Dear Partisans:
As America hurtles towards the November 2012 elections can you please stop comparing people with whom you disagree to Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin? If you consider my plea irrelevant, then just close our eyes and you might hear men, women, and innocent children butchered by the two regimes plead with you not to make light of those who caused their horrific deaths.
Petar Pismestrovic / Cagle Cartoons (click to view more cartoons by Petar)
Pennsylvania’s Senator Rick Santorum recently got into hot water after making this comment, which he later insisted did not compare Obama to Hitler: “Remember, the greatest generation for a year and a half sat on the sidelines while Europe was under darkness. We’re a hopeful people. We think, ‘Well, you know, it’ll get better. Yeah, he’s a nice guy. I mean, it won’t be near as bad as what we think. This will be okay. I mean, yeah, maybe he’s not the best guy after a while, after a while you find out some things about this guy over in Europe who’s not so good of a guy after all…”
Yes, I know you’ll say this came during the Republican primaries where heated GOP rhetoric is at melting point. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee called the GOP’s atmosphere “toxic…about just being able to say ‘I’m more angry at the Obama administration than anyone else.” Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said: “I used to be a conservative, and I watch these debates and I’m wondering, I don’t think I’ve changed, but it’s a little troubling sometimes when people’s fears and emotion rather than trying to get them to look over the horizon for a broader perspective.”
But the use of Hitler Stalin labels isn’t restricted to one party’s supporters.
Billionaire George Soros said a “supremist ideology” guided the Bush White House and: “When I hear Bush say, ‘You’re either with us or against us,’ it reminds me of the Germans.” Moveon.org had an online video contest online that produced a commercial with the Hitler comparison. Some anti-Bush websites and celebrities used the comparison. Google has many images of Bush photoshopped as Hitler. A whole website is devoted to the references.
Obama has been compared to Hitler by Tom Sullivan, Rush Limbaugh, Hank Williams, Jr. and others. A gun company ad on gun control compared Obama to Hitler and Stalin. Sen. Lindsay Graham said the Consumer Protection Agency is “something out of the Stalinist era.” Republican no-taxes activist Grover Norquist compared Obama to Stalin. And, again, Google has many images portraying Obama as Hitler…
Question: has any American President ever arrested families, sent them to camps, killed women and children upon arrival then worked the men to death or gassed them? Has any American President murdered three million Jews in Poland alone? Has any American President seized lands and stuck the former owners in camps where they would starve to freeze to death at minus 40 degrees, or executed millions of perceived opponents by assembly line shots in the head?
Several times before his 1973 death my grandfather Abraham Ravinsky would open his family photo album and show me pictures of men, women and children who had been our relatives in Russia who were among the many exterminated by Hitler. He’d point: “Killed by Hitler…killed by Hitler…killed by Hitler” He’d look at me, then go on, telling me a murdered relative’s name. I still think of those doomed little kids.
So can we leave those two monsters of history in a special class and not minimize what they did by phony comparisons? Can we let the dead lie and leave the truly monstrous to stand out as special examples of the truly monstrous?
—–
Copyright 2012 Joe Gandelman, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Joe Gandelman is a veteran journalist who wrote for newspapers overseas and in the United States. He has appeared on cable news show political panels and is Editor-in-Chief of The Moderate Voice, an Internet hub for independents, centrists and moderates. CNN’s John Avlon named him as one of the top 25 Centrists Columnists and Commentators. He can be reached at jgandelman@themoderatevoice.com and can be booked to speak at your event at www.mavenproductions.com. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/joegandelman.
Weigh in with your opinion. With such a politically correct world (as said by Eric and the media) what do you think?
Keifer Coggin
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that they are comparing Obama to Hitler or Stalin in the aspect of killing many innocent people. I believe that they are comparing his ideas and what he wants done to the same level of integrity. The ideas can be the same but the actions on how the ideas are displayed or presented can be different.
I could say I want two apples, and some one else with a very incredible sense of the English language could say the same thing with fifty times more words, but you would still end up with the same amount of what you had originally had asked for. It all depends on how you both see and think it. I don't mind that they keep bringing up the fact he is "like" Hitler. It makes people realize that wait, if there is any hint of this that might be true, then I have reason to be angry. Wouldn't you be angry if people started to die and what not. that's not something that you would take to lightly. In the end it doesn't really matter, my opinions never really mean a darn thing in the world I live in. I'm subjected by the adults around me in my life, being one of those normal teens that is unproductive, idiotic, and immature. When in reality, I would be more productive, intellectual, and mature then most of the adults out there making those statements.
I feel like the super big guy(president) and all the little guys will always be picked on, just because they are there and the people that do it in the first place can say it. That's what it really comes down to. Seeing how far to the line you can get with out being over it, and every year it seems that line is being moved back. I think it had started when bush was president. They said the same thing about him. Look where we are now, everything seems fine to me, nothing changed for me. Even when Obama took office, I feel like he was all talk, he didn't do much. But what he did do some people will say its socialist or communist or something with an "-ist".
Every ones is going to be picked on, its just part of the human factor.
I have to agree with Kiefer on this one. I dont think that they are making any comparison between Obama and Hitler/Stalin. You know, in our society today, anyone tries to find anything against anyone that they dont like, and people will use anything and everything. Our society is so immature that i feel i am one of the more mature ones.
ReplyDeleteIts alright though, if there was no gossip in the world today, we would be such a boring country.
Kori Weaver
ReplyDeleteI think that to make a point people compare Obama and Bush to Hitler and Stalin, not necessarily because they are killers. They have a point of view and are taking it a little too far by bringing those terrible memories up to those that dealt with it.
People make it seem like Obama is such a terrible person because of what he's done, I think because they don't really want to admit how he got the power to do what he did. If we hadn't voted him in then the United States might not be as bad as it is now, but then again he could have made it worse than what it is now; some people might have just voted him in so we could have our very first black president, and since he messed up they feel that they need to bring him down to Hitler's level so they can make up for their mistake.
Its obvious that the people who are calling Obama and Bush these names aren't referring the the mass murder and genocide caused by Hitler and Stalin. They are actually referring to policies made by the presidents that are similar to Hitler and Stalin. One exception to this statement is that I read somewhere that Obama is promoting a genocide by being pro-choice, but that's craaaazzy. People use Hitler and Stalin because those are two powerful names. It's a similar effect to calling someone a racist. To quote my personal role model Mr. Lepeau, "Name calling is for idiots." Comparing our presidents to these dictators only shows a lack of an argument.
ReplyDeleteThe president of the United states will ALWAYS be placed on a pedestal, and this time is no different. Past presidents and recently Obama, have been under the hot seat for being compared to Hitler and Stalin for their ideology and actions in running the country. This article states that the controversy plays out over and over again, and "negative imagery" is then put on these presidents for simply doing their job. I believe that Hitler and the president are not very much alike, but there is certainly something there. The author isn't intending on pointing out the single, most obvious difference between the two(Hitler murdered millions) but instead leans towards the way the two charismatically gained many followers and succeeded in creating a spectrum of new laws and policies. The two leaders seem to think they know what is best for their people, and only time will tell how much more Obama will accomplish. It's a harsh comparison in all honestly, even the name of Hitler somewhat makes me cringe, but whether the two are alike is for you to decide.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mr. Gandelman that these two types of comparisons are overused and are used to liberally (no pun intended). It would be refreshing if people stopped using comparisons to Hitler and Stalin as examples of why those they disagree with are wrong. To me, this shows a lack of critical thinking in the commentator that only bringing up Hitler and Stalin will convince an audience of the commentator’s stance, not to mention a lack of creativity on the commentator’s side (personally, if you’re going to compare someone to a monster, I’d think being compared to Genghis Khan is far more insulting).
ReplyDeleteBoth sides commit this senseless name-flinging at each other. Perhaps the two parties have different ends, but the means by which the Republicans and Democrats fulfill their goals is almost exactly the same. I greatly appreciate what Mr. Gandelman has to say about how our society constantly compares people to Hitler and Stalin and would enjoy hearing people invoke the names of Hitler and Stalin far less often than we currently do. But I disagree with him on the motivation of the people who name these names.
Don’t be fooled. When a Republican mentions Obama and Hitler in the same sentence, that Republican isn’t saying that Obama has killed as many people as Hitler has or that his government is run by a dictator. What that Republican IS saying is that, if given the chance, Obama WOULD conduct his government in the dictatorship that Hitler had and would quite possibly eliminate those he didn’t care for in the same way that Hitler did. I can’t say the same for the Democratic side, as I’ve limited experience with Democratic radio or television programs, but if they’re anything like Republicans, which I believe they are more similar than either of the two sides would care to admit, then the Democrats have the same implications in mind when they bring up Bush and Stalin.
Mr. Gandelman’s stance is that when people call politicians names like ‘Hitler’ and ‘Stalin’, they don’t truly understand the gravity of such an accusation and belittle the names of these horrible men. I believe that Mr. Gandelman fails to grasp that, for Republicans (again, I can’t speak for the Democrats), they mean every word they say when they compare Obama to Hitler. They truly mean that Obama would kill and control like Hitler did.
I have to agree with Mr. Gandelman because these comparisons are way too over used. I feel that many americans are deliberatly over amplifying the subject at hand. Many people today find one or two things that are similar to what Hitler or Stalin's rule, and make a generalized statement for the person accused.
ReplyDeleteThese geralizations are proof enough to me that America is far to under educated and lack basic logical thinking skills. If you look at this situation logically there is clearly no comparison to Hitler or Stalin in the way that any of our presidents have run this country. There have been many people compairing using these comparisons just to attack the policies passed by Obama, but there isnt an arguement for that either because where is the facts that point to Obama wanting to start a facist government and controll the people by force, i have seen no evidence of the sort which again leads me to beleive that americans lack basic logical thinking and are attempting to prove a point without really having one.
In my own subjective, albeit biased mind, this article is the paradigm of the modern day politically correct state of mind. Yes, perhaps this opinion of mine is wrought by the chronicles of my own topic, yet the notions that which I will express remain both relevant and compelling notwithstanding.
ReplyDeleteLet's begin by exploring the inner machinations of the human mind. Yes, the resplendent homosapien is the most advanced creature of the present day, baring unexampled abilities of thought and emotion. Truly, these emotions give us the power to love, to mourn, to communicate, and more poignantly, to be irrational. Critical as they may be to our own function, we as humans are oftentimes condemned by these feelings, these elusive thoughts of ours. Jealously, hatred, anger, bitterness -- they are nothing new to our existence, and with those provocations comes a concept that seeks to protect us from these perilous emotions of ours: political correctness.
So it is not surprising, then, that we are apt to feel defensive towards other's emotions. This article, as a whole, is quite telling of this. Let us further investigate, shall we?
Within the article, Joe Gandelman reasons that the use of generalized comparisons (i.e. comparisons to Hitler, Stalin) are both dreadfully overused as they are completely irrational. They do not inspire any critical thinking, as Cody put it; however, I believe they emphasize something I have already mentioned: human emotion.
When you think about it, we have all been subject to our own over-generalizations. Think of the expression "so hungry, you could eat a horse," uncreative as that may be. Is the person in question going to eat a horse? Why, it is quite obvious that they are not. It is but a mere metaphorical analogy that puts one's hunger into a blatant perspective. In my opinion, this is similar to the comparisons of Hitler, Stalin that are addressed in the article. Surly one is not arguing that whoever being compared is even remotely as destructive as either of the two, they are just putting their pure disapproval of that person into a perspective that will gain attention. Precious, precious attention.
Also note that, again, we are emotional. Particularly in politics, one can be compelled to say something hopelessly regrettable. Perhaps it had no merit, perhaps no true willfulness was inspired, but we are obligated to speak it anyway. We have all done it. It is but the very essence of the human function -- to feel these feelings, to emit them, to defend them. Yes, the politically correct world of ours, as well as articles like the one above, tells us that this is wrong; that these spurts of emotion are unintelligent, fallacious, and ultimately, illogical. Perhaps they are; however, one mustn't focus on a statement's context, but rather, its true intention.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn my personally opinion I feel that someone can feel free to compare whoever they want to Hitler or Stalin. Since the author doesn't refer to Stalin much I'm going to focus more on people comparing others to Hitler. Like I said, I feel that anyone can compare someone to Hitler. I don't care if the author feels that you should be comparing someone to a monster who should have his own category. I think that that is the same as saying that we shouldn't say, "Awe man, I ate way too much. I had eaten the entire mountain of spagghetti that was on my plate." In fact, I think that that is more overexaggerating than comparing a person that you disagree with to Hitler. Whenever someone makes a comparison such as someone to Hitler, they are also not talking about the part where millions of people were killed at his hands. I feel that in Santorum's case that he was making the connection that they both took or tried to take people's rights away. Obama tried to take away our guns and our right to not be imprisoned without trial. I don't know, maybe I don't take offense to comparing people to Hitler because I haven't had my family negatively affected by him. I haven't had relatives sent to concentration camps or anything like that. The only relative that died at the hand of the Nazis was one of my great great aunts who was supposedly murdered for being mentally handicapped and even then my family just has a hunch that she was murdered by Nazis. They had no proof. I've had more Nazis in my family than I've had people die at the hand of them. I guess I don't go around hating the whole Nazi because I know that not all of them were bad. Most of the ones in my family didn't feel extreme hatred for non German's, they just did it so that they could feed their family. Maybe I'm not the right person to ask for this subject because I can't relate to the extreme hatred of Nazis. Also as for the politically correct world we live in, I think that people worry too much about whether or not someone's comment could hurt somebody's feelings. I think that people should worry to a certain extent and try not to hurt others, but the world is way to worried about it. I also feel that Santorum wasn't meaning it in a way to where he was trying to offend people. He was just using a common phrase to show how much he disagrees with Obama and to make a reference to him being tryannical.
ReplyDeleteBeing the Chief Citizen, it is the President's duty to speak for the people. No doubts he has a major role in the policy making procedure, but everything law or by-standard that he would like to implement doesn't go without check from two other branches; general populous inclusive.
ReplyDeleteAlthough scrutiny is conspicuously inevitable when you're President I feel that to a certain degree select claims are outright vile. Example being: comparing President Obama to scum such as Hitler or Stalin. I feel the majority of these problems are only evident because people are mal-informed when it comes to everything centered around the political process, because of the media, and more-over, word of mouth. Everyone is extremely naive when it comes to current events, and affairs. People are biased on certain issues that they know the slightest about.
I am honestly not for it or against it. But I think that every president is doomed to be called Hitler or Stalin. Because there are going to be people that like him and don't like him. I don't think that their will be a time that everyone will agree on a president. Yeah sure Hitler and Stalin did some horrible things to other people and their country. But the presidents didn't do that, it's more of the fact that people don't really know much about Hitler and Stalin. Besides what they teach you in elementary/middle school. Its the people behind the voices calling Obama and other presidents the crude men of the past. They use their knowledge and the peoples lack of knowledge to get other people to follow them. So no matter what, we can't avoid presidents being called Hitler or Stalin.
ReplyDeleteI'm not on either side if its a correct world or not. Its just how it is. People will either disagree or strongly agree. But i don't have a side in this matter.
Mr. Gandelman makes a fine point that, in my modest opinion, has no room for a valid counter argument. To equate any person to Hitler of Stalin is outrageous. I suppose simple and inevitable desensitization is responsible for these peoples errant references of such horrific leaders to our own Commander in Chief.
ReplyDeleteIn my personal opinion the numerous comparisons of President Obama to Hitler is a bit inappropriate. How do you go about exploiting an issue or viewpoint you disagree with the president on and comparing it to the murder of millions, it just doesn't make sense to me. And some may argue that perhaps it isn't the mass murder that these artists are referencing to when depicting Hitler, but instead another one of Hitlers policies. Well, I would be interested in hearing of one of Hitlers policies that he is known for as well as his "final solution". When you hear or see Hitler you don't think "oh, he tried to abolish the treaty of Versailles", you think "oh, he killed millions of people". Disregarding the holocaust, Hitler was actually considered by many as a strong leader, he even pulled Germany out of a major depression. Not to say that aside from the holocaust Hitler was a perfect leader, but what other trait of Hitlers could they be referring to? Also, I don't need to have personal connections to those affected by the Holocaust to feel hatred towards the man responsible for twelve-million deaths. In my opinion, Hitler is just an easy face to paint a picture with and these cliche comparisons of political leaders to Hitler is just ignorant and lazy. When Rick Santorum said that the "issue" of gay marriage was just like 9/11, I said "no, one is same sex marriages, and one is the murder of three-thousand people, you're an idiot", and I will proudly do so in this case as well.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the author on this subject. Hitler, Stalin, and the people they commanded were responsible for millions of deaths during World War Two. No president in the history of the United States has ever come remotely close to these actions.
ReplyDeleteWhile the president will constantly be under the constant watch of the public, making sweeping statements is simply misguided. While no president is perfect, none of them have ever captured whole groups of people and exterminated them in mass numbers.
A number of ignorant people continuously make remarks about our presidents, present or past, as well as presidential candidates, and compare these political figures to tyrants of the past, such as Hitler or Stalin. In my opinion, these statements are completely ridiculous and irrelevant. A president, or presidential candidate who is not making some attempt to overthrow all other forms of government, who is not trying to create a dictatorship, cause genocide, slaughter people for their differences, or control every aspect of life in their country, can simply not be compared to either Hitler or Stalin. Both Hitler and Stalin were evil and corrupt human beings, and no matter how stupid or disagreeable a person is, they cannot be compared to a dictator who resides in a bloodbath. The two sets of people are incomparable, and almost any comparison between the two is a complete fallacy.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is difficult to approach mainly because there are so many angles to look through. I have to say that, for me, it's an even split down the middle. I see this issue from two sides. I see this as people using Hitler to grab people's attention to make a statement, a point. Is it extreme? Sure. Yes, you could say it is extreme, but do these people have a point? I think so.
ReplyDeleteWhile Obama may not be a mass murderer, he is slowly taking action in ways that some would say reminds them of Hitler. I don't know how many people have noticed, but the United States (with the aid of our president) appears to be withdrawing its aid to the Israelis. Now some may disagree with me on that, and that is perfectly fine, everyone has a right to an opinion; I am merely pointing out what I see. I love Israel and the Jews, I religious ties to that country and its people; with that said I try to be aware of what is going on there and what I can do to help. Recently we have been hearing about how the Iranians are developing Nuclear Power. They have also made it very clear that they, along with several others, desire to wipe Israel off the face of the planet. The fact that they are developing Nuclear Power is a threat to Israel's security. The UK, the US, and several others are trying to peaceably by NOT buying their products and therefor harming their economy; however, after weighing the evidence, I see this as pointless. If the Iranians really want to take out Israel, they will do it despite its effects on their economy. Netanyahu and his staff realize this, and therefore feel that they need to take immediate action and take the threat out NOW rather than when it's too late.
Obama has issued several different questions that appear to challenge their beliefs and stance on the subject. According to those questions it would appear that Obama, and the US, are unwilling to lend our support to the Israelis. Ya’alon, Israel’s prime minister of strategy feels that we are already wasting so much time by arguing over this: “It is up to the international community to confront the regime, but nevertheless Israel has to be ready to defend itself. And we are prepared to defend ourselves,” Ya’alon went on, “in any way and anywhere that we see fit.” On the one hand if they do defend themselves they lose our alliance, if they don’t they may end up getting hurt because we are too busy arguing, In this sense we are turning our backs on them, that and we have a very communistic president. I feel it is only natural that people see similarities between the two.
When people compare others to Hilter and Stalin, what are they exactly implying? Are they just trying to get a rise out of other people (if so, it is working), or are they implying that they are similar to someone who has killed millions of people, or that they have taken over lands and discrimated against people and then threw them into concentration camps? When you use such massive figureslike Stalin and Hitler, you are implying that they are similar to them in almost all ways. Obama and Bush, or any other president for that matter, have not done these awful, terrible, things.
ReplyDeleteGandelman brings up a good point when he says that using the name Hitler loosely, is downplaying how much of a terrible person he really was. If we call someone (like Obama) Hitler, then when we think of Hitler, we automatically relate it to Obama. Since Obama is not even close to being as terrible as Hitler, we begin think of Hitler as not being such the terrible person that he is.
The more people use these words loosely, the less of a meaning they have. The names Hitler and Stalin are being thrown around because some people belive that our leaders are acting like these horrible figures in history. I think that they are not neccessarily saying that they are the same in the way that they both commited mass gonocide of a whole people group, but that they have some similar tendencies. What those tendencies are, are am not sure. But just because someone does one or two things similar to someone else, does not mean that they should be dubbed such a horendous title.