"January 30th 1933 dawned cold and clear in Berlin as Adolph Hitler took his oath of office and promised Germans he would uphold the constitution.

William Lindsey :toad:

@skua Yes, I suspect that's right.

William Lindsey :toad:

@SDParris Egotism and narcissism always make us miscalculate what's going on in the world around us, don't they?

William Lindsey :toad:

@NeadReport That's hilarious. Thanks for providing a much-needed chuckle.

William Lindsey :toad:

@Piousunyn Seems that way, but I think the only response that avoids letting those folks dehumanize us by making us despair is to keep hoping.

William Lindsey :toad:

@Dave_Goldsmith Indeed. Not all of Hitler's generals were what the unschooled and unintelligent Trump imagines.

William Lindsey :toad:

@jstatepost Someone I just read today — can't recall who right now — noted that Trump's polling advantage is that he has taken over a party intent on remaining loyal to its leader at all costs. That automatically gives him some 45% of votes, though, as you say, not everyone votes. As you rightly note, it takes only a rabid minority to seize control, as Hitler's takeover of Germany tells us. That's a lesson I don't think we can afford to forget.

William Lindsey :toad:

@gavinisdie My friends and I often talk about that very thing.

William Lindsey :toad:

@ASegar Very well-stated. Excellent analysis. I totally agree.

William Lindsey :toad:

@BassRck5000 Yes we have.

William Lindsey :toad:

@mj The precipitous rise of the far right in eastern parts of Germany (and Austria) is troubling, indeed. I like your summary statement very much:

"Choose freedom over living in toxic compliance."

That sounds absolutely right.

William Lindsey :toad:

@Stinson_108 I'm with you. I can point to at least 20 some ancestors who participated in the American Revolution, some dying in battle or due to wounds in battle. It's sad to think that what they gave their lives for may soon be null and void — because of decisions made by many of their own descendants.

William Lindsey :toad:

@Huntn00 I do think there's karmic justice in the world, or karmic effect: Sow the wind, and you end up reaping the whirlwind. Lie down with dogs and you'll get up with fleas. What goes around comes around. Folk wisdom and folk sayings capture the dynamic well.

William Lindsey :toad:

@dan613 That's right. JD Vance has made it very clear that this is his worldview and the society he wants.

William Lindsey :toad:

@distantreplay Your @ addresses me and asks me to stop what you regard as intersectional/generational attacks on voter identity.

But you're responding to statements by Paul Waldman.

I find Waldman's analysis well-informed and thoughtful, and I think the question of why younger men are moving in the direction of Trump is important to think about. Misogyny and all the patriarchal attiitudes and practices that undergird it obviously deserve serious attention.

William Lindsey :toad:

@scottytrees I agree. Let them rob us of hope, and we let them dehumanize us. And that's exactly what they want.

Matthew Loxton

@wdlindsy
It certainly exists in society - what you do ripples and comes back because people observe, gossip, and form opinions

@Huntn00

William Lindsey :toad:

@BlueWaver22 So much entitlement based on the mere biological fact of having an appendage the other half of the human race lacks. It's disgusting.

William Lindsey :toad:

@MSugarhill Thank you.

William Lindsey :toad:

@micchiato @DoomsdaysCW Let's hope Aydintasbas is correct. I have my doubts, and always factor in the right-trending bias of anything published by Politico.

William Lindsey :toad:

@mloxton @Huntn00 Yes. The world is interconnected, so that any string we pluck causes vibrations all through the other strings, and that affects us.