The Nazis Were Evil

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With the health care debate raging in Washington and across America, and with the Federal Government getting spending truckloads of money in order to jump-start a flagging economy, many people are saying that we are becoming a socialist country. They may be right in many regards – the government right now has a much greater role in our lives than it has had in the past. The debate about whether a certain amount of socialism may be necessary or not is a healthy and productive debate; and one that we should have.

Unfortunately, people have made an erroneous connection between socialism and the Nazis. The Nazis were, in fact, socialists – the term Nazi is an abbreviation for “National Socialist.” I am always amazed that people are willing to overlook the Nationalist aspect of the Nazi party – the uncritical support of the nation had as much, or more, to do with the Nazi’s ability to commit atrocity as did the socialist nature of the government; but again, that is another argument for another day.

The Nazis were a singularly evil and hateful group of people. Driven by a bitter, charismatic leader in Adolf Hitler, the Nazi party sought to create a master race, and they did so by rounding up and exterminating anyone who did not meet their standards. The Nazis killed millions of Jews, Poles, and gypsies. They exterminated homosexuals. They performed gruesome medical experiments on the prisoners they had rounded up in order to try and engineer the master race.

Comparing our modern politicians to the Nazis is irresponsible. Be it George W. Bush or Barack H. Obama – these guys are not Nazis. Look, there is room for criticism of any and all politicians – that is a healthy part of our democracy; but lets stop with the “Nazi” argument. It misses the point, it distorts history, and frankly it offends me to compare the Nazis to our modern politicians – it casts the Nazis in a much better light than they deserve.

The Nazis were a hateful, evil group of people driven by a hateful ideology. I don’t believe you can say the same about George W. Bush of Barack H. Obama. They may very well be misguided – but it is my opinion that their intentions are not to create a master race and exterminate everyone who doesn’t fit under that umbrella.

Let’s get real, debate the issues, and stop with the name-calling.