oh, be sure to vote for me.”

That’s how it ends. Always with “vote for me”. We have become cynical of such language, and correctly conclude that it is just part of politics. Oh sure, some are swayed into the urgency of the moment, and do what such speeches intend. We do more than vote. We evangelize. (Some of us even write blogs.)

And then, whoever, wins we just move on to the next election, and yes often there is change, sometimes bad sometimes good. Sometimes it look bad and turns out good, and the other way. But, rarely, if ever, elections change as much as the campaign predict.

We are, of course, talking about hyperbole.

Now let me tell you about World War II.

To be old enough to remember WW II, you would be in your 80's, so most of us don’t remember it. But, many of us remember having parents and grandparents who lived it. For someone, living through WW II very little could compare. Imagine how you felt the day of 9/11. Now imagine that going on for over four years.

For those of us, who grew up in its historical shadow, we saw the way it shaped our culture and politics. In particular, we saw an overwhelming motive behind the previous generation.

To never let a world war happen again.

Every president from Eisenhower to George H. W. Bush served in the WW II. Many of them saw combat, and three won medals.^[1] For president informed by that experience, part of their every foreign policy was to never have a WW III.

It is the reason we have the United Nations and NATO. It was stated by George H. W. Bush as a reason for the 1^st Iraq War, then by Bill Clinton for the US to be involved in the Bosnian Civil War. And for the rest of us not in the military or juggling foreign policy, we had another mission, for even those born after WWII.

To never let there be another Hitler (or Mussolini).

I know. I know. We are not suppose to talk about him any more. Nazi are only to be referred to in video games and action movies. There was, however, a reason he is so often brought up. Comparison of Hitler is not just a rhetorical trick. His rise to power represents an institutional fear born from one of the most evil regimes in modern history.

The villains of WW II in Europe did not rise in a bloody coup.^[2] They were not the descendants of monarchs. They did not fall from space and take over using mind control rays They were elected.

This is the reason he is referred to, so much. Historians, psychologists, sociologist, and other scholars have since then studied his rise to power. Artist, especially those that lived thru that time, routinely allude to him, giving us a template of how such a man can usurp a democracy. And we now have a thorough understanding of his tactics.

And there’s the problem. You see Hitler’s tactics weren’t that special. They were tried and true political tactics that existed long before the 1930's. Scapegoating to shift blame, appealing to resentments, invoking fear of the other, using group identity to create fanatical followers are not new. They have been and still are part of politics. You can even see them used by corporations, in advertising, and, if you look, in your own job. The autocrats of WW II only did it to a much much larger degree, and used them to lead their countries to disastrous ends.

Now history is more complicated than I describe. People are much more complicated than I describe. There were also many historical events that contributed. And, what we call fascist does not strictly adhere to Fascism. But that has been rarely the point.

Autocrats have risen to power in other circumstances than those leading to WW II, and arguing the cause and effect are beyond what we could discuss here by a lack of scope and, frankly, my lack of expertise. Right now, though, that they happen is enough to be concerned.

Falling to communism, plutocracy, or any other autocracy would mean the end of democracy just as much as fascism. All could be the result of a Hitler-like politician. Hitler is just a stand in for all these threats.

So, yes, references to Hitler are overused. And, yes, we too often see Hitler at the smallest resemblance. I am admitting to all that. Given that our democracy is still intact, we have been overreacting in our fear of WW III. Hitler so far has just been hyperbole.

The point here is that there is a reason to fear the rise of the autocrat. The threat may have the likelihood of a meteor hitting the Earth, but one day a meteor will hit the Earth. Yes, the smart bet is that today the meteor will not. However, one day we will have to listen to that lone astronomer, even when so many in the past have been wrong.

So, here’s the problem. When you are warned that the next president could be a Hitler, you would be smart to ignore it. But, one day, the threat will be real. What rational argument would be enough to look beyond the false alarm? What “science” would we need?

We now have a presidential candidate that has used more Hitler-like tactics than I have seen in my lifetime. (And I’m old enough to remember Nixon.) He is also the first one since WW II^[3]  to get this close to the presidency. Is now the time we should invoke Hitler, and if not when?