Lessons from the past
"Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."
"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."
"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
From a conversation between Gustave Gilbert and Hermann Goering in his Nuremberg jail cell on the evening of 18 April 1946
A friend of mine sent me that quote and it was so germane to current events I simply had to do something to verify its authenticity, or as best one can these days without resorting to actually visiting a library. Hence, according to Snopes this conversation really did happen, and it really is yet another example of us being condemned to repeat the past because of our short, media brainwashed memories.
I recently read a book called "Unequal protection" by Thom Hartmann which is full of quotes from some of America's finer and less intellectually challenged presidents. For example:
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government in a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Its chilling to read stuff like this written 50, 100, 150 years ago and realize history really is repeating itself and people really aren't learning a damned thing from our country's previous mistakes.
Now of course American children are not learning anything of value about history or the world, just a mantra that shopping is good and dissent is un-patriotic and once you've gone to war its treasonable to support whatever enemy the state and their coporate minions have chosen. Children of today should be reading George Orwells "1984" which in 1983 when I first read it, seemed like a far off and dark prediction that would never transpire. Something written in the shadow of a horrendous period of world war and not relevant to the happy money filled dream times of the '80s and '90s. Now it seems like just one of our possible grim commercialized, globalized plutocratic destinies, none of which include anything even vaguely utopian.
Wake up destiny's child! Its time to shop till you drop.
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