Chop it Down and Sell It

Most people look at a natural landscape, a mountain, a forest, a river, and see beauty. We enjoy looking at beauty, and we enjoy being in places that are beautiful or naturally unusual. A walk through the Grand Canyon brings us much more pleasure and satisfaction than walking down a city street.

Some people do not see any beauty in nature. They do not understand why people will line up and pay a fee to visit a national park or nature preserve. These materialists look at a landscape and think about its potential to be used for monetary gain. Can the trees be chopped down and sold for lumber? Can the hills be scraped away and mined for precious minerals? Can the river be diverted for sale to farmers, or used as a dump for factory waste?

This inability to value or appreciate nature's beauty and wholesomeness is often accompanied by an inability to appreciate the arts. These guys don't read books, attend concerts, or visit museums. Most of us derive pleasure from beautiful and interesting creations, contemplating works of art, listening to music, reading engaging stories, seeing a skillful performance. The materialists are strangers to emotional or intellectual pleasure. For them, there are only two kinds of pleasure. One is ego gratification, which may be derived from receiving other people's attention, admiration, and obedience, or from acquiring material possessions, which they see as the only real measure of human worth. The other pleasure they recognize is physical: sex or goal-oriented sporting activities that emphasize individual achievement rather than teamwork, like golf or trophy hunting. Those activities also provide ego gratification.

These materialists do not perceive human beings as having value, except to the extent that they have wealth or can be used to create wealth. Workers, as a group, have value because their labor generates wealth for the employer. The individual worker is not of much value, but is disposable and replaceable. People who are unable to generate wealth for the master class, such as retired or disabled persons, are seen as completely valueless. Young children are valued for their potential as future workers. More and more, the materialists look for ways to turn children into workers at younger and younger ages, setting up systems to remove kids from school and place them in physically demanding jobs.

The materialists' ideal world is one in which they are universally recognized as superior beings and they have complete dominion over everyone and everything they see.

 

Ranting About Billionaires

Is your yearly budget less than a million dollars? If you had a billion dollars, you could spend a million a year for a thousand years, and you still wouldn't run out, because all that time, your money would have been invested in accounts that pay interest and dividends, so more money just keeps rolling in.

Now, imagine you had not just one billion, not two billion, but a hundred billion, or three hundred billion. With 300 billion, you could spend a million dollars EVERY DAY, and you'd have money left over at the end of 22,000 years.

That sure seems like enough money, doesn't it? But the guys who have that much, or close to it, don't think it's enough at all. They can own dozens of homes in different countries, buy private islands, own personal jets and huge yachts, indulge in collecting rare automobiles or historical jewelry, go anywhere they like, purchase any clothing, any food they want, get cosmetic surgery every year, send their children to the greatest universities, spend the night gambling in Monte Carlo, ski at the most exclusive resorts, get the best medical care in the world, bribe politicians just about everywhere, build stadiums and skyscrapers with their name on it, and - just for a change of pace - donate millions to charity. But they still don't think they have enough. They are constantly scheming to get even more. Many of those schemes require taking away what other people - you and me - have.

They want the power to make us pay for the infrastructure and institutions that make modern life possible for them. While they make $5000 a minute, they begrudge us $15 an hour. They want to eliminate the rules that keep our food safe and our water clean, because they can make bigger profits if they don't have to be clean or careful.

Why? Why do they want to cancel the retirement income of the elderly, cut off health care for the middle class, or withhold food from schoolchildren? They want every possible penny in their own pockets. They already have more than enough, more than too much. But they aren't satisfied. Greed gnaws at them the way hunger gnaws at a starving animal. More, more, more, howl the voices inside them. The sight of comfortable people enjoying safe, healthy lives fills them with anxiety. Those people driving nice cars and living in pretty houses represent pennies that should be in the billionaires' pockets. Your retirement account is cash that they want.

They are much happier when the world around them is populated by hungry peasants dressed in rags and dying young, because then they can feel assured that they have taken everything for themselves.

Links:

♦ Billionaires Lying to Convince Us to Destroy Our Government
♦ Billionaires Hate Us

 

Is This Pornography?

Historically, authoritarians have censored dissidents and others they dislike by accusing them of being pornographers who corrupt children.

Something many people don't know about Project 2025 is that its authors intend to make pornography illegal again, but not before they first change how pornography is defined.

Pornography is typically defined as sexually explicitly material (video, written, or audio) that is intended to cause sexual arousal. Educational material, such as medical books or sex-education texts, are usually exempt from being considered pornography, as is material which has "socially redeeming value".

Currently in the US, pornography is not usually illegal, unless it depicts children, or if it is provided to children, or if it depicts people who did not give consent, or if it is determined to be "obscene" - completely lacking artistic or social value and offensive to community standards.

The key thing to remember is that, legal or not, throughout history, pornography has been understood to be explicitly sexual, or to be "indecent" in its portrayal of the human body. (There are longer discussions to be had about how different societies define indecency, or what kinds of things were or weren't taboo in other places at other times.)

Project 2025, however, would expand the definition of pornography by including anything that depicts or mentions gender identity or transgender information. Christine Jorgensen's autobiography would be labeled porn, as would the song, "Take a Walk on the Wild Side", as would my posting an anecdote about how my nephew became my niece. Librarians who allowed people to check out these newly forbidden books would face prison time and would become registered sex offenders. See Page 5 of the manifesto.

This new concept of pornography is just part of the Heritage Foundation's drive to demonize LGBTQ (with a particular emphasis on the trans community). On page 4, they claim that certain words and phrases - sexual orientation and gender identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights - "deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights" and must be purged from "every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists."

They do not explain how the existence or use of a word can deprive people of First Amendment rights (which include the right to free speech).

Project 2025 is no longer just a proposal or a looming threat. Donald's advisors and other Republicans have now openly stated that it is their agenda.

The Project 2025 manifesto is difficult reading, most likely deliberately so. It is over 900 pages of academic-style writing, heavy-handed propaganda, strange fantasies, and outright lies. It often uses code words and convoluted language to disguise its true intent. Nevertheless, we should all become familiar with it. A good way to start is to read the comic book version.

Links:

• Comic Version of Project 2025
• Online version of the manifesto
• Republicans Admit Project 2025 is Their Agenda
• Christine Jorgensen's autobiography
• On Tyranny



 

It Only Happens to Other People

Maybe you don't care that donald speaks as if his sentences were produced by a random number generator. After all, not everyone can be a great public speaker, and there is no requirement that presidential candidates demonstrate English fluency.

And maybe you don't care that donald calls for the execution of people who disagree with him. After all, it's just a fantasy, and we have laws to prevent it from actually happening. At least, we do right now.

Maybe you don't care that donald has encouraged his supporters to shoot reporters. After all, it's unlikely they'll take him seriously, right? And if a few reporters are killed, so what? They probably deserved it for revealing how donald speaks, and for showing photos of his makeup. Anyway, we don't actually need to know about current events when we have social media and podcasts to inform us.

And maybe you don't care that donald has called for rounding up millions of immigrants and putting them in detention camps on the way to deporting them. If several thousand citizens get rounded up by mistake, it's a small price to pay for removing all those non-human vermin people from the country. So what if it requires sending the National Guard into neighborhoods to pound on doors and conduct warrantless searches of homes? You've got nothing to hide, right?

It probably hasn't occurred to you that the time will come when you, or people you like, are targeted for imprisonment, deportation, or execution. As time goes on, it could easily happen that your heritage (German, Italian, Armenian, Greek, Spanish, or whatever) could be labeled as a problem, especially if we have a political dispute or war with your ancestors' home country.

Or your church might fall out of favor. Or certain professions, not just reporters, but maybe doctors, architects, teachers, or farmers, could be denounced for not following the party line. Or maybe a spiteful neighbor could report you as a communist, even though all you did was laugh at a joke about donald. Not that you're likely to encounter many of those jokes, once all the comedians are in prison.

 

"Nothing We Could Do"

Imagine your beautiful wife is pregnant. You have been having a great time preparing for the new baby. You've painted the nursery and set up a nice crib and changing table. The ultrasound has revealed that the baby will be a boy, and the two of you are seriously debating what name to give him. Life is wonderful.

Then one night, you hear your wife moaning and gasping in the bathroom. You walk in to see her lying on the floor, blood soaking the bathroom rug and her nightgown. Fortunately, your phone is in your pocket, so you can stay with her while you call 911. The ambulance arrives quickly, and the EMTs tell you what you already suspected: it looks like your wife is having a miscarriage.

At the hospital, the doctors confirm the bad news. In the morning, they release her with some medication and instructions for home care. It seems she can't stop crying over this loss, and you are feeling the grief.

Two days later, she does not feel better physically. In fact, she is in more pain, and she's still bleeding. The doctor said there might be light bleeding, but this seems like too much. You take her back to the hospital. The doctor says that some tissue was left behind by the miscarriage. There is now a risk of infection. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do at this time.

You feel stunned. Nothing they can do? The nurse explains that the traditional treatment would be a minor surgical procedure, known as a D&C, to remove the tissue from the uterus. However, because of your state's anti-abortion laws, they cannot perform this procedure.

"Abortion?" you ask. "But my wife isn't pregnant. She had a miscarriage two days ago, so there's no possible abortion!" The nurse looks grim as she explains that because of the law, hospital policy prohibits any D&C unless a woman's life is in danger. If the doctor violated this policy, he could risk life in prison.

"But isn't her life in danger?" you demand. "If an infection develops, it could kill her!"

The nurse just shakes her head sadly as she hands you your wife's discharge papers. "Just go home and have her rest. She can take these antibiotics. Maybe her body will expel the tissue naturally. If she develops a high fever or bleeds enough to fill a few maxi pads, bring her back."

Feeling like you're in a nightmare, you take your wife home again. The painkillers and antibiotics don't seem to be helping. She continues to bleed, and by now she's a bit feverish. You find yourself pacing back and forth, checking on her every two minutes. When her fever reaches 102, you can't stand it any more, and, once again, you drive her to the hospital.

The doctor confirms that she now has a septic infection. Her life is in immediate danger, so at last they can treat her. She is whisked off to the operating room. You wait, pacing the hallway, for hours.

Finally, the doctor reappears, looking sad. "I'm so sorry," he says. "We did everything we could, but we couldn't save her."

You feel a surge of hot anger, and you start yelling. "You didn't do everything you could! You could have helped her two days ago, or even yesterday. But you just waited until she was dying!" You choke on your own rage and pain, hot tears and snot running down your face.

"I'm sorry," the doctor repeats. You realize that he is truly sorry, but that is not going to bring back the woman you love.

Later, as you stand next to the gurney that holds your wife's body, looking down at her sweet face, the nurse hands you a clipboard with some papers to sign. "Is there anyone we can call for you?" she asks. You realize that your parents, and your wife's parents, have no idea what has happened. Having the hospital call them so that you don't have to is the kindest thing that has happened to you here.

Somehow, you get home. The house seems too big and too quiet. Upstairs, you rip the blood-soaked sheets off the bed, throw them into the nursery, and close the door.

 

 

Whatever Happened to Hitler's Generals?

We've heard a lot about Hitler's generals lately. Who were they, really? I've looked up the stories of a few of them.

Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch was Commander-in-Chief of the German Army during the first two years of World War II. Brauchitsch and others considered overthrowing Hitler, but he decided against it. Although Brauchitsch led several successful campaigns, Hitler blamed him for the failure of the attack on Moscow. Brauchitsch was forced into retirement. After the war, he was charged with war crimes, but died before he could be prosecuted, age 67.

Friedrich Olbricht was a commander in the invasion of Poland. He was eventually promoted to Chief of the Armed Forces Reserve Office. Olbricht was a key figure in Operation Valkyrie, a plot to assassinate Hitler and take over the government. Following the failure of the plot, he was executed by firing squad, age 55.

Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein was considered one of the most talented field commanders. He commanded several successful operations and took 430,000 Soviet prisoners. At the Nuremberg trials, he presented a document and oral testimony in defense of the General Staff. He was tried for war crimes in Hamburg in 1949, where he was found guilty of nine charges and sentenced to 18 years. His sentence was reduced, and he served only four years. In 1955 Manstein was a consultant on rebuilding the German army. His memoir, published in 1955, became a best-seller. He died of a stroke in 1977, age 85.

Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow was involved in the 1940 invasion of France. He served in several campaigns and invasions, and signed orders to kidnap thousands of Polish and Ukrainian children to use as slave labor. Tresckow tried to kill Hitler by having a colleague plant a bomb in his plane; the bomb failed to explode. He participated in several other failed assassination plots, including Operation Valkyrie. After Valkyrie’s failure, he killed himself with a grenade, age 43.

Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel led German and Italian forces in North Africa. He was given the nickname “Desert Fox,” and had a reputation for chivalry. He later commanded German forces opposing the Normandy invasion. Rommel was implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler, and was encouraged to commit suicide. He took a cyanide pill, age 52.

Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar Fromm was commander of Germany’s Reserve Army in World War II. He was part of Operation Valkyrie. When the plot failed, he attempted to hide his involvement by ordering a quick court-martial and execution for some of the other conspirators. His participation in the plot could not be proved because the witnesses were dead, so he was instead convicted of cowardice and executed by firing squad, age 56.

Oskar Wilhelm Robert Paul Ludwig Hellmuth von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg was the son of a former German president. As a retired general, he came out of retirement in World War II to supervise several prisoner of war camps. He resigned because he considered the position a demotion. He was a prosecution witness at the Nuremberg trials. He died of a heart attack in 1960, age 77.

Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt came out of retirement for World War II, becoming a commander in the invasion of Poland, and in the Battle of France. He requested the Halt Order during the Battle of Dunkirk. He was commander the largest encirclement in history, the Battle of Kiev. Hitler dismissed him after the defeat at Normandy, then recalled him as Commander-in-Chief in the West. Rundstedt knew about some of the plots to depose Hitler, but neither joined nor reported them. Ater the war he was accused of war crimes, but was considered too old and sick to stand trial, although he did appear as a defense witness. He died of heart failure in 1953, age 77.

 

The Doctor Won't See You Now

When I had cancer, my doctors were glad that it had been discovered at a very early stage. We scheduled surgery right away, and they were able to remove the entire tumor, with no trace left behind. I made a full recovery, and I'm healthy now.

It is important to note that the doctors were aware that the tumor could grow, and that, left untreated, the cancer would eventually progress from stage one to stage four, and if that happened, I would be in serious trouble. They didn't wait to see if things got worse, but instead took action quickly to make sure that I would be as safe as possible.

Again, when my mother was diagnosed with glaucoma, the disease was in an early stage. If glaucoma is left untreated, it will put increasing pressure on the eye, causing pain and impaired vision, eventually damaging the optic nerve, resulting in blindness. But when caught early, the condition can be managed with medication, laser treatments, and surgery. No reputable doctor would withhold treatment, waiting until you can't see anything and your eye is about to explode, before intervening.

In the modern world, we expect our medical providers to recognize symptoms, understand the prognosis, and provide treatment that will reduce pain, prevent long-term damage, and avoid death.

However, in some parts of America, once considered a medically advanced nation, there are laws that require doctors to refuse care to some patients, even when the doctors know that these patients are likely to suffer and can predict that the patients will experience life-threatening complications that, if they manage to survive, may leave them with permanent damage. These are patients whose suffering, damage, and death are completely preventable. Yet the doctor must wait until the moment the patient is about to die before providing treatment.

I'm talking about women who experience miscarriages. In some states, bizarre anti-abortion laws prevent doctors from providing what was once standard care for miscarriage. Instead, women are left bleeding in hospital parking lots or told to go home and wait until things get worse. Some of these women are left so damaged that they cannot have more children; others die.

Read about Amber Thurman: This young mother's death was preventable.

Read about Jaci Stratton: She was told to bleed out.

Sadly, these are not isolated cases. It doesn't take much effort to find women who were neglected in the most horrible way. Many women have had to travel to other states to get the life-saving care they needed. Women who are too sick to travel are trapped.

There is no excuse for this. We live in a country with well-trained doctors and nurses, with well-equipped hospitals. Any condition other than pregnancy is treated with the patient's best interests in mind. What is deliberately being done to women in certain Republican-dominated states is beyond inexcusable. It is evil.

We must stop fanatical, undereducated politicians from intruding in the life-and-death decisions that should be made by medical professionals. As individuals, we can contact elected representatives and express our opinions. Most importantly, we can vote against the politicians who are willing to kill us.

 

Don't Cross That Line

Imagine you are pregnant and you live in a state that has completely outlawed all abortions. That's okay, because you don't want an abortion. They've also made it illegal to travel out of state for the purpose of getting an abortion somewhere else. That's still okay, because you definitely don't want an abortion.

You're driving to visit your sister in the next state, and she's going to give you some baby furniture and clothes that she has from her five kids. As you near the state line, you see a flashing light in your rear view mirror. You pull over. The state trooper checks your license and registration and asks where you're going. You tell him, and he says, "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to turn around."

"But why?" you ask.

He looks annoyed, but explains, "There's a women's clinic just over the state line on this road. It's illegal for you to go there."

You smile. "I'm not going to a clinic. I'm heading to my sister's house, 50 miles beyond the state line."

The trooper shakes his head. "Ma'am, I'm sure you understand why I can't just take your word for that. We get a lot of lawbreakers on this stretch of highway."

"But look at me!" you protest. "I'm eight months pregnant. This baby was planned. We've already named her."

The trooper is starting to lose patience. "Ma'am, I'm pretty sure you know as well as I do they could abort that baby right up until birth. You need to turn the car around and go home."

You realize that it's pointless to argue, so you make a U-turn while the trooper watches, and go back the way you came.

Later, you call your sister and tell her what happened. You suggest that maybe she could bring the baby things to you, but she declines because she's afraid that if she sets foot in your state, she'll never get out.

 

Those People Did Bad Things

Imagine that a power-hungry politician decides to stir up outrage by demonizing some people in your town. You might feel bad about what he's doing, but since you aren't one of "those people," you think it doesn't affect you.

However, people from outside your town become stirred up by the stories that are being told. Some of them pretend to be journalists and come to your town to "investigate." They either find a few people who are willing to get attention by confirming the rumors, or they find people who oppose the rumors and use them in an unfairly edited context to make it seem like they confirm the rumors.

More outsiders arrive, in a wave of hostile tourism, determined to "see for themselves." As the nasty rumors continue to be repeated, even some local people start imagining they might be true, although police, the mayor, the fire department, and most residents all say the stories are false.

Some angry people make threats against the people who have been accused. Some make threats against the city council. A few crazy people make bomb threats, leading to lockdowns and evacuations of businesses and schools, including the school where your kids are. Now, at last, it's affecting you.

 

Everything Belongs to Me!

trump and his minions may not be fascists, but they have the attitude of fascists. In their minds, the rules, norms, and laws of a civilized society simply do not apply to them. They are entitled to do what they want and take what they want, at any time and place they want.

We saw this when trump boasted about kissing or grabbing women without permission. We saw it when he refused to pay contractors and workers at his properties. We've seen it many times when his campaign has used music without getting the owners' permission, even when the owners have explicitly told them to stop. We saw it when trump insisted that he could own and possess (and, it seems, display, share, or dispose of) confidential and classified government documents.

Again and again, he and his associates have shown their arrogance, their insistence on privileged status, their contempt toward others, and their disdain for the behavioral norms that make it possible for society to function. Like many fascists before them, they have succeeded in bullying, intimidating, and litigating people into submission.

Most recently, we saw trump and his entourage violate federal law and all expectations of decency, when they chose to film a campaign video at our most sacred national cemetery. Further, members of the group may have assaulted a cemetery official who informed them they were not permitted to film.

And now, in true fascist fashion, they do not admit to being in the wrong. They posted the illegal video they made at the cemetery. Instead of apologizing or simply claiming they were in error due to a "misunderstanding" or "mistake," they are angry at the news organization that first reported the incident. Fascists do not like public scrutiny of their actions.

A trump spokesperson has made a statement accusing the official who was assaulted of being mentally ill, and triumphantly declaring trump "the real Commander in Chief." Fascists are never subtle. Their message is clear: journalists who mention issues that make the boss uncomfortable are "bad reporters" asking "stupid questions." Anyone who tries to get in their way is unfair, crooked, mentally ill, or a liar.

They are above the law - in fact, the boss IS the law. He cannot be restrained or criticized, no matter what outrage he chooses to perform. The rest of us and our expectations of lawful behavior, our hopes for good manners and public dignity, our desire for accountability, are just irritating obstacles along the boss's path toward complete domination.

 

Rallies

There are people who think that holding rallies with enthusiastic crowds somehow proves that a candidate is great in some way. Yet we know that evil dictators throughout history have had big rallies. All kinds of charlatans, crooks, fraudsters, and destroyers started with rallies, tent meetings, well-attended lectures, and parades. It is obvious to mention Mussolini and Hitler, or even Jim Jones, well-known examples of people who used rallies and mass meetings to lure followers into belief systems that would prove disastrous.

A hundred years ago, Benito Mussolini used to travel across Italy, holding huge rallies for fans of his Fascist Party. In October 1922, speaking to a crowd of around 40,000, he urged his followers to march on Rome. Fascist militias began driving toward the capital.

Elected officials wanted to declare a state of emergency and defend the city. The poorly-trained militias probably would have lost any battle with the military, but the King refused to declare martial law. Government officials resigned in protest. The King decided to accept the Fascists, and made Mussolini prime minister.

Mussolini soon became a total dictator, rescinding civil rights, replacing the press with propaganda, and invading Corfu and Ethiopia. Mussolini's career inspired Adolf Hitler, and eventually Italy was aligned with Nazi Germany in World War II. At least 8,500 Italians were murdered in the Holocaust. ^@realrkwest

In 1943, the King, who had had enough, convinced Mussolini's close associates to turn against him, and he was arrested. He escaped and attempted to set up a new government, but in 1945 he realized that defeat was near, and tried to flee the country. He was recognized and shot. A crowd mutilated his corpse and hung it up in the public square. It was eventually buried in an unmarked grave.

 

Do We Need a Dictator to Just Step in and Fix Things?

Dictatorship does not lead to prosperity for the average citizen.

For example, under Mussolini (Italy 1925 - 1945), both imports and exports decreased, and unemployment increased.

Mussolini established bureaucracies and appointed many officials, but very little was ever accomplished. He was mostly concerned with making sure the newspapers reported what he wanted them to say. There were food shortages throughout the country. The national debt skyrocketed. Mussolini's spending on infrastructure and public works was extravagant. Banks and big corporations were given government support. Interest rates went up. In many cases, the rich got richer, but in the meantime, workers got poorer.

Italy was hit hard by the Great Depression of the 1930s. Eventually, the state took over ownership of the banks and most industries. Mussolini focused on increasing his own political power, rather than providing assistance to citizens.

Mussolini was eventually killed by an angry mob.

Nicolae Ceaușescu (Romania 1967-1989) used a secret police force for mass surveillance and suppression of civil rights. He controlled the media.

In an attempt to increase the population, he outlawed all abortions and contraception. This led to the proliferation of overcrowded, dirty orphanages; many neglected and abused children from these institutions had lifelong physical and mental health problems. Thousands of women died from illegal abortions.

Ceaușescu's policy of moving from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy seemed successful at first, but led to unemployment, food shortages, and an energy crisis. Without electricity, people died of the cold in their homes. Prices were high while wages were low. Ceaușescu spent money on big projects and personal luxuries while citizens were freezing and starving.

When anti-government protests began, he ordered the military to fire upon protesters, causing many injuries and deaths. Violent protests spread across the country, and the military defected. Ceaușescu and his wife tried to flee, but they were captured, tried, convicted, and executed. The country was left with a very weak economy that still has not recovered.

Under Hitler (Germany 1933-1945), hourly wages were very low, while most people worked more hours, creating the illusion that individual income had increased.

Germany increased military spending until it became the majority of the economy. Hitler believed that war was the best way for a country to make progress. Prisoners of war and inmates from concentration camps were used as slave labor to support corporations. By 1944, slave labor made up 1/4 of the work force. Even so, unemployment was low. The government used price controls to avoid inflation, and also introduced wage and rent controls.

The military buildup was financed largely through deficit spending. The national debt was enormous. Industries that had been state-owned were privatized, yet subjected to a great deal of government control. Business leaders were expected to fund the Nazi party, and in return, benefited from policies that froze wages and provided slave labor. Profits for big businesses increased, and tax policies were designed to benefit wealthy people. Real wages decreased substantially. Workers could not strike, and could not change jobs without the current employer's consent.

During World War II, imports were harder to get. Rationing was implemented. The government took the property of wealthy Jews and plundered whatever it could in the countries it invaded. Wartime destruction and the British blockade led to the collapse of supply chains. People in occupied territories were used as slave labor, and their children were killed. As the war progressed, Allied bombs destroyed factories and cities. There were catastrophic food and fuel shortages. As defeat loomed, Hitler committed suicide.

Please Control Our Lives

Browsing through social media, it is alarming to see how many people want to give up voting rights and a representative government in favor of a dictatorship.

Like the people who supported Mussolini because "he made the trains run on time," many of these people seem to think dictators will provide them with amenities like cleaner streets, and these things are, in their minds, worth giving up basic freedoms. Other dictator fans imagine that the dictator will share their world view and religion, and will create a society that enforces those ideas on the entire population. They think it's a good idea that dissenters might be imprisoned, expelled from the country, or executed.

It never occurs to them that (a) the dictator will not actually do what they imagine, (b) historically, dictatorships do not create prosperity for average citizens, (c) someday, the tables will turn and the former in-group will become the out-group.

 

Their Feelings Will Become Law

Abortion is such an emotional, polarizing issue that it's not surprising Republicans decided to use it as a wedge to open the door for them to just take over the country. They have a segment of the population that is so blinded by outrage over the issue, they will support anything that is done. Any violation of human rights is seen as justified in pursuit of what they believe is a righteous crusade.

The same people who screeched that asking about vaccinations violated medical privacy rights have no problem with scrutinizing the medical records of pregnant women, just in case they might contemplate an abortion. People who describe themselves as "pro life" really don't care if a woman's life is endangered - or ended - by an ectopic pregnancy or by complications of a miscarriage, as long as the doctors and nurses who refuse to help her are thoroughly intimidated by the threat of being accused of performing an abortion.

People who want the freedom to go anywhere in public with a rifle on their shoulder or a pistol in their pocket, don't object to laws that restrict the freedom of women to drive across town, just to make sure those women can't get abortions. Overwhelmed by powerful feelings, they see any kind of violation, restriction, or harm to women as completely justified by the massive importance of this one, all-consuming issue.

It never occurs to them that this sets a precedent. They don't foresee a time (coming sooner than we think) when other important issues will be the justification for violations and restrictions against everyone, including them. If we become indifferent to the oppression of women, how hard will it be to become indifferent to all oppression? If they can seize her medical records, why can't they seize yours? If they can prevent her from leaving town, just in case she might do something forbidden, why can't they prevent you from leaving town, just in case you might do some forbidden thing?

If they can refuse to abide by an election because of their opposition to abortion, why can't they refuse to abide by an election because of their opposition to gambling, or guns, or books?

These things matter! They are upsetting! Our strong feelings exempt us from obeying the law!