I wish I didn’t have to write these postings, but the Trump Administration and their enablers impel me to not stand silent.

As stated in earlier posts, there is an unfortunate parallel to the Trump phenomenon and Hitler’s blueprint. Just when I say to myself it’s all a coincidence, that he doesn’t mean what he says, or doesn’t mean what he retweets, or that his motives are altruistic, then something like this happens:

Lewandowski: “Hey, this is a message for the Alpha Freedom Friends. This is Corey Lewandowski. You know me as President Trump’s 2016 campaign manager and his current 2020 senior adviser. Look, I want to say freedom only for the members of the government or only for the members of the party is no freedom at all. We need to end the China virus lockdown, and WORKS SETS YOU FREE. Let’s get everyone back to work, let’s get our economy growing again, let’s send Donald Trump and Mike Pence back to the White House for four more years.”

That phrase hangs over the entrance of Auschwitz: WORK SETS YOU FREE. It leaves me speechless, although it all makes sense, including the earlier parallels:

1. Both sought isolation from other democratic nations
2. Both cancelled treaties and agreements that bound nations together.
3. Both respected fascist leaders—the Trump/Putin bromance.
4. Both attacked the free press, stating criticism of their regime was tantamount to treason.
5. Both forged alliances with dictatorships.
6. Both sought support from white nationalists while targeting minorities and engaging in religious and racial scapegoating.
7. Both encourage police to assault peaceful demonstrators.
8. Both attacked labor unions, using their powers to enrich the rich.
9. Both postured as strong military men while building up arms—Trumps proliferation of our nuclear arms stockpile.
10. Both purged individuals from the government who sought to expose their crimes—whistleblowers.

And then there is his statement about admiring Hitler because he was perceived as a strong leader, and the report by his ex-wife who said he kept a copy of Hitler’s speeches next to his bed. As his term in office moved forward, Trump’s dog whistles, embraced by white nationalist groups, and embraced by conspiracy groups such as QAnon, were all emboldened as his dog whistles morphed into full-throated messages. “Stand down; stand by”.

Like I said before, it is hard to confront evil, and this evil has been spewing its bile, its hate, and we have been telling ourselves that it is all just benign, nothing happening here, nothing to look at, ignore those parentless kids at the border, ignore the condoning of violence by white supremacists, ignore his ignoring of science for both global warming and the pandemic. He doesn’t mean it. He will save us. That’s what the German people said. Evil hides itself in plain sight. Trump has been emboldened by his power, as well as by the Attorney General, and validated by all the white supremacy groups. He no longer feels compelled to hide his evil. He is validated by his enablers, and his hate is legitimized by his propaganda loudspeaker, Fox News.I pray that by November 4th, I will no longer have to write these essays.