| http://www.yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=200
''History has seen this before'' Posted on Tuesday, April 09, 2002 @ 03:47:00 EDT By Troy Pickard YellowTimes.org Guest Columnist (YellowTimes.org) – Envision a troubled country. People are desperate; the economy has turned sour; except for the very rich. Everyone else is struggling and 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 people resist this seizure of power. The leader realizes that his position is indeed in jeopardy, so he takes advantage of a tragic situation that will rally the people behind him, and will simultaneously allow him to entirely restrict their civil liberties. One of the country’s major buildings burns down, and even though his government may have been involved, he blames it on his political enemies. Next, he takes steps to assure that the people he considers “traitors” are 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 any people who disagree with his government. He manages to get the press in his pocket and even though thousands, or perhaps even millions, of people take to the streets to protest this man’s seemingly tyrannical rule, the press reports almost none of it. And, eventually, Time magazine names him “Man of the Year.” What country is this? When in history? And, who is this man? Two sets of answers: The first is Nazi Germany, in the late 1930s, led by a man named Adolf Hitler. The second is the present-day United States, led by a man named George W. Bush. The similarities are shocking. Before Bush and Hitler took power, their respective countries were economically not-so-well-off, had tremendous amounts of debt, and the distribution of wealth was very similar. Currently in the United States, for example, the top 1% of the population control 45% of the wealth. Before coming into national office, both Hitler and Bush had proven to be failures in most of what they’d previously done. Hitler struggled through elementary school, and eventually dropped out altogether at age 16. Time magazine described Hitler as a man “whose reading has always been very limited.” Bush clearly has difficulty speaking English, and when asked what was his favorite book as a little boy, he answered “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” a book 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 suspiciously assisted by the destruction of a famous building. In 1933, the Reichstag (the German parliament building) burned to the ground. Hitler used this as an excuse to arrest thousands of communists, whom he blamed for the arson. He also began arrest and repression of tens of thousands of people whom he claimed were communist sympathizers. In 2001, the World Trade Center crumbled to the ground. Bush used this as an excuse to arrest, or “detain,” thousands of “possible terrorists,” whom he blamed for the attack. He also began arrest and repression of tens of thousands of people whom he claimed were terrorist sympathizers. The media in Nazi Germany were happy not to comment on any of this. Hitler’s right-hand man, Goebbels, wrote that the “press are at our disposal.” Some may remember Bush’s right-hand man, Ashcroft, asking the major TV networks and newspapers to selectively report the news. Even though thousands of people took to the streets against Hitler, and they spoke out against him, he made certain that the press only minimally reported it, and that the demonstrations were quickly broken up by his 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 legislation that gave the executive branch vastly increased powers over surveillance and action against those whom the government didn’t like. Bush’s Patriot Act essentially mimics these Enabling Acts. Both acts serve to severely limit civilian freedoms, specifically the right to due process, and the writ of habeas corpus. Hitler was named Time’s Man of the Year in 1938, and Bush had that same dubious honor in 2000. Just 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.” |
