I back Gameface 100% in this discussion.....
We are all familiar with the adage paraphrased as "learn the lessons of history or be doomed to repeat them" To do that today in America, and to understand the rise of a man like Trump, we need to recognize that in periods of great cultural and social change, and economic dislocation, the time is ripe for the appearance of demagogues. That is one lesson of history. To recognize when the time is opportune for the appearance of a demagogue. The tools of a demagogue include stoking the fears a demagogue knows exist within his society, creating scapegoats upon which anxious people can project their fear and anger, and offering up a strong man image as the one who will solve their problems. Understanding then, how to recognize a demagogue is another lesson of history.
And when one recognizes that Trump is that demagogue, it is only natural to bring to mind examples from history in which a demagogue coming to power has spelled disaster.
W. Michael Blumenthal is a man who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany. He is also an ex US Secretary of the Treasury. Here is an essay he wrote, from the perspective of someone who understands how important it is to recognize the lessons of history and make informed decisions based on recognizing the need to avoid, at all costs, allowing a man like Trump to assume power.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9664110?utm_hp_ref=politics
"It worries me that Trump and what he preaches reminds me so painfully of the posturing and rhetoric of last century’s European demagogues. His “politically incorrect” attacks on the establishment, his belligerent rhetoric against Muslims and Mexicans, the blaming of foreign countries for domestic problems, and the half-truths, outright lies and bullying of opponents all sounds distressingly familiar to me. His boasts of personal strength, pathological egomania, the lack of humility or capacity for self-criticism, his narcissism and vanity and the promise of easy solutions with strongman boasts — all these are part and parcel of the same rhetoric the fatal European dictators of my youth used to mislead the public and to undermine and ultimately destroy democracy."
...."What matters most is that Donald Trump’s expressed views represent a challenge to our most fundamental values. Indeed, to American democracy itself. History shows that, with someone like him, there cannot be rational dialogue or compromise. There can be no doing business with a candidate for the White House who demonizes an entire religion, endorses torture, belittles women, is master of ethnic slurs, compliments foreign dictators and insults our friends and allies.
Such a candidate cannot be advised, appeased, or controlled from the inside. He can only be brought down if ostracized and exposed."
