You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
-Inigo Montoya, "The Princess Bride"
You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
-Inigo Montoya, "The Princess Bride"
-Inigo Montoya, "The Princess Bride"
-Inigo Montoya, "The Princess Bride"
Daily Quiz
If you say things like this, do you really mean "She wants to eliminate private property and have the state run the means of production!"? Hygiene aside, I honestly don't know anyone of of any political affiliation who would be OK with donating their house to be part of a commune and have the government make cars, refrigerators. toilet paper, etc.
If you find yourself saying this, do you really mean, "This person wants to hand over control of the country to a dictator-for-life? The conditions that brought Hitler to power are not occurring in our everyday life. We didn't get badly beaten in a world war, followed by rampant unemployment and hyperinflation. There are some people who think we need a lot of change, but we are a far cry from Nazism.
I read a comment on a forum recently railing against "Obama the Communist Anti-Christ". Going back to the definition of Communism, did Obama really try to make everyone hand over their property to the state, start collective farms and have the government start cranking out consumer and industrial goods? Also, I don't think the Biblical Apocalypse on Obama's watch.
The person I spoke to said, "Those Nazis are going to tear down the country and make Donald Trump president-for-life." While it could be argued that Trump and friends are pushing to give the Executive Branch more power, he has not promoted Antisemitic, scientific racist, or pro-eugenics policies, the last of which would prove difficult to support, given the pro-life position of his religious power base.
Calling people 'Nazi' and 'Commie' is like grade school children calling someone a 'stupid head'. Nothing says 'ignorant' quite as much as someone using a word they don't understand to dismiss the opinions of thousands of individuals.
1. Limited political pluralism, which is achieved with constraints on the legislature, political parties and interest groups.
2. Political legitimacy based on appeals to emotion and identification of the regime as a necessary evil to combat "easily recognizable societal problems, such as underdevelopment or insurgency."
3. Minimal political mobilization, and suppression of anti-regime activities.
4. Ill-defined executive powers, often vague and shifting, used to extend the power of the executive.[9][10]
*Juan Linz An Authoritarian Regime: Spain.
Nazism is a form of fascism, with disdain for liberal democracy and the parliamentary system. Its beliefs include support for dictatorship, fervent antisemitism, anti-communism, anti-Slavism, anti-Romani sentiment, scientific racism, white supremacy, Nordicism, social Darwinism, homophobia, ableism, and the use of eugenics. The extreme nationalism of the Nazis originated in pan-Germanism and the ethno-nationalist Völkisch movement which had been a prominent aspect of German ultranationalism since the late 19th century
-Wikipedia
People tend to veer toward Utopian Communism when disparaging people as Communists. However, Utopian Communism, the idea that everyone would live in harmony with no personal property, rather with collective ownership of property and the means of production, is generally considered to be impossible for humans to attain.
For fascists, this is by design. For communism this is the necessary step towards the collective Utopia that will never materialize.
It is good to keep in mind that both of these movements gained traction in the face of dire circumstances, where desperate people needed a narrative that promised a bright, shining future.
[A] cult of the leader who promises national restoration in the face of humiliation brought on by supposed communists, Marxists, minorities and immigrants who are supposedly posing a threat to the character and the history of a nation ... The leader proposes that only he can solve it and all of his political opponents are enemies or traitors.
[ 1.] Stanley, Jason, How Fascism Works
It seems we, the American people, have voluntarily divided ourselves into two camps. I hear the terms "Nazis" and "Commies" tossed around to collectively demonize people who don't believe exactly like one thinks they should. A first step to mitigating our great divide is to understand the actual meaning of the words we use. It's very likely people are not what you have been calling them.
Because you are cool if you do.
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