It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
"Klaatu barada nikto" is a phrase originating from the science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). "Klaatu" is the name of the humanoid alien protagonist in the film.
Originally posted by grover
Now children stop fussing.
As for far left = totalitarian etc.
I do not know a single liberal/leftist personally, in power or out who would endorse a totalitarian style of government.
Even the most left members of congress; the late Paul Wellstone...and Bernie Saunders wouldn't even go there.
American liberalism/leftist is far more moderate than European varieties.
"There is more that binds us to Bolshevism that separates us from it...I have given orders that...Communists are to be recruited into the party at once. The petite bourgeois Social Democrat and the trade union boss will never make a Nazi, but the communist always will" - Adolf Hitler
"...ordinary citizens don't need guns, as their having guns doesn't serve the state" - Heinrich Himmler
As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice.
Adolf Hitler
Originally posted by grover
reply to post by centurion1211
But think about it Centurion...first off a totalitarian regime is dictatorial in nature...
what you call a nanny state is shared by some of the freest nations in the world...Britain, the Scandanavian states, the Netherlands, France etc...and all of them have lively democracies and could hardly be called totalitarian...
[edit on 30-9-2009 by grover]
Originally posted by grover
Absolutely none of those are found in either classic socialism or even communism...nor are they even the sole reserve of the left. And rhetoric aside that was designed to divide and conquer I seriously doubt either Mussolini or Hitler would consider themselves liberal or left. They were the total antithesis of the liberal ideal.
Hitler also considered himself a Christian...does his actions make him one?
As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice.
Adolf Hitler
[edit on 30-9-2009 by grover]
"National Socialism and religion cannot exist together....
"The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity. Bolshevism is Christianity's illegitimate child. Both are inventions of the Jew. The deliberate lie in the matter of religion was introduced into the world by Christianity.... "Let it not be said that Christianity brought man the life of the soul, for that evolution was in the natural order of things." Adolf Hitler
"Christianity is a rebellion against natural law, a protest against nature. Taken to its logical extreme, Christianity would mean the systematic cultivation of the human failure." Adolf Hitler
"The best thing is to let Christianity die a natural death.... When understanding of the universe has become widespread... Christian doctrine will be convicted of absurdity.... "Christianity has reached the peak of absurdity.... And that's why someday its structure will collapse.... "...the only way to get rid of Christianity is to allow it to die little by little.... "Christianity the liar.... "We'll see to it that the Churches cannot spread abroad teachings in conflict with the interests of the State."
Adolf Hitler
Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice.
Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.
The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it.
The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category.
It is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge.
Universal education is the most corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented for its own destruction.
“I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator”
“I do not see why man should not be just as cruel as nature”
“Who says I am not under the special protection of God?”
Adolf Hitler
Originally posted by xmotex
"Right" and "Left" are terms that mean different things to different people.
What is unambiguously true is that authoritarian, totalist versions of ideologies of both the "left" and "right" killed & oppressed millions in the last century.
The response should be to oppose authoritarianism in general, not merely the left or right wing version.
Originally posted by billybob
Originally posted by xmotex
"Right" and "Left" are terms that mean different things to different people.
What is unambiguously true is that authoritarian, totalist versions of ideologies of both the "left" and "right" killed & oppressed millions in the last century.
The response should be to oppose authoritarianism in general, not merely the left or right wing version.
exactly!
people should lose the left/right red herring and focus on the authoritarian problem.
forced vaccinations, concentration camps, rendition, torture, the patriot act, excessive state secrecy, spying on your own citizens.... THAT is america's problem.
america is nowhere near being the land of the free, anymore.
where's thomas paine when you need him?
Originally posted by grover
reply to post by johnny2127
Do not make the mistake of equating Soviet style communism with the ideal that gave rise to it. They are vastly different.
Here are some more Hitler quotes:
Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice.
Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.
The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it.
The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category.
It is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge.
Universal education is the most corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented for its own destruction.
“I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator”
“I do not see why man should not be just as cruel as nature”
“Who says I am not under the special protection of God?”
Adolf Hitler
Originally posted by grover
Okay take me and my political ideals and tell me what you think I am.
I am in favor of a small, strong, effective government but I understand that it is not the programs that need to be cut but the bureaucracy administering them.
I believe in strong regulation...especially in matters of worker safety, the environment, consumer protection and finance. I don't think any business should be allowed to get so large that its failure would adversely effect the national economy.
I believe that environmental protection is easily as important to national security as a strong police and/or military.
I believe in a strong but not bloated military. No one can actually physically invade us so border protection should not be the reserve of the military but law enforcement. I am against a foreign policy that maintains bases overseas or props up governments. Charity begins at home. I do not believe we need a military as large as we have since what we spend on it is more than the 5 nearest competitors combined. I believe that our troops should be used rarely and sparingly but if used at all should get the maximum support that they need...but I do not equate objection to any given war as unpatriotic like the hard right slurred the left with during the bush minor years.
I don't believe in bailouts and tax cuts etc. to corporations or to the wealthiest...they should pay their fair share just like everybody else. Period. Paying their share in taxes should be a requirement to do business here and if you take jobs overseas you should pay a tax penalty...especially if you are an American business.
I am fully in favor of the public option...if the insurance companies do not feel threatened then whatever change happens will be minimal and the average person still gets screwed.
I have no problem with public assistance...we are the richest nation on earth...if we cannot afford to take care of our own, something is seriously wrong. It should not be a lifetime crutch though and those receiving it should not be penalized if they try to improve their lot like many states do.
I am in favor of the immediate legalization of all drugs...to be sold at state run ABC stores with the proceeds to be used for education and rehab...it is the only sane way to take them (and the subsequent violence) out of the hands of cartels and gangs...it is a flawed answer but better than what we are doing now.
Federal laws should trump states rights in national matters but in local matters states should have the final say...prime examples of this are environmental and educational standards.
Do away with teaching to the test standards...the purpose of education is to teach children to think for themselves not to parrot.
A woman's right to chose is inviolate...it is her body not some religious opponent's...if they are opposed to abortion then don't have one but don't you dare to presume to take the freedom of that choice away from another.
I believe that certain national resources belong to the nation and should be controlled by the state via oversight and regulation. The government doesn't need to run them but the state shouldn't be all but giving them away either.
I believe in a universal public service between the ages 18 and 21...Those who are inclined to go into the military will always gravitate that way but it can also include Vista, Peace corp, Community Conservation Corp type agencies...community work etc. Once the four years are completed then a college education would be provided for as in the original G.I. bill...with military veterans getting special considerations. The same sort of benefits could also be a way to segue into a national health care system again with special benefits and considerations for veterans.
I could go on but that is a general overview.
So what does that make me...left, right center or off the map?
Myth: Hitler was a leftist
Fact: Nearly all of Hitler's beliefs placed him on the far right
Summary:
Many conservatives accuse Hitler of being a leftist, on the grounds that his party was named "National Socialist." But socialism requires worker ownership and control of the means of production. In Nazi Germany, private capitalist individuals owned the means of production.
True socialism does not advocate such economic dictatorship -- it can only be democratic. Hitler's other political beliefs place him almost always on the far right.
He advocated racism over racial tolerance, eugenics over freedom of reproduction, merit over equality, competition over cooperation, power politics and militarism over pacifism, dictatorship over democracy, capitalism over Marxism, realism over idealism, nationalism over internationalism, exclusiveness over inclusiveness, common sense over theory or science, pragmatism over principle, and even held friendly relations with the Church, even though he was an atheist.
Argument:
To most people, Hitler's beliefs belong to the extreme far right. For example, most conservatives believe in patriotism and a strong military; carry these beliefs far enough,. and you arrive at Hitler's warring nationalism. This association has long been something of an embarrassment to the far right. To deflect such criticism, conservatives have recently launched a counter-attack, claiming that Hitler was a socialist, and therefore belongs to the political left, not the right.
The primary basis for this claim is that Hitler was a National Socialist. The word "National" evokes the state, and the word "Socialist" openly identifies itself as such.
Misnomers are quite common in the history of political labels. Examples include the German Democratic Republic (which was neither) and Vladimir Zhirinovsky's "Liberal Democrat" party (which was also neither). The true question is not whether Hitler called his party "socialist," but whether or not it actually was.
Series: Great interviews of the 20th century
This edited interview of Adolf Hitler by George Sylvester Viereck took place in 1923. It was republished in Liberty magazine in July 1932
"When I take charge of Germany, I shall end tribute abroad and Bolshevism at home."
Adolf Hitler drained his cup as if it contained not tea, but the lifeblood of Bolshevism.
"Bolshevism," the chief of the Brown Shirts, the Fascists of Germany, continued, gazing at me balefully, "is our greatest menace. Kill Bolshevism in Germany and you restore 70 million people to power. France owes her strength not to her armies but to the forces of Bolshevism and dissension in our midst.
"The Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of St Germain are kept alive by Bolshevism in Germany. The Peace Treaty and Bolshevism are two heads of one monster. We must decapitate both."
I met Hitler not in his headquarters, the Brown House in Munich, but in a private home - the dwelling of a former admiral of the German Navy. We discussed the fate of Germany over the teacups.
"Why," I asked Hitler, "do you call yourself a National Socialist, since your party programme is the very antithesis of that commonly accredited to socialism?"
"Socialism," he retorted, putting down his cup of tea, pugnaciously, "is the science of dealing with the common weal. Communism is not Socialism. Marxism is not Socialism. The Marxians have stolen the term and confused its meaning. I shall take Socialism away from the Socialists.
"Socialism is an ancient Aryan, Germanic institution. Our German ancestors held certain lands in common. They cultivated the idea of the common weal. Marxism has no right to disguise itself as socialism. Socialism, unlike Marxism, does not repudiate private property. Unlike Marxism, it involves no negation of personality, and unlike Marxism, it is patriotic.
"It may not suit Hitler to attack Bolshevism in Russia. He may even look upon an alliance with Bolshevism as his last card, if he is in danger of losing the game. If, he intimated on one occasion, capitalism refuses to recognise that the National Socialists are the last bulwark of private property, if capital impedes their struggle, Germany may be compelled to throw herself into the enticing arms of the siren Soviet Russia. But he is determined not to permit Bolshevism to take root in Germany."
"We want a greater Germany uniting all German tribes. But our salvation can start in the smallest corner. Even if we had only 10 acres of land and were determined to defend them with our lives, the 10 acres would become the focus of regeneration. Our workers have two souls: one is German, the other is Marxian. We must arouse the German soul. We must uproot the canker of Marxism. Marxism and Germanism are antitheses.
In fact, socialism has never been tried at the national level anywhere in the world. This may surprise some people -- after all, wasn't the Soviet Union socialist? The answer is no. Many nations and political parties have called themselves "socialist," but none have actually tried socialism.
The Soviet Union failed to qualify as socialist because it was a dictatorship over workers -- that is, a type of aristocracy, with a ruling elite in Moscow calling all the shots. Workers cannot own or control anything under a totalitarian government. In variants of socialism that call for a central government, that government is always a strong or even direct democracy… never a dictatorship. It doesn't matter if the dictator claims to be carrying out the will of the people, or calls himself a "socialist" or a "democrat." If the people themselves are not in control, then the system is, by definition, non-democratic and non-socialist.
And what of Nazi Germany? The idea that workers controlled the means of production in Nazi Germany is a bitter joke. It was actually a combination of aristocracy and capitalism. Technically, private businessmen owned and controlled the means of production. The Nazi "Charter of Labor" gave employers complete power over their workers. It established the employer as the "leader of the enterprise," and read: "The leader of the enterprise makes the decisions for the employees and laborers in all matters concerning the enterprise."