[MD] Social Ants?

[Heather Perella]

Hello Ham, Case, Steve, Platt, Arlo, and others,


     Ham said:  "I think S.A. has a valid point that
the xenophobia and paranoia of a dictator like Hitler
are symptomatic of internal conflicts."

     Yes, this goes along with Cases' point about
harmony.  Hitler had internal conflicts about kinds of
societies and how Hitler thought these societies
should be.  Germany was ready for harmony.  Germany
wanted a balance in their lives, a sense of balance
where healthy lives of the German people could be
lived as a population.  Yet, the way where harmony
exists, obviously was not where Hitler was pointing.
     For one, we all know Hitler wanted a
super-population based on what Hitler thought would
make the world better and right.  Hitler also
dismissed other societies of people such as the Jews
and Polish due to an inferior value he placed on them.
 Hitler's conflict about how a society should be (the
kinds of people in them) is based on a thought he had.
 This dreaming of a kind of society that Hitler wanted
was inside of Hitler.  The social value he had all
occurred inside of him and yet still is a thought
value he had about how a society should be.

     Ham said:  "But that is a psychological disease,
not a cultural or social malady."

     Yes, it is easy to think in terms of Hitler was
crazy in his head.  He certainly was, but his crazed
mind influenced cultural formations that intellect is
able to do.  These cultural ideas Hitler had created a
social malady that put him on stage, like a celebrity,
where so many in Germany loved him, like a rock star. 
He promised a harmony that the population desired. 
His tone and posture on stage excited crowds. 
Listening and watching old videos of him, not even
knowing exactly what he was saying, since I don't know
the German language, spurred an energy that would
capture the attention, even of the youth, as this
crazed man yelled something on stage that had
thousands, if not millions clapping as if the theater
performance inspired some kind of hope and idea that
would lead them away from the suffering their lives
currently lived.  It's as if he was a crazed Gorilla
shaking trees, showing off his power, and getting that
immediate feedback proved his power.  So many were
sucked into this real life play and a drama that would
also desire some thought, too, since we, as human
beings, need patterns for our minds to follow, but as
those German soldiers marched, the flags waved, and
the arms raised, a social pattern as well lead many
people to walk the walk, show unity in the flag, and
raised arms that identified a cohesion of people
called the Nazis society that this one man, Hitler,
dreamed to be the way, the quality.  Thank G-d,
another pattern existed, that many other people in the
world recognized.  A pattern as diverse as each and
every leaf on the trees scattered, wildly on this
earth.

     Ham said:  "Moreover, since Hitler had great
admiration for Goethe's poetry and the music of
Wagner, I don't see how we can conclude that he was
anti-intellectual."

     I agree with you that simply taking the concept
anti-intellectual to mean an absence of all thought or
appreciation of thought would apparently have Hitler
not be an anti-intellectual.  Yet, with so much social
conformity being a must from the mind of Hitler, in
order, to make Hitler's dream grow into the minds of
others, any diversion from Hitler's ideas would bring
the gun to their head and they would be killed.  In
that sense, Hitler was anti-intellectual.
     I try to never accept any 'pure' concept of it is
only this or only that.  I believe, and think that
nothing is totally pure from anything else.  Therefore
the pure idea that Hitler was anti-intellectual I
would dismiss.  Yet, did Hitler practice an
anti-intellectual way?  I would say yes.     

Thanks,
SA

     

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