Comparisons to Hitler

courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/

Hank Williams Jr. recently got "fired" from Monday Night Football because of an unfortunate comment he made on Fox News. What he said was that President Obama and Speaker Boehner playing golf together was like Hitler playing golf with Bibi Netanyahu. This was perceived by many as comparing Obama to Hitler. And it infuriated many.

This is not an isolated incident. The memory of Adolph Hitler is often dredged up by pundits and politicians trying to drive home their point in an extreme manner intended to shock and draw attention. Our two most recent presidents have both been often mentioned in the same sentence as the former Nazi leader. This often generates a very visceral response; as if this is radically inappropriate.

I think people need to understand why we feel the need to continue dredging up the memory of this mass murderer. Adolph Hitler has become the true embodiment of evil. What he did in Germany was about as despicable as the human race gets. Many comedians have pointed out that Adolph ruined the Hitler name for everyone else. (not to mention the name Adolph.) Even people who don't fully understand what he did, or the ramifications of the final solution, understand that his name means bad news. When we mean ultimate evil, we could use the name Satan, but the devil is abstract; we imagine what hell must be like, but we have no actual reports of any events involving the prince of darkness. Most of our other extreme images of evil are fictional, and therefore a very nice concept, but useless as a political image. No, Adolph Hitler is the one man in history whose evil actions are so well documented, studied, and had so much of an impact on the world. He's not the only person to commit genocide, but he's the only one to take it to that level. There are others who epitomize extreme prejudice, but they often look up to A.H. as their predecessor and mentor.

So, why make the comparison in the first place? Well, I have been known to evoke the name when talking about Rudolph Giuliani. I don't think that it's a secret that I do not like the man. It's mainly because of his feelings on the subject of censorship, (he favors it), and public education, (he opposes it). When people respond to this by saying, "Well, you gotta hand it to him, he cleaned up New York!" I respond by reminding them that Hitler brought Germany out of a post World War I depression. Am I comparing Giuliani to Hitler? No. I'm pointing out that doing one great thing doesn't make you a wonderful man; by pointing out that even Hitler, mankind's most evil person, did at least one good thing as a leader. My point is that, yes, Rudy cleaned up New York, but he also actively sabotaged the NYC public school system, and pushed for the de-funding of a museum because he was offended by one of the paintings. Never forget that on September 10, 2001, Rudy Giuliani was one of the most hated men in NY.

Hank Williams was not comparing President Obama to Hilter, he was using the image of Hitler playing golf with Benjamin Netanyahu as an illustration of the concept of enemies palling around and being sociable. In his mind, as with many idiot teabaggers, Democrats and Republicans are not colleagues on opposite ends of the political spactrum, but rather the archnemesis of the other; one good, one evil; one bent on world domination, and the other the only man who can stop him. This comparison proves that Hank Williams is a moron, but not that he's speaking inappropriately about the president.

There are two ways to counteract an argument, either you have the knowledge to prove it wrong, or you make people afraid of it. Thus, when people "got nothing" in a debate, they often turn to demonizing their opponent. Glenn Beck was fond of comparing Obama to Hitler. Obama, he claims, is a socialist. (He's not, by the way.) Hitler was a socialist. Ooooh I'm scared now. But he fails to mention that Adolph Hitler's socialist policies are NOT what made him evil. No one thinks, "Damn, that Adolph Hitler, and his universal healthcare. And his state funded educational system." It wasn't his socialism that made him evil, it was the totalitarianism, the fascism, and the mass extermination of an entire race that did that.

Compare that to when some compared George W. Bush to Hitler. THAT was because Bush implemented the Patriot act, that allowed the government to monitor citizen's actions and communications. He also ordered military takeovers of other countries. Hitler actually DID both of those things. Did it make him feel bad to be compared to Hitler? Probably. Did his opposition have a point? Well, they had more of a point than Obama's opposition do.

What I'm saying here, is that Adolph Hitler is the perfect symbol of all things evil. And if you're going to use that symbol to make a political point, just make sure your comparison makes sense. And hey, compared to Hitler, most of us are pretty OK people. So being compared to Hitler isn't so bad. Being LIKE Hitler is really awful.