| Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) |
From: Norman Thyer <nthyer_-at-_uniserve.com>
To: no_to_nato_-at-_flora.org
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 22:00:10 -0800
At 05:15 PM 11/13/01 -0600, you wrote:
>Do yourselves a BIG favor and read this -- everybody!
>Peace,
>Ken
>
>>From www.whatreallyhappened.com
>
>THE RISE OF THE FOURTH REICH
Besides the role of cowardice in the rise of Hitler, as described in the
above article, perhaps we should add apathy, to which it is closely related.
As a student in Britain in the 1950s, I attended a talk by an MP who
urged us to be politically active. He claimed that Hitler came to power
because most Germans considered themselves too "respectable" to get
involved in politics. I can well believe that, because my own parents had
that same attitude.
When in a foreign country, normally I don't get involved in politics
there, but I made an exception as a student in the USA a few years later,
as that country claimed to uphold the right of free speech, and also
because of the international repercussions of US actions. So I played the
"devil's advocate" in various letters to the student newspaper, presenting
unfashionable points of view. Of course, there were some protests at what I
had said, but also several Americans said to me privately that they agreed
with me, but would not dare to say so publicly.
That was 40 years ago. What percentage of Americans voted in the last
presidential election?
Norman Thyer
6115 Sproule Creek Road, Nelson, B.C., Canada V1L 6Y1
Tel: 250-352-5265 E-mail (when it works):
Current: nthyer@uniserve.com "Permanent": nthyer@alumni.ucalgary.ca
The true measure of success is not what you have, but what you can do
without.
- H. Jackson Brown