Dictator (n)
Dictator is a word that peaked in usage in 1940, particularly in reference to the recent full-scale invasion of western Europe by Adolf Hitler. His rise to power and iron-fist ruling were well documented; the changes that led up to the invasion of Poland in September of 1939 were via public, legal methods. Yet the main backing to this change was through the support of his followers, a cult-like culture that very much so mirrors the “Make America Great Again” movement under Donald Trump.
Democracy preluding Nazi Germany was dismantled in 53 days, yet the circumstances that allowed it to happen were a result of hateful rhetoric swelling against minority groups, slowly eroding democratic principles, and diminishing education standards. And these same patterns continue to reappear, as we move through our fifth year under Donald Trump.
One of the most parallel circumstances between the two is their speech. The main similarity involves the idea of a “them.” A large group of people, other than you (the ideal citizen) is actively harming the country, the city, or the economy. The created “enemy of the state” is then used as justification for the further erosion of democracy. For Hitler, this was the Jewish and communist groups; for Trump, it’s been the migrants, the Arabs, the minorities that have been “stealing American jobs.” Regardless of the truth, these strong statements are used to impose harsher restrictions, something we’ve seen with the Nuremberg Laws, and recently with the restriction of speech on Israel under Trump.
The 2020 election served the same purpose as the Reichstag Fire for Trump. An enemy within the US, that manipulated, stole, amongst other inciting language, fairness from true Americans. By scapegoating off of his opponents, he justified his callings for a revolution.
While Trump failed, to a certain degree, his intent mirrors that in which we saw back in the 1930s. January 6 was a staged coup with the intent of instilling Donald Trump with unlimited control above the electoral college, the other two branches of Congress, and the constitution.
We’re currently also facing the same issues about the erosion of education that Germany dealt with in the 1930s. While some argue that public spending on upper education will bridge the gap between America and other similar countries like India and China, I disagree. This will only further the lack of support for the socioeconomically disadvantaged within America, a problem extensively proven and displayed in both of the aforementioned countries.
When this intelligence gap is created, the people left behind aren’t able to understand the same policies at a high enough level. Oblivious to the changes, this means that the mass majority of the constituents are unaware of the intentions of these policies, especially when one is educated to be voting in their own support.
This is a bigger issue in of itself: if there is an intelligence gap among the population of the country, information fails to reach part of the audience. Ronald J Daniels writes that “fewer than a third of Americans” understand impeachment, with similar data being seen with upper education (Daniels 2). With the gap in education widening, not only will we be leaving behind the impoverished and those in need, but we’re hurting ourselves as a collective. When people aren’t able to understand political concepts, it only furthers the misunderstandings formed over politics.
With such large swaths of people miseducated or uneducated, groupthink is how such Orwellian policies get put into place. For an event such as January 6, where a mix of Republican supporters arrived at the capitol, actions made by extremist groups like the “Proud Boys” radicalized people considered “typical supporters” to rally against the democratic processes. Even though some may not have joined with the intent of overthrowing the government, the actions of others within the crowd shouting obscene and violent language directed towards politicians and America led thousands to try to subvert the democratic processes. Attacks on education only further encourage the manipulation of the concepts America was founded on: diversity, equality, justice, or opportunity.
The attack on the Capitol was a functional retaliation against “them,” the conspiring Democrats who rigged the election, or similar rhetoric, mirrors that of the attacks on opposing parties following the Reichstag fire and the March 5 elections.
One of the most famous sayings is that “history repeats itself.” Yet as technology and society grows, it doesn’t just repeat. It spirals out of control, in scale, damage, in impact.
History tries to outdo itself.