A lesson from history about dictators

Posted August 25, 2024 4:00 am

If we go back to 1933, changes in Europe allowed for the rise of a totalitarian government. Control was exercised by a select few. Laws were changed or ignored. Certain groups of people were chosen to be treated as unacceptable simply because of ethnicity, sexual preferences, mental or physical disabilities or status of need. Literature was banned if it did not promote a certain ideology.

A leader rose up who had been convicted of crimes involving politics. He had answers to many of the economic problems facing the nation. He put blame on groups of people, rather than on social policy which failed to adjust to what was needed for stability. He made abortion a capital crime.

People followed his charismatic approach to excite the populace and established a strong following through rhetoric and appealing to the emotions of people looking for answers. As time went on, he surrounded himself with those only loyal to him. Eventually, control replaced reasonableness, which led to the downfall of a nation.

We have all heard the quote “those who have failed to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.We should keep this in mind as Nov. 5 approaches.

Arnold Krinski

Mundelein

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