Clinton, Thinking About Tomorrow...

He ascends to the podium in his finely tailored suit, his hair is perfectly groomed, his posture is superb. His concentrated stare affirms an intensity and implies a keen intellect. The crowd claps and cheers with jubilance. His demeanor is solemn and exudes a reserved form of confidence. He shifts in place while he waits for the adulation of the throng to subside.

Even while watching from the distant comfort of my home, I swear I can feel the energy in the crowd. He begins his speech by complimenting his political party and acknowledging the troops. He remarks on his bureaucratic adversaries with a dignified respect. He cleverly avoids challenging his rivals about specifics. Instead, he refers to a time in the past when the public was not so receptive to socialist ideas. He carries on about the concepts of patriotism and nationalism. His message is vividly clear. United, the nation stands stronger. People working together is why the nation will endure “For many millennia to come!”

Throughout his speech, the cameras pan across the crowd and other members of his party. The bulk of them seem pleased and attentive, their positive energy still radiates.

His speech persists with different iterations of unity. He freely invokes emotional phrases, such as, “the youth is committed” and “through the joint effort of us all” but where his arguments lack in substance, he compensates with the magnitude of his delivery. What this nation so obviously needs... is ‘cooperation.'

Before storming off the stage, His crescendo voice climaxes with a ferocious yell...

“LONG LIVE THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST MOVEMENT!”

He chops his hand through the air and exclaims,

“LONG LIVE GERMANY!”

I write, of course, about Hitler’s speech at the NSDAP congress In Nuremberg on September 10, 1934.


Don’t Stop, Thinking About Tomorrow...

Almost 80 years after Hitler's pontification in Nuremberg, we watch the venerable Bill Clinton swagger up to a podium and deliver a moving speech about national affairs. Few would argue that former US president, William Clinton, is one of the greatest public speakers in history. From his magnetic charisma, the expertly written speeches, and his knack for impeccable timing, we must give credit where it is due. It’s a pleasure to witness such a master orator employ his craft. Further to his glory, Clinton’s prose doesn’t resort to the vehemence and aggression that underpins Hitler’s. He delicately weaves his choice words between important issues like healthcare and the economy, instilling just enough cursory facts to make us believe he holds the answers. He would have us conclude that the Democratic party is just the group to carry us into tomorrow.


It'll Be, Better Than Before...

Slick Willy confidently claims “conditions are improving and if you'll renew the President's contract you will feel it.” That sounds great! If it’s all improving, who would argue? The subtle diversion here is in his assumption that conditions are improving. I plan to focus this thesis on the morality of politics so I will avoid a diatribe on economics and arguments from effect. Please let it suffice, that one of the key solutions used to improve our economy these past 4 years has been for the Federal Reserve to stimulate it with two doses (so far) of what those coy economists at The Fed termed “Quantitative Easing." In layman terms, that means- Printing truckloads of money. With the subsequent inflation, I imagine that the poor and lower middle classes aren’t feeling much better than before.


If It Takes Just A Little While...

At one point in his speech, Clinton says: “If you want a ‘you're on your own, winner take all’ society you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibilities, a ‘we're all in it together’ society, you should vote for Barack Obama.” It’s obvious that he is framing his speech to garner support for his side, but what implications are shrouded in his words? It insinuates there are only two choices. A) You can hitch a ride with those selfish republicans and fend for yourself or B) You can join the good guys, come do what’s right for you and your fellow nationalists! To put it another way, your property will be stolen by the Republicans or you can take the moral high ground by “giving” it to the Democrats for benefit of all. We could quickly dismiss this as so much bombast, but I implore you to delve deeper with me. When it comes to comprehending moral premises, it takes just a little while.

All I Want Is To See You Smile...

Certainly the majority of us want to help the less fortunate, and it’s safe to assume that we want people to have jobs. A question I would like to present to you is how does the government create jobs? How does the government create anything besides debt, violence, and, war? How does the government “help the poor?” In America, since the inception of the Great Society reforms of the 1960’s, there are some reports that show an actual INCREASE in poverty. The most generous statistics, released by the government itself of course, only allege nominal improvements.

So, why are we praising our criminal overlords for stealing almost 50% of our income? Remember, just because you’ve been deluded into happily parting with your property, doesn’t mean we all have. Let’s say you truly accept that violence is an intimate part of human interaction, that still doesn’t give you the right to enact it on the people who don’t. If we all subscribed to that as a universal moral rule then surely I could show up at your house and liberate you of some of your property. After all, I promise to use it for a moral cause. By all means keep giving up your property, all I want is to see you smile.


I Never Meant Any Harm To You...

The looming trouble here is, like Hitler, Clinton presents us with a moral narrative. Perhaps even more disturbing, the two narratives are shockingly similar. The basic premise is “if you want to be good, you must do as I say and swear allegiance for the betterment of all.” Both of them, casually extol the virtues of unity and collectivism. The next layer to peeling open these moral lies is to draw your attention to the gun in the room. Much like the citizens under the Third Reich, if you don’t “believe” in our American “democracy,” you are compelled with the threat of death to keep mailing in your tax forms to the IRS. Make no mistake about it, it is the threat of DEATH. If you invoke your natural rights to the fruits of your labor (property) by deciding to not mail the portion of said property that is “owed” to the IRS, they will begin mailing you threatening letters. If you persist, they will eventually come to speak to you in person. If you continue to be uncooperative, they will arrest (read: kidnap) you and lock you in a cage. If you invoke your natural rights concerning the property that is your body and resist the kidnapping, they will outright murder you.

I want to make a very succinct disclaimer: I pay my taxes. If you prefer life over death, I recommend you do the same. The system is transparent and I submit to your guns. Ultimately this is just the exchanging of ideas, I never meant any harm to you.


Yesterday's Gone, Yesterday's Gone...

There is a sick and twisted irony when we reflect on the past of Hitler. In September of 1934 when Hitler gave his nationalist speech, he had already directed the construction of the concentration camp Dachau located near Munich. The genocide committed on the Jewish people was not yet in full swing. He had however, started mass book burnings under the direction of Nazi Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. The Nazi party had also stripped the Jewish people of their rights to work most meaningful jobs and enacted a law against “dangerous criminals,” which allowed beggars, homeless, alcoholics, and the unemployed to be sent to concentration camps. This was the foundation of the crimes against humanity that were to follow.

To be objective in this and pierce the modern propaganda, it’s only fair that we consider Clinton’s history leading up to his speech at the DNC in September 2012. First, let’s consider the NATO bombings of Yugoslavia. The death toll estimates range from 500 to 2,000. There was a lot of political theater and moral grandstanding surrounding the bombings at the time but how would you feel if it was your neighborhood getting bombed? The most notable aspect of Clinton’s foreign policy was upholding the sanctions on Iraq. This killed an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 children. How can this demagogue stand before us and claim to know about morality? Maybe he truly embraces the phrase yesterday’s gone.


Don’t You Look Back...

Imagine that your doctor diagnoses you with gangrene on your leg. The doctor tells you “There’s nothing I can do for your infection, it’s too advanced. You’re going to die soon, but you had better tell me what color bandage you want me to cover that ghastly infection with!” Government is the gangrene infecting the ‘flesh’ of society, politicians are the doctors, and political ideologies are the bandages. The bandage may bring you some sense of cursory comfort in the meantime, but the flesh will continue to rot. Whatever you do, keep looking forward, remember that yesterday’s gone, don’t you look back.

-Slade Cole