Let's Use Hitler?

Have you ever been called a Nazi? Have you ever been compared to Adolph Hitler?  Has your picture ever been altered to add a goofy mustache and a swastika armband?

If this hasn’t happened to you, get ready.  Apparently everyone is called a Nazi today.  Bush was a Nazi.  Obama is a Nazi.  Maybe we are all Nazis?

People use the Nazi label because it gets attention.  Protesters have a better chance of having their picture in the paper if their sign has a swastika on it.  For example, I probably got your attention to read this far by putting “Hitler” in the title.

Consider the case of Georgia Congressman David Scott.  Consider some of what we have seen at Tea Parties, town halls, and 9/12 rallies.  I recently called into the KLBJ radio morning show to talk about the Obama speech to school children, and listened to other callers talking about Nazis and Hitler.

Ed Clements is one of the KLBJ morning show celebrities.  Ed always gets his panties in a wad when a caller compares someone to someone else.  I compare myself to Jesus Christ every day.  As a Christian I use Christ as my role model.  I did not say that I "am" Christ.  Try as I may, I haven't mastered that walking on water thing.  I would be more interested in the water into wine trick, with a variation.  Being a non-wine drinker (wine non-drinker?) I would rather turn it into Guinness.

What Ed doesn’t understand is that it is good to compare.

If you go to Dachau you get a real sense of what atrocities occurred there.  Some may feel compelled to demolish this legacy to hatred.  The warm and friendly people of Dachau preserve this concentration camp.  They do not want us to forget.  They want to use Hitler as a way to compare hate to love, evil to compassion.  Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

In the same way, Christians (like me) use the sign of the cross.  Ayn Rand would argue that to celebrate someone's torture and execution is itself atrocious.  I would fundamentally agree with Rand.  However, the atrocity happened (the subject of another debate).  We can't go back in time and prevent the crucifixion, but we can use this icon to remind us of love.  In the same way, we use Hitler to remind us of hate

However, those that use Hitler need to understand how to compare.  

The Libertarian Party of Texas visited a large crowd in San Antonio Saturday night, as part of our Texas Tour.  In the audience was a US Air Force officer named Steve who recently became a member of the Libertarian Party.  He told our audience that he received his first copy of our national newsletter and saw a picture of one of our volunteers at a rally.  The picture showed a sign ... with a swastika on it.  The person holding the sign serves with me on our national committee and is a good friend of mine.

Steve’s reaction was the same as mine when he saw this picture; embarrassment.  This kind of hyperbole backfires and makes people like Steve wonder why they are part of this group.  With this big group of people listening to me respond to Steve on Saturday, I could only share the embarrassment and state this is not the way I operate.

I try to persuade people.  I find that anger may not be very effective persuading someone that hasn’t already made up their mind, and more likely drives them away. But besides what you think might be effective, it is just wrong.  Go ahead and “compare” the policies of Bush and Obama to Hitler.  But when you parade around with swastikas you marginalize yourself and everyone associated with you.

I understand the temptation.  You may think that getting noticed is validation of your efforts.  But you need to be careful about this.  Yes, it helps to be edgy to get into the news.  But I would rather be ignored than compromise my ethics or demonstrate my foolishness.

The key word here is “Tolerance.”  I do not tolerate evil and hate.  If it comes to it I will fight to the death to defeat it.  I see the intolerant behavior of people who have a conniption when there is a comparison to Hitler or Christ.  I see the intolerant behavior of labeling someone else as a Nazi.  I do my best to tolerate opinion and debate, but when it comes to hatred and violence my tolerance ends.

So for people like Ed Clements that get outraged when someone compares policies to those of Hitler, get over it.  We need to compare ourselves every day to what is good and what is evil.  Christ and Hitler serve as appropriate role models.

For everyone else, the next time you consider calling someone a Nazi or putting a mustache and Swastika on someone, consider what people are going to think of you and others associated with you.  If you don’t care about that, I am happy to help.  Just use this altered picture of me and make me a martyr and yourself a fool.