Day 1454 - Why The Big Lie may be so important in 2016

I seldom post political commentary on this site because politics and morality have a very complex relationship that can place equally moral persons on opposite sides (See the book The Righteous Mind for one person's technical view). I have very close friends on both sides of most political issues; but there is a continuing, troubling thread of behavior on the national scene right now, one that transcends political and moral positions that could be very dangerous if it grows. I guess I'm acknowledging David Brooks' statement that history will measure us on whether or not we spoke out when it was time to take a stand for the truth and honor. Mr. Brooks' caution is an underlying message gained from the following summary. The summary of information  is taken from other sources. I've tried to bookmark most of them. If you are under 40 years old, you may not even be aware of this history.  

As Adolph Hitler rose to power in pre-WWII Germany, he and his party refined and used a technique that quite effectively allowed them to gain public support and cripple the social and governmental institutions in order to gain control over them, even though their objectives were counter to the best interests of the German people, as proven by the consequence of WWII.  His success shows how fragile a democratic institution is in the face of persistent, widespread misrepresentation that the public comes to believe, even in the face of facts that repudiate fully the lies. It also showed how helpless a government and nation is when its leaders and people will not stand up against lies.

The propaganda method is called “the Big Lie.” Hitler described it in Mein Kampf, 1925. To quote, the big lie is “a lie so ‘colossal’ that no one would believe that someone ‘could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.’ Later, Joseph Goebbels put forth a slightly different theory which has come to be more commonly associated with the expression "big lie". Goebbels wrote the following paragraph in an article dated 12 January 1941, 16 years after Hitler's first use of the phrase. The article, titled Aus Churchills Lügenfabrik (English: "From Churchill's Lie Factory") was published in Die Zeit ohne Beispiel. He attributed it to the English, saying, “The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.”

One should never forget the past and how easily a persistent and cunningly insidious person can corrupt the government of a country.  Joseph Goebbels, launched a massive campaign to convince the German people that the Jews were their enemies.

Having taken over the press, the (Nazi’s) spread lies blaming Jews for all of Germany's problems, including the loss of World War I. One outrageous lie dating back to the Middle Ages claimed that Jews engaged in the ritual killings of Christian children and used their blood in the unleavened bread eaten at Passover [source: Landau].

Using Jews as the scapegoat, Hitler and his cronies orchestrated their persecution with  "the big lie." Everyone tells small lies, Hitler reasoned, but few have the guts to tell colossal lies [source: Hoffer]. Because a big lie is so unlikely, people will come to accept it.

                                           

Rather than offer a list of lies built during the primaries and final campaign, I invite you to explore the claims of the President-elect on the earlier issues and what he says now, to seek out the truth and to decide for yourself whether he embraces this strategy, and what threat to America he poses, if any. Here is a rather troubling video posted by someone I often am in regular disagreement - but not here. The only assuring thing is these events are about moths, worms and dust.