SueAnn Porter

I attended a Holocaust Remembrance event yesterday.

We obviously need to remember what happened because we want to prevent it from ever happening again.

Volumes have been written on the Holocaust; I would just like to concentrate on one piece of it today: Propaganda.

It all starts with ideas. As the Nazis increased in power, the slogan of the day was, “The Jews are our misfortune.” This was printed in the main newspaper at that time, Der Sturmer. Jews were blamed for everything, especially financial woes. They were demonized in political cartoons. Children were taught from a young age to hate the Jews.

Is this any different than what goes on today? There is FOX news, whose agenda is to push for “Republican” values, and demonizing all things “Liberal.”  “The liberals are our enemies.”  Then on the other side is CNN, claiming anyone who is not pro-Obama’s agenda is a racist, a terrorist and/or “anti-American.” “It’s all the Republican’s fault”.

We are taught to think in “sound bites” rather than investigate a topic, rather than form our own opinions based on facts, research, and dare I say it: history.

Take a look at the Rock ’em Sock ’em robots. You and I are either red or blue. We hate each other because we’ve been told to hate and distrust each other. If you hate ALL liberals, congratulations, you are a victim of propaganda. And you, Liberal, if you hate ALL Republicans, you are just as brain-washed. Don’t think you’re more educated or more intelligent than the other side of the aisle; you are a puppet of propaganda.

[I would also like to interject here, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. Yep. Look it up.  The KKK was created by Southern Democrats. Look it up. ]

Meanwhile, there are Party Leaders pushing the buttons on both sides, forcing the blows.

Mattel, the maker of the Robots, is meanwhile laughing all the way to the bank.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

So if a guy moved in next door to you, and said, “You know, all the problems in this country are the Republican’s fault. They are selfish and greedy. We are the victims. They take all the money. We can’t get ahead. They hate us because we are [black, liberal, female, gay – insert your excuse here.]” And you say, “Yes!!! You are so right, we hate Republicans!”

Or what if the guy next door says, “You know, these Liberals, they are causing the country to go down the toilet.” And you say, “Yes, we hate Liberals, they all must die!”

Would you even recognize that is the exact same bottle of poison that led Hitler and his gang to institute genocide?