Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Before Libel, Learn Facts

There's nothing new about limited-government protesters, conservatives and Republicans in general being compared to Nazis. Lately, mere disagreement with Obama prompts libelous labels. (Such perceptions are encouraged by the MSM.) Noam Chomsky -- Bin Laden's favorite lion of the ultra-left -- is the latest example, though too tiresome to quote.

Still, read Ed Morrissey's thoughtful response:
But . . . "anger" and "opposition" do not equal "Naziism" or "fascism". Context is rather important in that analysis. The Nazis did not come to power by tapping into a deeply-seated notion of limited government, after all. They satisfied that urge for a charismatic leader who would reorder society through a fuehrerprinzip that would get the trains to run on time, succeeding because of that disregard for a Weimar constitution more or less imposed on them by their enemies and the political and economic chaos it created. Regardless of what one thinks of the very, very different styles of Limbaugh and Savage, neither one pump for greater government control of our lives; in fact, the very reason both get exercised is to fight that creeping intrusion.

The only way anyone can make this argument is either by breathtaking intellectual dishonesty or sheer ignorance of 20th-century history and current events.
Godwin's law is time-tested and undermines free debate. And it's especially unfortunate when the accusers don't know their facts.

3 comments:

Assistant Village Idiot said...

"The Nazis did not come to power by tapping into a deeply-seated notion of limited government, after all."

I am definitely keeping that line.

OBloodyHell said...

AVI: Yep. That's a good spot, Carl.

OBloodyHell said...

"In summary" -- if there is any group targeting a Fascist future, it's the ones pushing Big Government, A "Living" Constitution, and encouraging the silencing of opponents and critics... When your goal is to reorder society, beware of the "order" you're imposing.

If human history has shown anything -- It's that it's got a good chance of winding up quite a bit less benign than you intended.