Danger Signs

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana

   In the mid-20th Century, several nations in Europe and parts of South America  were dominated by militaristic advocates of conformity in the name of economic progress.
   Demagogues and dictators rose from the ultra-right wing of political thinking to persuade many that the way to progress and security was to limit citizenship to those of a certain group who followed -- sometimes blindly -- the ideas of a single leader who promised everything for everyone who believed in his policies.
   Those who disagreed were branded with many foul names and punished for disagreeing.

   With this lesson of history in mind, consider this: There is more danger to freedom, equality and world peace from the self-righteous ultra-conservatives on the far right than from the liberal left.
   As the names imply, conservatives want to conserve, or keep, things as they are, since they favor those who insist they have a right to dominate those they consider less important.
   Likewise, the term liberal implies more freedom for individuals to choose their own destiny and to disagree with those who follow a different path, even as they acknowledge the right of others to follow their own beliefs -- as long as it doesn't interfere or stifle the rights of others.
   However, for the radical righteous, the only true way is their way, and those who disagree are at best wrong and at worst traitors.
   The result of this one-way thinking has too often been dictatorship enforced by military violence, leading to international war on a massive scale.

   A moment's reflection on world history in the 20th Century will bring up the names of several countries in Europe and South America that fell victim to military dictatorships, cruelty against minorities, and war,
   Which raises the question of how far to the right American politics can go without bordering on or even entering the realm of demagoguery, dictatorship and violence against those who disagree with self-righteous leaders.