Worrisome stuff...history lessons that we need to learn

I went to bed at 9:30 last night. I spent a lot of teacher-energy at work; the direct instruction and redirection seemed to go okay, and maybe now students will focus a little more on the details. We'll see when the revised essays come in Wed. and Thurs. 

I wish that was all that is on my mind, but the election looms. I am panicky, really. I never wanted to live in "interesting times"-- a quiet life is not a bad thing, really. And this social turmoil that threatens to erupt into a fascist state with global repercussions is weighing on me. The only way Hitler was ousted is for the Allies to take up arms and force the situation. Who would come to our aid? Yes, NATO has an agreement with us, but let's be honest, if the United States veers into that sort of authoritarianism, and the power of Russia is fueling it, and the mounting unrest in the Middle East becomes the nuclear conflagration it threatens to be, there will be hell on earth. We, who should be and are the champion of human rights, will become the dumpster fire that roars out of control.

"By March...the concentration camp Dachau was open. Its first prisoners were not Jews, but rather Hitler’s prominent political opponents. By April, Jews had been purged from the civil service, and opposition political parties were illegal. By May, labor unions were banned and students were burning banned books. Within the year, public criticism of Hitler and the Nazis was illegal, and denouncing violators paid well for those who did it."

Let's not elect that, shall we?

I cannot for the life of me (and for everyone else's, for that matter) understand why people don't take this threat seriously. Or worse-- there are those who want to see it happen, to sit back and laugh at the ultimate global chaos. Social arsonists. 

Yeah, I don't sleep well. 

I hope for a better day when the sun comes up. In the meantime, please read Heather Cox Richardson's historical perspective on this issue. It's sobering, to say the least.

C