A thought came to me last week as I was moving my collection of Our Town pennysavers from one side of the room to the other. It occurred to me that in the three years I've been chronicling the bloviation of Mr. Robert Beierle of Creative Insight, LLC, he's gone from being just a seditionist, racist, homophobic, misogynist with a piddling "magazine" to something of a community leader, speaking at these new "Patriot Connectors" meetings. It drew a disturbing parallel in my mind, one that I hesitate to make for several reasons, not the least of which is that it's made so often and so erroneously as to make it almost impotent, but I'm going to put it out there anyway.
Bob reminds me of another man, a man who called himself a patriot, who spouted anti-government rhetoric and blamed the problems of his society on competing political ideologies and minority religious groups. A man who published his thoughts and spread them throughout the community with great fervor and fanfare. A man who used violence, threats, propaganda, and fear to further his political goals. A man who promised prosperity and unity if only people would adhere to his extremist philosophy. A man who talked about how acceptance of foreign cultures and lesser peoples were destroying his country and society as a whole, who railed against what we today would call "political correctness" and socialism in all forms. A man who preached liberty and freedom, but only for people with the "correct" skin color, gender, sexuality, political affiliation, and religion. If you read this and can not figure out who Bob reminds me of, then I suggest you pick up a history book. After all, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and believe it or not, this man has appeared dozens of times throughout human history.
Now, I don't think that Bob has the charisma or smarts to become the kind of totalitarian dictator these other men did. Then again, I also thought that George W. Bush was literally too stupid to make it through the primaries, so it shows what I know. I would also like to think that the American people are smart enough to see Bob for what he is and stand up to a man like that before he can infect others with his anger, hate, and ignorance. It seems, however, as if he's becoming more popular and gaining more followers. I'm not sure if others hear what he's actually saying or if they simply hear "freedom" and "liberty" and cheer mindlessly in some kind of Pavlovian response. Either way, I find it incredibly disturbing.
Bob reminds me of another man, a man who called himself a patriot, who spouted anti-government rhetoric and blamed the problems of his society on competing political ideologies and minority religious groups. A man who published his thoughts and spread them throughout the community with great fervor and fanfare. A man who used violence, threats, propaganda, and fear to further his political goals. A man who promised prosperity and unity if only people would adhere to his extremist philosophy. A man who talked about how acceptance of foreign cultures and lesser peoples were destroying his country and society as a whole, who railed against what we today would call "political correctness" and socialism in all forms. A man who preached liberty and freedom, but only for people with the "correct" skin color, gender, sexuality, political affiliation, and religion. If you read this and can not figure out who Bob reminds me of, then I suggest you pick up a history book. After all, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and believe it or not, this man has appeared dozens of times throughout human history.
Now, I don't think that Bob has the charisma or smarts to become the kind of totalitarian dictator these other men did. Then again, I also thought that George W. Bush was literally too stupid to make it through the primaries, so it shows what I know. I would also like to think that the American people are smart enough to see Bob for what he is and stand up to a man like that before he can infect others with his anger, hate, and ignorance. It seems, however, as if he's becoming more popular and gaining more followers. I'm not sure if others hear what he's actually saying or if they simply hear "freedom" and "liberty" and cheer mindlessly in some kind of Pavlovian response. Either way, I find it incredibly disturbing.
No comments:
Post a Comment