[MD] Problems with Intellectual control of Society

[Ham Priday]

Greetings, Willblake --


You write a masterful summation on how history repeats itself.

All the elements you point out are familiar to Americans ...
-- Using a crisis as an excuse to nationalize the private sector
-- Issuing propaganda to placate the public and justify government action
-- Persuading educators and the media of the fairness of the "reforms"
-- Doling out food and money to ensure votes from the underclass
-- Paying community organizers to support the new regime
-- Blaming the previous regime for problems along the way
-- Appointing state commissars of dubious repute to monitor special areas
-- Gaining control of banking institutions and unions to manage the market

For a reporter "with no allegiance", you sound the alarm bell for me.
(This post goes into my research file.)

Thanks, Will.

--Ham

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Hi Platt,

After your email, I went to talk to my father some more about the subject.
He graduated from high-school in Holland at the beginning of the war,
and was part of dinner conversations before that.

What interested me was how could a nation of intellectual people
allow someone to gain such power that he could rule by decree. We
often reference German thinkers in this forum, and they are not stupid.
Germany was a republic at the time, the emperor had fled in 1918.

I was also interested to project if such a thing could happen in the US.
I am not talking about the aggressive war, but the complete control.
It is all based on gaining control.

So while a lot of similarities can be seen with the present day, just as
many, or more, differences can be noted. And indeed the ability to
draw conclusions is way beyond my abilities.

The NSP gained power in a round about way; this is all documented in a 
variety
(too many) books on the subject. I read the rise and the fall of the third 
reich many
years ago, and it is still my favorite. The head of the NSP was a tax cheat 
during
the '20s, but a very persuasive speaker.

Once they gained power, they immediately began to dole out food and
financial support to their supporters. They wanted to keep the populace 
happy.
A fire in the government building was blamed on the communists, and stricter
laws were put in place to control this perceived danger. If, for example, 
some
serious uprising was blamed on right wing people in the US, I'm sure
similar laws would be put in place to maintain control and safety.

The NSP quickly got control of the press. Those newspapers that did
not follow the line were made to be outcasts, and subscriptions fell. The
largest newspaper that had been around for centuries was an early
casualty. I can envision similarities with the way the press is being
treated today (Fox News?). The government also introduced a
number of television transmitter, and could broadcast at will.
Currently, it seems that any communication that disagrees with our
present government is put under pressure, such as Humana, and
Pricewaterhousecoopers.

Separate schools were put up that indoctrinated the youth. Tuition was
paid for, and students were selected to go to those schools. Because
of the finances of such schools this was a privilege. The NSP did
not control who went to school, but I'm sure if they gained control of
the financial funding of students who needed loans, they could have
picked and chosen which students should be funded. Funding
of students by a political system is dangerous indeed, seems to
be happening here.

It turns out that the university professors were in favor of the
NSP partly because the path the country was taking fit in
well with their philosophy of what should happen. The fact
that their theories and predictions were coming true, made them
feel righteous. The government also doled out the money.

Doctors also seemed to like the new regime, and lots of new
research was being funded based on an erroneous and
self-serving interpretation of Darwinism.

The NSP obviously used race as a way of getting control. They
also use social status as a way for creating enemy
combatants.

The NSP created an organization which would help them gain
power and retain it, it was called the SA. This later fell into
disrepute due to corruption and violence and was disbanded.
I believe an organization like this is found in the US.

The leader of the NSP appointed a number of ministers
(or Reichskommisars) who were in charge of certain
sectors and would only report to the leader. Many of
these people were of dubious repute, but they were
faithful since they liked the title of czar.

The NSP gained control of the banks by nominating one
person who became in charge of all financial movements,
such as the currency exchange rate.

The government had control over the labor unions,
and would present propaganda on how well they
were doing. From conversation with my Dad, it seemed
that people believed this stuff, and assumed that
although it wasn't happening to them, it must be
happening to one of their brothers.

My father was in Holland at the time, grew up in a
professional family (all doctors and lawyers). He
remembers the disbelief, anger and fear. For example
when the NSP leader got 98% of the vote in favor of
him in the Reichstag in 1936, the Dutch knew it was all propaganda.

There you have it, there is lots more that can be read
anywhere, outside the major newspapers. Take it with a
grain of salt, I have no allegiance, and am simply interested
in seeing if history will repeat itself.

Cheers,
Willblake2