At last this election is nearly over. It is simply beyond comprehension that this is the way the most powerful man in the world is selected. Why does everyone just accept the idea of democracy without ever wondering whether it really is the best approach? In reality this is just another of those "beliefs" that no one ever seems to question.
Right to the end of this campaign, the crude play on people’s fears of being attacked by terrorists has continued. As has the constant implication that Kerry was somehow short on the kind of patriotic vigor to fight the good fight to the end.
Just today, The New York Times opens a lead article on the election with the words: “The campaign is coming to a close in an epic cacophony of advertisements striking notes of hope and fear, patriotism and betrayal.”
Now what does that remind you of? The quote below perhaps?
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to greater danger. It works the same in any country."
Hermann Goering (1893 - 1946)
And "lest we forget...." In the democratic Reichstag elections of July 1932, Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party emerged as the largest political party in Germany, obtaining nearly fourteen million votes (37.3 per cent) and 230 seats. Six months later, Hitler became Reich Chancellor of Germany. Hitler then gained a majority in the democratic elections held on 5 March 1933.
The rest, as they say, is history!
