When the stock market crashed in October of 1929, Herbert Hoover tried to
reassure the nation by saying that the economy was "fundamentally
sound".

We all know how well that turned out. Yet, when the stock market
crashed in 2008, John McCain used the same phrase to say that this
was not a serious cause for concern. I felt that he had basically thrown
the election to Barack Obama then and there, because some voters would
have a more vivid memory of history than he apparently did.

Of course, though, that isn't the most striking repetition of historical
events that has happened recently.

Russia invaded Georgia in 2006, and it invaded Donetsk and Luhansk in
2014 based on the premise that minorities of ethnic Russians in those
areas were being persecuted - which was an utter lie and fabrication.

Just like the persecution of the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.

And after Putin invaded Crimea, earlier in 2014, on March 18 of that year,
Vladimir Putin said the following in a speech: "Do not believe those who
want you to fear Russia, shouting that other regions will follow Crimea. We
do not want to divide Ukraine; we do not need that."

On September 26, 1938, at the Berlin Sportspalast, the German leader
responsible for the invasion of the Sudetenland also gave a speech,
saying: "The Sudetenland is the last territorial demand I have to make in
Europe", which also proved to be less than accurate. Next was the rest
of Czechoslovakia, and then Poland, and then the rest is history.

But now I have learned of *another* eerie parallel between our present
time and the events of the late 1930s. This one strikes closer to home;
instead of happening overseas in Europe, these events are also right
at home in the United States.

Before there were the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, there was the
Christian Front of Father Charles E. Coughlin.

Much more about how U.S. Senators and Congressmen collaborated
with Nazi Germany to help them spread the message of isolationism,
and how they used their power to prevent criminal trials in 1940 and
1944 from bringing this to light, is presented in a series of podcasts
by MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow:

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra

John Savard

On Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 2:18:26 AM UTC+1, Quadibloc wrote:
> When the stock market crashed in October of 1929, Herbert Hoover tried to
> reassure the nation by saying that the economy was "fundamentally
> sound".
>
> We all know how well that turned out. Yet, when the stock market
> crashed in 2008, John McCain used the same phrase to say that this
> was not a serious cause for concern. I felt that he had basically thrown
> the election to Barack Obama then and there, because some voters would
> have a more vivid memory of history than he apparently did.
>
> Of course, though, that isn't the most striking repetition of historical
> events that has happened recently.
>
> Russia invaded Georgia in 2006, and it invaded Donetsk and Luhansk in
> 2014 based on the premise that minorities of ethnic Russians in those
> areas were being persecuted - which was an utter lie and fabrication.
>
> Just like the persecution of the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.
>
> And after Putin invaded Crimea, earlier in 2014, on March 18 of that year,
> Vladimir Putin said the following in a speech: "Do not believe those who
> want you to fear Russia, shouting that other regions will follow Crimea. We
> do not want to divide Ukraine; we do not need that."
>
> On September 26, 1938, at the Berlin Sportspalast, the German leader
> responsible for the invasion of the Sudetenland also gave a speech,
> saying: "The Sudetenland is the last territorial demand I have to make in
> Europe", which also proved to be less than accurate. Next was the rest
> of Czechoslovakia, and then Poland, and then the rest is history.
>
> But now I have learned of *another* eerie parallel between our present
> time and the events of the late 1930s. This one strikes closer to home;
> instead of happening overseas in Europe, these events are also right
> at home in the United States.
>
> Before there were the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, there was the
> Christian Front of Father Charles E. Coughlin.
>
> Much more about how U.S. Senators and Congressmen collaborated
> with Nazi Germany to help them spread the message of isolationism,
> and how they used their power to prevent criminal trials in 1940 and
> 1944 from bringing this to light, is presented in a series of podcasts
> by MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow:
>
> https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra
>
> John Savard
The parallels are actually one of the differences. Putin, Antifa, and a cast of thousands are claiming exemption from normal standards and declaring emergencies on the grounds that they are fighting Nazis. There is a large segment of progressive thought - indeed the very idea of a long continuing progression - which boils down to "vote for me, because my Parents were right!". Left wing leaders (including Kamala Harris, in her vote for me book) are at great pains to point out that they are the literally the inheritors of a dynasty of left wing campaigners. This sort of campaigning gains little credibility with me but, credible or not, it has no counterpart in the 1930s, since they had no prior Nazis and no prior New Deal to refer back to.