Don't Nazis Scare You?

Don't Nazis scare you? Shoot, they scare the bejesus out of me. Sure they scare me because the old German Nazisvscare me because ey killed my ancestors, not much before I was born. But the real reason Nazis scare me is because, if the situation was right, with the right scapegoat and the right leader to exploit the scapegoat, we could be the Nazis. Groups can become scary. I remember a comic strip, Pogo?, which declared "We hav found the enemy ad the enemy is us."

Remember the bullies in schoolv. If their target was not us, how many of us stood up against the bullies. I am sur some of you were bully-fighters, but most of us just wanted to stay under the radar and fit in. At least that's how it was for me. My Hebrew name was Bela and in Hebrew School some of th boys would call me "belly" because I was chubby. Who stood up for me? No one. Not even me. we all just wanted to fit in.

In the 1960s and 1970s we wanted to protest the war. Protest was in. In my circles, especially after the Nazis, civil rights was in. I am glad it was. But what if we lived in Nazi Germany, coming out of oppressive inflation and World War I humiliation, wouldn't we want to listen to someone awhi told us we were special? And if we were special, buy the country was screwed up, wouldn't it be nice to have a scapegoat, someone to blame and to hate? Like those money-lending Jews who kidnapped Gentile boys to get their blood to make matzos. Problems solved. Most Germans were part of the master race and th once who weren't caused all the problems and needed to be exterminated. This group mentality was fundamentally flawed and many died in the process, but this is an example of group dynamics at it's worst.

You may say, "Oh, that could never happen here in the good old U S of A.". But could it? I think it could and we need to be forever vigilant so that forces looking for scapegoats cannot spread hate. I believe, under the right circumstances anyone, including me, could have been a Nazi. Look how we talk about illegal immigrants in this country, or Muslims, or people who hav had abortions. Some of us get all self-righteous and say they don't deserve what we have. They are different. Amercians who have been here awhile (as little as one or two generations) are different, they are special. 24 hour news station preach hatred when there are slow news days. we are not special. we have responsibility to prevent the vilification of others.

WE NEED TO BE VIGILANT. GROUPS CONDUCT CAN BE DANGEROUS, JUST LOOK AT RWANDA. One group is not morally or religiously superior to another. We are all humans on this planet, all part of the grander universe. Stop this narcissistic bullshit. I don't want to have to find out if I will stand up to the bullies. I want everyone to put the bullies in their place. We are better than that. I hope.