Hate, fear and division can poison a beautiful recipe
The Nazi Party was formed on Feb. 24, 1920. It ended, not because the ideology dissolved, but war defeated them in 1945. The most alarming point is that the Nazi party went on for 25 years — its hateful, divisive, separatist, extremist uber-nationalism crept insidiously into Germany’s persona as a country with their citizens barely recognizing what was happening to them.
Twenty-five years was long enough to create legions of young, murderous haters. It happened through propaganda, promoting fear of an alleged enemy of the people, reviling those who were not all the same color and nationality, and putting the welfare of one’s own country above any other country, regardless of the hardships imposed upon them.
It also happened through apathy, indifference and national hubris — the best friends of all developing dictators.
Germany is now an amazing country with vibrant, warm and caring people. Over six decades after the end of World War II, many Germans still have a pathological aversion to nationalism. Flying the flag is often still considered a faux pas.
Germany has learned what can happen to a nation that is deliberately fed propaganda, hate, fear and social insecurities. They are now vigilant to our human weaknesses where we can be fooled into fearing what need not be feared, hating what need not be hated, excluding what need not be excluded.
We have had two years of generic fascism in this country, stewing in a slow-cooker, new ingredients both strategically and haphazardly dropped into the pot every day, with the chef carelessly experimenting with which flavors work best to mask the unsavory elements.
Should we trust this chef to oversee our main courses and side dishes with no oversight, safeguards or inspections?
No, we can’t. We must be knowledgeable about the recipe, know how it’s being cooked, what ingredients are being used and what benefits it will bring to the body of this nation and other nations as well. We can learn from Germany’s fatal mistakes from 1925 to 1945 — and learn from them now.
Donna Alalem
Kapaa
