Hitler? Come on now, Really?

Okay, so let’s go to the real “meat and potato’s” as to why I’ve decided to start this blog….


Tomorrow is October 1st. The news and social media are consumed with Healthcare vs. Government Shutdown! Among the populous there seems to be a lot of confusion, due to misdirection and out-right lies from our elected officials and the benefactors who pay for their re-elections.


My social circles pretty much reflect what the national consensus is. One person thinks that Ted Cruz is the second-coming and that Green Eggs and Ham is a Holy Book, while another thinks that He’s the Anti-Christ. But a lot of my friends just don’t know what to think. And, they are probably the smart ones: So far, the law hasn’t been implemented, so the “let’s wait and see” approach seems to be their mindsets for now. (Let me just say that “blessed are those with an open mind.”)


But, I digress…. Some of those who are the Ted Cruz/Sarah Palin/Tea Party zealots have taken to name calling. I know, I know, sticks and stones. I don’t care about throwing insults or yo’ mama jokes. The concern is that there is an attempt to compare our President to Hitler and the Affordable Care Act to Nazi Germany.


Really? Hitler? Nazi Germany?


How insulting! Have any of these people who have drawn this parallel stopped to consider their words? To minimize the suffering of 6 MILLION Jews and an additional 5 MILLION people who were tortured and killed and compare it to…..Healthcare?

How fortunate for the name callers that they don’t have the burden of visualizing a true understanding of what that time in history was really like. How fortunate to wake up in a nice warm, lush bed and not think twice about it. To turn on hot water in the morning and take a shower. To be able to hug their children and spouses without a real fear that they may never be able to do so again. To be able to go to their jobs and be given appreciation for doing so. To be able to go to the grocery store without being turned away. To eat their highly processed foods and only have to worry about their waistlines because they can eat all they want. To get in a car and the only concern is the traffic and missing the kick-off on Monday Night Football. To get back into that warm bed with down-alternative, hypo-allergenic pillows and worry that they’re only getting 6.5 hours of sleep before the alarm wakes them up, instead of eight. To be able to LIVE. Now, let’s fast-forward to today…. How does somebody compare the daily non-stop suffering of that era to healthcare of all things? It borderlines on racism. It certainly shows a complete lack of empathy. I may have a certain amount of contempt for a lot of people and down-right disgust for some. But to compare what we have now to Nazi Germany? How removed from life a person must be.


We’ve all seen the horrible pictures that reflect Nazi Germany, but before we start comparing ourselves to that, Let’s take a moment to remember their terror. Then, let’s put today’s problems in perspective.


Think for a moment what it was to be alive and on the receiving end of the Nazi’s, some 60 years ago…. Yes, there was a national healthcare plan, put in place in Germany in the late 1800′s. But by the end of the 1920′s, Jews were excluded from that system, because… Well, I’ve never understood why. That however, was the least of their problems. Parents had to stand by and watch their young children be beaten in the streets by a soldier. If they tried to step in and protect their child, things would get a lot worse. If there was a theft reported, the Jews were scooped up and tortured until somebody admitted to the crime.








Imagine that a loaf of bread or an apple was suddenly missing from an outdoor vendor. A possible theft was reported. As the police go to the grocer to take a report, a family of Jews happen to walk by. That family is arrested, along with anybody else who may be ‘suspected’ on the street.


They are separated.


Stripped. Kicked. Beaten. Raped. Repeatedly.


Husbands hear their wives crying.


Mothers hear their babies screaming.


Finally somebody confesses. Anything to make it stop. “Stop hurting my baby. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” ”Stop raping my wife. I’ll confess.” They probably didn’t do it, but who cared? They were Jews and somebody had to pay!


The punishment for the crime? The continued assault on the family. Then death. Children first.


Yellow stars sewn on coats. Banners and signs in store fronts telling Jews to stay out. Homes and businesses confiscated. No way to buy basic food. No shelter. And that was BEFORE it got real bad.


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Ironically, Nazi Germany would never have allowed for the public comments and protests that these so-called Patriots take for granted. They would have been scooped up with the Jews and been persecuted for daring to speak out. Also paradoxical is that some of those 5 million other deaths were American Soldiers. Men who signed-up in order to protect what it meant to be American. To protect us and persevere our rights, one of which is the right to vote for our elected officials. The idea being that majority rules.


Right now, the majority voted for a black man who happens to believe in healthcare for all. I think — that he thinks — that when it comes to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”, that the word “Life” was written down first for a very specific reason. I also think that the Affordable Healthcare Act is an extension of that philosophy. Does that sound like Nazi Germany?


Oh wait… the “slippery slope” argument. It’s not like Nazi Germany NOW, but it will be if things don’t change. I honestly think you’re downright nuts if you think that Americans will stand for watching an entire class of people be categorized as illegal?…… Uh-Oh… wait. You might be right. But wait, we aren’t supposed to be talking about Mexicans! Those are just the illegals immigrants. (Insert strong sarcastic overtones here.) Consequently, some of the misinformation out there is that illegals will be getting some of the insurance that you don’t want anyway. Um…. I forgot where I was going with this, because things just got turned around. Who is the Nazi now?


Okay, back on track. Forget the illegals, cause they don’t count, right? (still being sarcastic….) I can pretty much guarantee you that Germany’s healthcare program had nothing to do with the Nazi machine. I’m not seeing the connection. Now, if the day comes when your freedom of speech puts you in prison, or you are condemned for your religion…. (Muslims need not apply)…


You know, the more I write this, the more I do see the Nazi connection, Sam-I-AM. The rules of the far right only apply to the far right. Now, I don’t have a magic ball and I can’t see what is in your heart of hearts, so I can only make conclusions on your actions. And here’s what I see so far:


You don’t like Obama because he has a Kenyan father and you don’t trust the validity of his birth certificate. Just substitute Kenyan with Jewish and ding-ding-ding, we have a winner!


You don’t like the Affordable Care Act because you have to buy something. So instead of just stating that, your representatives put out a host of lies in order to scare the population. You know who else put out erroneous propaganda? Yes, the Nazi’s! And here I thought you weren’t smart….


The German government in the early part of the 20th century had dehumanized an entire race of people, blaming them for economic woes such as job stealing and burdens on society. Now, just replace Jews for Hispanics or the poor and…. Yes, you are getting good at this!


So maybe the far right is correct in it’s comparisons. It may have been self-fulfilling, but it appears as if their prophecies are turning out. And if they’re right about that, then perhaps our Government should be shut down until we get it right. Congratulations Ted Cruz! I’ve just agreed with you! (Still being sarcastic there, Teddy! You and your colleagues could just stop this nonsense, pay the bills you were hired to pay and prevent another downgrade of American credit. Just a thought…)


A final thought…. Initially, I wasn’t going to insert any photos into this particular posting but in the end, felt it necessary to remind us how fortunate we are. To trivialize our political differences to something as abhorrent as Nazi Germany, is to not give honor to those who died needlessly. Many died selflessly, so that others could possibly live. Countless lineages came to end and untold stories will never be known. It is not my intention to exploit the horror of what they went through but instead demonstrate that we should take great care with our choice of words.


-v-