Friday, June 15, 2012

Hitler and Stalin and (Insert Name Here)

One of the things we've lost in recent years in our political discourse is any sense of proportion in extreme positions (well, yes, any sense in the larger ... uh ... sense). The problem is summed up for me in the use, by hyperpartisans of both the left and right, of comparisons to Hitler and Stalin.


If there is anything more utterly ridiculous than comparing a President Bush or a President Obama to  either Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin, I can't imagine what it is. People who make these comparisons clearly demonstrate their own complete stupidity and profound ignorance of history.

Don't like President Obama's health care reform? Despise ultraconservative Republican policies? Draw comparisons to Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, two of the most murderous and amoral monsters in history, who together gave us:

- Six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust;

- A war that utterly devastated Europe and left more than 20 million dead (the exact number will never be known);

- The death by starvation of millions in the forced collectivization of agriculture in Russia; and,

- The depravity and utter moral squalor of Nazi and Communist policies that echoes to this day in the words and deeds of people too stupid to understand what they're talking about.

I'm totally appalled by Catholic bishops who compare the policies of President Obama to those of Adolph Hitler. These individuals have no idea what they are talking about, and have squandered whatever moral authority their deeply-held beliefs might otherwise command. I'm equally offended by the ass clowns of the far left who would compare former President Bush ("W") to Hitler. Bush was guilty of hubris at best, stupidity at worst ... but a murderous tyrant? Come on, now ...

Sorry for the rant, but I finally hit the edge this morning. I think I'm ready for the weekend.

Have a good day. Maintain your sense of proportion and understand the history you invoke in support of your ideas.

Come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday.

Bilbo

6 comments:

Amanda said...

Yes, I'm definitely ready for the weekend too!

eViL pOp TaRt said...

Some people use this inappropriately, think it to be the nuclear option or trump card in argument. It doesn't work. Maybe Godwin's Law applies to argument too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

Duckbutt said...

I wish, just for variety's sake, that someone would be likened to Pol Pot or Idi Amin or Benito Mussolini. You made a point that needs being heard for the print media and for casual commenters.

Bilbo said...

Amanda - race you there!

Angelique - I'd never heard of Godwin's Law ... thanks for the reference!

Duckbutt - good point. Of course, Mussolini tends to be thought of more as Hitler's lapdog buffoon than as a "real" tyrant, but Pol Pot and Idi Amin are truly worthwhile icons of barbarity.

Mike said...

Catholic bishops have no room to talk.

The Mistress of the Dark said...

I just like to call them A-holes or F-tards myself.