What's our obsession with Nazis?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Apparently the Nazis weren't the only ones with an infatuation for skull insignia:

These are only some of all the ones the US has used. They seem to be favored by special and elite forces and were particularly popular during Vietnam. Hmmm...

There's a great picture from Life magazine, this really foxy gal is writing to her boyfriend to thank him for the present he sent her. A Japanese skull, sitting on her desk as she writes. (Shenanigan potential high there, but possible. )

[FedUpWithFaith]

I think there are many reasons for our obsession with the Nazis and many here have hit on them. For Americans we fought them in what was the last "Good" war. Everything was so black and white. Nazis Evil, Us Good. Hitler and his thugs are the embodiment of evil in virtually the religious sense. And we try to support or depose the forces in this world by correlating them to that caricature. And a caricature it is, a very dangerous one.

There will always be greedy, power-hungry, and deluded people in our midst. But how do WE let them take control? It's more complicated than Burke's quote, ""All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. " In reality, evil succeeds when we compromise with it out of our own self-interest or apathy. The Nazis didn't just succeed because many good people turned a blind eye. Many "good" people compromised their principles and said to themselves, "so what if Hilter's doing this or that thing that is bad, he's doing all this other stuff that is good". "We''ll fix the bad stuff later or it will just go away anyway."

There have to be some principles we hold where the ends don't justify the means and we make whatever sacrifice is necessary. Otherwise, it's a slippery slope. And that's what every society on Earth is susceptible to. That's the lesson we don't seem to learn. Even purportedly rational atheists like us.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I think there are many reasons for our obsession with the Nazis and many here have hit on them. For Americans we fought them in what was the last "Good" war. Everything was so black and white. Nazis Evil, Us Good. Hitler and his thugs are the embodiment of evil in virtually the religious sense. And we try to support or depose the forces in this world by correlating them to that caricature. And a caricature it is, a very dangerous one.

There will always be greedy, power-hungry, and deluded people in our midst. But how do WE let them take control? It's more complicated than Burke's quote, ""All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. " In reality, evil succeeds when we compromise with it out of our own self-interest or apathy. The Nazis didn't just succeed because many good people turned a blind eye. Many "good" people compromised their principles and said to themselves, so what if Hilter's doing this or that thing that is bad, he's doing all this other stuff that is good. We''l fix the bad stuff later.

There have to be some principles we hold where the ends don't justify the means and we make whatever sacrifice is necessary. Otherwise, it's a slippery slope. And that's what every society on Earth is susceptible to. That's the lesson we don't seem to learn. Even purportedly rational atheists like us.

I admit I'm very into WWII, I don't think anybody is surprised by that. But I'm more interested in the diplomacy that went on that the actual fighting. The war of words. I have 800 pages of speeches queued up for posting, and that's just through December 1940. I'm trying to cast as wide a net as possible so that people will have a chance to learn more than what they get from movies.

[FedUpWithFaith]

I always look forward to those lesser-known historical posts of yours Gawd. It invaritably ends up driving me to check out the sources and reading more info - always fascinating stuff. Most people don't really study history properly. You have to connect 20-20 hindsight to the best representation you can derive of the mindsets at the time.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I always look forward to those lesser-known historical posts of yours Gawd. It invaritably ends up driving me to check out the sources and reading more info - always fascinating stuff. Most people don't really study history properly. You have to connect 20-20 hindsight to the best representation you can derive of the mindsets at the time.

Take a peek here. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/index.html

[FedUpWithFaith]

I always look forward to those lesser-known historical posts of yours Gawd. It invaritably ends up driving me to check out the sources and reading more info - always fascinating stuff. Most people don't really study history properly. You have to connect 20-20 hindsight to the best representation you can derive of the mindsets at the time.

Take a peek here. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/index.html

I've been all over your site before Larry. That's where i learned your first name. That's a wonderful collection.

BTW, you spelled "instruments" wrong.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I always look forward to those lesser-known historical posts of yours Gawd. It invaritably ends up driving me to check out the sources and reading more info - always fascinating stuff. Most people don't really study history properly. You have to connect 20-20 hindsight to the best representation you can derive of the mindsets at the time.

Take a peek here. http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/index.html

I've been all over your site before Larry. That's where i learned your first name. That's a wonderful collection.

Ibiblio insisted I have a contact point on the page somewhere, otherwise it would have been completely anonymous. I used to remind myself that I wasn't Gutenburg, I wasn't Gutenburg's press man, I was, at best, the guy who made the paer.

BTW, you spelled "instruments" wrong.

Yeah, I've heard that before, I'll fix it on the next round. January, hopefully.