Nazism more to the left,
despite Dems’ spin

MIKE DANELEK
mdanelek@mscd.edu

Is your everyday Democrat a Nazi?
Of course not. Is the far-left? They may be a lot of bizarre things, but they aren’t Nazis, either. Nazism is an extreme form of evil that, hopefully, will never again rise to power on this planet.

   Another boneheaded instructor is in the news again. This time it’s Jay Bennish of Overland High School, the geography teacher who compared George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler.
   As expected, liberals throughout the nation have united together in defense of Bennish. They’re trying to convince us this is a matter of the First Amendment right to free speech, that it is OK to indoctrinate 10th grade students (who should be learning where to find Iraq on a map) with radical anti-U.S. Propaganda by insinuating our president is similar to one of the most evil men in history.
   The fact that the far left agrees with his illogical commentary doesn’t surprise me. What surprises me is that they actually believe they are advocates of the First Amendment. If Bennish had made a derogatory remark about a minority group, would those same picketers be on the street showing their support for his rights? I didn’t think so. This is a matter of what is a necessary discussion in a high school classroom, not freedom of speech.
   Bennish was audio taped in class by 16-year-old Sean Allen, who actually challenged his teacher multiple times during the recording, defending America’s right to act aggressively after the 9/11 attacks. Bennish’s rant consisted of accusing the United States of being “the single most violent nation on planet Earth,” and referencing the evils of capitalism. Then of course, there was the Bush/Hitler reference, which sprouted from Bush’s State of the Union Address, in which, according to Bennish, the president talked about “how America should be the country that dominates the world,” and that it is our “duty as Americans to go out into the world and make the whole world like us. Sounds a lot like the things Adolf Hitler used to say.”
   Apparently, the left thinks this is an issue that should be discussed, since Bush is referred to as a Nazi by anti-war protesters on a daily basis. So let’s discuss it. Actually, I think a few questions will suffice. Is Bush sending millions of Americans to die in concentration camps? Was Hitler invading Poland to promote freedom and democracy? Would Hitler have made Condoleezza Rice one of his top officers? Would he have supported Israel?
   This has really become one of the most ridiculous and untrue liberal conceptions of the right wing, that it is practically one step away from Nazi Germany. This tired comparison is a classic case of far-left projection if I’ve ever seen one.
   Liberals will usually admit that communism is a far-left ideal. Some will go out of their way to defend it (if only it were run the way Marx had intended, it would work today, they swear!). But Nazism is strictly right-wing, and since it is right-wing, it’s OK to consider it evil (though some liberal moral relativists have trouble with that word). While the Nazis and Communists may have mutually hated each other, the differences between the two systems were trivial. And keep in mind the term “Nazi” is short for National SOCIALIST party.
   The main reason Nazi has become a synonym for Republican in liberal lingo is because Nazis (white people) slaughtered minorities (as opposed to the Soviets, who were “equal-opportunity” murderers). I believe, however, that it is conservatives in this country who want to treat all races the same and liberals who perpetuate the division with their constant race-baiting.
   Conservatives believe that smaller government is better government, and tend to embrace the idea of God as a moral authority. They aren’t the ones trying to make God disappear from public venues. Nazis believed in absolute government power and that the state was God, which is why it was able to justify any action. Germany may have had a very Protestant history, but just because Nazis didn’t exterminate the Christians didn’t mean they abided by any kind of Christian moral system.
   Totalitarianism of any kind is a leftist idea, because it subscribes to the belief that the government, not God, is the source of human rights, and that is always a dangerous system. Communism and Nazism, both of godless inspiration, combined to kill over 100 million people in the 20th century. Even theocracies, like Saddam Hussein’s brutal Iraqi regime, claim to be religious, but always end up rejecting the true meaning of their religion in what turns out to be a power-hungry despotism. When a belief in some kind of higher power combines with freedom and justice—like in America—it makes it much more difficult to commit crimes against humanity. This explains conservatives’ patriotism, which liberals twist into some sort of Nazi jingoism.
   Is your everyday Democrat a Nazi? Of course not. Is the far-left? They may be a lot of bizarre things, but they aren’t Nazis, either. Nazism is an extreme form of evil that, hopefully, will never again rise to power on this planet. I’m simply trying to make the point that equating American conservatives, who promote freedom, with Nazis, who deny freedom, is not only petty politics, it is flat-out wrong.