Wild places
The Adventure article, “Quicksand and Barbaric Yawps” (Re: Feb. 13, 2020) about wilderness therapy highlights the importance of the wilderness and wild places to us all. We must respect these places and preserve them as they are, natural and wild, for our own well-being and that of many generations to come. When we visit these few remaining places be gratefully aware, follow Leave No Trace principles, breathe deeply and smile a lot!
R. Lawrence/Boulder
We still have choices
CM Brown’s letter, “Look to the Past,” in the Feb. 6 BW issue remains most cogent and important for today. Brown wrote: “History repeats itself. … The gradual descent from democracy to fascism is all there, laid out,” referring to Shirer’s giant book, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Let me support the endeavor by identifying methods Hitler utilized to gain supreme power. This can also be gleaned relatively quickly from the first few episodes of BBC’s classic documentary (on DVD) entitled, The Nazis: A Warning from History, or from Rees’ book of same title. Fasten your seatbelts. The list:
1) Powerful charisma: Hitler was not only a very talented, practiced, forceful speaker, but also could “read” people to know how they feel and what they want to hear.
2) Vehement nationalist: He blamed international treaties for being extremely unfair and hurting farmers and other workers. He claimed to be the one to fix them all. His rallying motto was “Make Germany Great Again!”
3) Radicalize his base: Being conservative white Protestants, associated with white (Arian) supremacy.
4) Scapegoat immigrants and the others whom are not the true-blooded Germans but the source for the nation’s problems. Contempt of the “other” expanded to Jews, Communists, Gypsies, homosexuals, non-Christians, French, Polish and political opponents. Solutions were to seal the borders and make them leave, if not worse.
5) Triumph of the Will is the Nazis great propaganda film of superiority. It demonstrates how to will it and believe it unquestionably, so that it becomes true. “Germany is the strongest ever and can never be defeated.”
6) Absolute loyalty: Eliminate anyone who is not loyal.
7) Attack the press as “the enemy of the people” and fake news, if critical of the “Fuhrer.”
8). Proliferate false conspiracies: Nazi’s imposed a label of “Gypsy” onto the Roma people as being racially undesirable and having criminal lifestyles, not to mention outrageous fabrications about Jews.
9) Amass great wealth from power: Hitler became one of the richest in Germany.
10) Gain power by serving the rich and powerful: While reducing welfare, he gave great tax breaks and privileges to the “industrialists,” whom in turn increased power for Hitler.
11) Expanded the military greatly: He appealed to the military and its industries with excessive spending, creating massive deficits and threatened war. Then war kept him in power.
12) Contempt of the masses: Believing them to be gullible and forgetful, Hitler controlled them with crafty propaganda.
13) His transgressions and “genius” was justified by the strong economy, which did initially flourish during Hitler’s rise.
Though perhaps overkill, this list should clearly illustrate similar risks we face: to lead us down the slippery slope of unrecognized dictatorship. Warning from History rings loud yet is rarely heard. It is barely seen through the Fog of War, amid constant blaming and attacking. Though the path to fascism may seem inevitable, thankfully we still have choices.
John Bollinger/Lafayette
