Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Patterns of Tyranny, Part 1: Trump and Hitler

I have the title. And I have the book: The Infernal LibraryWill it result in a serviceable post? 

It depends upon whether there is a pattern -- a deep structure -- to the intellectual lunacy put out by these intellectual lunatics.  If there is such a pattern, then it may help us see when the same pattern is occurring in the present -- an early warning system for when tyranny is on the horizon.  

For the past two years we've been hearing from the left how tyranny isn't just over the horizon. It's here.  Indeed, they even cite some of the same sources I am going to cite.  For example, MSNBC sees the same pattern in Hitler as in Trump:
[Hitler's] primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off. Never admit a fault or wrong. Never concede that there may be some good in your enemy. Never leave room for alternatives. Never accept blame. Concentrate on one enemy at a time, and blame him for everything that goes wrong. People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one. And if you repeat it frequently enough, people will sooner or later believe it. 
First, this could apply to any number of politicians, to say nothing of the hyper-hysterical MSNBC itself, so it's neither here nor there.  Or it's there, but not where MSNBC wants it to be.

Here's another example which I had incorrectly assumed was a joke. Turns out the man is serious:
Key differences between Donald Trump and Adolph Hitler -- Hitler served honorably in the military, Trump didn't; Hitler was faithful to his wife, Trump cheated on all his wives; Hitler wrote a book, Trump's were all ghostwritten.
First, this idiot misspells "Adolf." He then doubles down on the Trump connection: "Immigrants are Trump's Jews. Give him time. We are only up to 1933." Then triples down: "Anyone who really thinks a comparison between Trump and Hitler is absurd should watch 'Triumph of the Will' and then watch one of Trump's MAGA rallies."

I was going to begin -- as the book does -- with Lenin and Stalin, but let's fast forward to Hitler. There are other ways in which he was superior to Trump. For example, Hitler "was a keen reader and remained one his whole life -- when he died at the age of fifty-six, he owned around sixteen thousand books."

What was Hitler's Big Idea, anyway? What was his MGGA? Well, unlike our president, who was quite successful in his pre-political life, Hitler was conspicuously aimless and adrift until he hit upon "a political ideology that married Jew hatred with socialism and nationalism."  

Ah ha! President Trump is an admitted nationalist. Does this make him a budding Hitler? Only if you conflate a nationalism of blood and nationalism of values.  

These two categories are at antipodes. And as usual the left is simply projecting, since leftism is itself a crude appeal to various primitive tribal, racial, and ethnic identities. And no one is as hated by the left as a person who is a traitor to his blood and skin -- say, Clarence Thomas, or Candace Owens, or Kanye West -- and they openly engage in ceaseless racial attacks on "whiteness," "old white men," and "white privilege." 

So, why was Germany in trouble in the 1930s and why did it need Hitler's National Socialism? Easy: "The Aryan gave up the purity of his blood and, therefore, his sojourn in the paradise ended." For Hitler, hematological confusion is the root of all evil, the Original Sin: "Blood mixture and the resultant drop in the racial level is the sole cause of the dying out of old cultures; for men do not perish as a result of lost wars, but the loss of that force of resistance which is contained only in pure blood."

Again, this is at antipodes to the American ideal, in which all men are created equal. Conversely, central to the left's mission is the division of Americans into racial categories and the granting of rights, spoils, and special privileges based thereupon. 

Another feature shared by Hitler and the left is the great magnification of the threat of the presumed enemy. In Hitler's case, the Jews, consisting of a tiny minority of Germans, are expanded into "a parasitic superintelligence moving from culture to culture... in order to more fully achieve [their] sinister goals of complete domination."

Thus, Jews function in the Nazi imagination in a way similar to how conservative "white supremacists" function in the leftist imagination. Except that Jews actually existed, at least in sufficient numbers to be seen. Unlike our contemporary leftists, Hitler did not hallucinate the presence of Jews, only their malign superpowers.

And, just like Hitler, Trump has worked tirelessly to reduce the influence of the federal government in our lives.  Oh, wait.  That's the opposite of Trump.  Whatever.  He has 
  • Achieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.
  • Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.
  • Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.
  • Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.
  • Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.
  • Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
  • Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
  • Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
  • Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
  • Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
  • Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
  • Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
  • Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.
Yes, just like Hitler, who insisted that "the government must become involved in the lives of its citizens to an extraordinary degree," beginning with the indoctrination of children, for it is an "absurdity" that "with the end of the school period, the state's right to supervise its young citizens suddenly ceases..."

Let's see. Who wants to ban homeschooling, Trump or the left?  Leftism doesn't work without a thorough deprogramming and indoctrination, so give them credit for honesty.

To be continued...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Increasingly, young adults I speak with have the general idea that democracy requires a solid middle class, that a beneficial capitalism requires meritocracy, and that rule of law must regulate actions and not persons.

But they also believe those things are in steep decline and that the system is rigged by the powers that be, which does a Bernays to try and appear otherwise. For these kids, it’s not just about freedom and individualism, but about such things being used as a ruse by the powerful few who believe the masses cannot manage themselves.

IMO, it’s the dumb ones who wind up being intrigued by socialism, anarchism or fascism. The smart ones speak in terms of the Iron Law of Oligarchy, anacyclosis, and Polybius. They are also turned off by all religion. A tough crowd they be.

Anonymous said...

On comparisons being made between Trump and Hitler: I would rather citizens make these hyper-reactive, probably deluded comparisons, rather than sitting in complacent silence. Like an immune system, a response is not always commensurate to the threat, but it does reflect citizens are not apathetic. That is a good thing. The inflated non-sense regarding Obama's supposed evil was also of this ilk, and perfectly acceptable.

Likewise, you must be aware that when you heap praise on Trump, Mr. Godwin, you conveniently forget your maxim that first principles determine all subsequent actions. What do you suppose is Trump controlling first principle? Is it O? You had better re-examine that assertion.

Likewise, many Democrats are firmly in the O camp, and take communion weekly. So, there again. Guard against black and white principles, as most people are varying smudges of gray.

The middle class is the final arbiter of all things in this nation, and we shall see what they make of the caravan, if/when it finally arrives.

In the meantime, Trump is a perfectly serviceable President, whether he is heathen or a Godly man.

Regards, coxswain of the One Cosmos container ship, r. Panama, currently moored in Seattle. You should come aboard if you ever get the chance. This 88,000 ton beauty was named after your blog.

Van Harvey said...

aninnymouse said "Guard against black and white principles, as most people are varying smudges of gray."

Since your principle reads as an attack on principles, to apply it, is to discard it.

Nicely done. Efficient.

Anonymous said...

"Trump’s refusal to listen to advisers, his inability to bite his tongue, his demonization and belittling of senators who vote for his agenda but refuse to keep quiet when he does or says things they disagree with, his rants against the First Amendment, his praise for dictators and insults for allies, his need to create new controversies to eclipse old ones, and his inexhaustible capacity to lie and fabricate history: All of this springs from his character. ... the Trump presidency will end poorly because character is destiny."
-- Jonah Goldberg

It is a regime that thrives on hate, fear, and cruelty. https://youtu.be/8ShZGHmT2EQ

In the end, when Trump and his family's crimes are exposed, and he is removed, it will become clear that there were only two kinds of people: Those who stood against Trump’s corruption, cruelty and degradation of American values, and those who enabled him.

You've made your case and cemented your legacy for which you'll always be remembered.

julie said...

Hm. Seems like some kind of cuckroach found its way into the old posts. Weird.

The most peculiar thing about these creatures is how they manage to inhabit an entirely different universe even while sharing the same physical space as the restuvus. They appear to communicate, but in reality there is no comm-union happening. Sad, really.


Anonymous said...

You've made your case and cemented your legacy for which you'll always be remembered. Always.
Mark my word, Trump will not be treated kind by history, nor will his enablers, no matter how much you recant when the whole ugly truth comes out.

julie said...

Well alrighty then.

Bob, do you think people like this are capable of hearing how they sound to others? It's like he thinks he's Daniel, translating the writing on the wall and intoning Belshazzar's doom. I wasn't even sure in the first comment if the legacy he was referring to was yours (because seriously, what a weird thing to say) or Trump's.

Anonymous said...

Trump is a symptom of the worst of America, a vulnerability in the American populace, exploited by a compromised 'white identity' authoritarian. It seems to be related with the type of mindset that also embraces religion, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience ... particularly vulnerable to propaganda, a gullible sort. It's a fascinating time because the slavishly devoted are completely in denial and oblivious to what is coming, and they are significant in numbers, but thankfully will never be a majority. Engaging them won't change them but it makes them squirm and think, they scurry to defend their leader and when they can't rationalize facts, they revert to an almost uniform response pattern: 1) deny, 2) attack the messenger, 3) divert to Obama/Clinton.

julie said...

Engaging won't change them (by which you mean the people here, apparently) but will make them squirm and think.
- NPC reads from his latest talking points.

Meh - why bother? Honestly, I don't care who you are but even if you had a big fancy blog where you railed against the evils of Drumpf and his Nazi fascist supporters, I wouldn't bother going there to call you names and intone that your legacy is doomed. What's the point? There's no dialogue going on either way, no minds changed. Nothing I say will change your opinion that we are racist fascists who stupidly believe in God and think Trump is okay, and nothing you say will make me think you aren't a complete imbecile with an undeservedly high opinion of yourself.

julie said...

Having said that, let me now remove my Asshat™.

As it is a Sunday, and the last Sunday of 2018, let me instead offer up a prayer for all who read here - as much as for the anonymous as for myself:

May the Lord bless you: with eyes to see and ears to hear that which is true; with a heart capable of discernment; with wisdom to understand what to do and what to say, especially when times are difficult; and above all, with the courage to face all truth even and especially when it is most painful to grasp.

If Trump is truly the monster many make him out to be, then of course I hope to see it sooner rather than later. Conversely, if he is even half as decent as many others make him out to be, I hope you, anon, may see it, sooner rather than later.

Whatever is going on in your life, may you be blessed in the coming year, and may you see God's work in your life. Again, especially when things are hard.

Van Harvey said...

Nicely put Julie.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, nicely put.

Theme Song

Theme Song