Having grown up in what I consider a socialist country (heck, my mother to date is a member of the social democratic party which I like to refer to as the socialist party) with a dark history I can’t help but draw similarities between stories my grandmother used to tell me and what’s going on these days in the US. Maybe some of the similarities are far fetched, some might be completely off base and solely in my imagination.
The knowledge of the history of the country I grew up in is somewhat limited as the government brainwashing institution called public school failed to give an accurate account of what really happend between WWI and WWII in Austria (strangely enough - we skipped straight from 1918 to 1936). I have done a fair amount of reading up on the subject.
Anyways, there is this tiny country in the middle of Europe after WWI. Tons of unemployed folks. Inflation is a problem. The economy is not functioning well and in neighboring Germany, there is this guy who seems to have some decent ideas. Someone who gives the people hope. He manages to captivate his audience with speeches. He finds someone he can blame for everything that has been going wrong with the economy. He promises and gives people jobs (at first) and when the Austrians are asked whether they want to be part of Germany again, the majority decides to vote yes. With open arms and a big parade they welcome Hitler “back home”.
Now, some 70 something years later in the US we have a guy who does a great job captivating millions of people, he gives them hope, he promises them jobs, he promises to take care of them, spread the wealth around. And again, a majority decides to vote the guy into office. With open arms and tears in their eyes they are welcoming their savior.
We all know what happened in Europe in the 1930s.
I don’t know what’s going to happen here; personally, I get goosebumps when I hear Obama speak and I fear that we will have some very dark years ahead of us.
Oh well, Katja, you’ve missed a whole lot of valuable information that I have been blessed with in a German public school. I recall gems like
“The Great Depression was caused by overproduction and is today seen as the first big failure of laissez-faire capitalism.”
“Chancellor Bruening pursued a tight budet and low inflation policy in order to combat the economic crisis. Today, we know that Keynesian anti-cyclic spending policies are the way to go.” Interestingly, we didn’t address the fact that Germany was on its way to recovery from the depression in 1931-1932 already whereas FDR’s United States were merely seeing the start of their long slump by then.
Anyway, if you’ve listened to Obama’s speech in Berlin, you’ll remember him talking about international interventionism and spreading democracy. To my horror, the crowds cheered joyfully - the same crowds that unanimously booed Mr. Bush for following the same Wilsonian philosophy.
I think if Obama tells the world that all mothers have to feed their youngest son to the lions they will cheer joyfully and drive to the local zoo where with tears in their eyes, tell their children that it is for the greater good of the world.
Hitler was not the establishment`s candidate. He accomodated them and so they threw their support behind him, because the alternatives were worse but he was never their dream candidate. Obama on the other hand is a politican the elites could only hope for. He managed to gain a pretty widespread support and a messianic status with a portion of the population with the most empty and inane campaigning ever. There was not even a tiny bit of firebrandry or populist agitation in him. Thus he is the guy who guarantees the established elites the support of the masses without they having to surrender even a tiny bit of their status in return.
I do not envision any too dramatic shifts, many American`s swallowed Obama whole (only they know why), but his talk was insipid not radical.