Buzz words, or why Obama can't possibly be a Nazi.

Buzz words.

Socialist. Nazi. Obamacare. The Republican propaganda machine has done a remarkable job of framing the public discourse. Liberal is not a bad word, yet it's pronounced as an insult by every talking head on Fox, regularly. They're taking an idea, boiling it down to a scary phrase, and using it to influence how people feel, rather than think. Because if people thought they would be less likely to just accept Fox at their word.

OK, we've all heard Glenn Beck call Obama a Nazi, or a Socialist. Jon Stewart likened it to a form of Tourette's syndrome wherein poor Glenn just couldn't help but shout Nazi every few seconds. No, it's just propaganda and lies. Here are some definitions from dictionary.com.

so·cial·ism   [soh-shuh-liz-uhm] –noun

1. a theory or system of social organization  that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

Is health care reform Socialism? Are the ownership and control of the means of production owned by the community as a whole, or by the government specifically? No, private insurers continue to fleece the public and for-profit hospitals continue to charge exorbitant fees for Tylenol. Was GM a Socialist government takeover? No, the government stepped in and purchased a controlling interest in the company, and then sold the stock in an IPO once bankruptcy was averted. Just like private industry does all the time, except the government had to step in because nobody else who could, would.

com·mu·nism   [kom-yuh-niz-uhm] –noun

1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

2. ( often initial capital letter ) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.

3. ( initial capital letter ) the principles and practices of the Communist party.

Just had to get that one out of the way. We can see that Communism was a derivative of Socialism, probably more extreme and even less justifiable a buzz word than Socialism, although only just. I haven't heard this one as often, by a stretch, but when it pops up it's nice to be aware of the great scare from several decades ago.

Regarding the Nazi analogy, as farcical as it is, I should probably debunk it. From www.nazism.net.

Key elements of the Nazi ideology

National Socialist Program

Racism

Especially anti-Semitism, which eventually culminated in the Holocaust.

The creation of a Herrenrasse (Master Race= by the Lebensborn (Fountain of Life; A department in the Third Reich)

Anti-Slavism

Belief in the superiority of the White, Germanic, Aryan or Nordic races.

Euthanasia and Eugenics with respect to "Racial Hygiene"

Anti-Marxism, Anti-Communism, Anti-Bolshevism

The rejection of democracy, with as a consequence the ending the existence of political parties, labour unions, and free press.

Führerprinzip (Leader Principle) /belief in the leader (Responsibility up the ranks, and authority down the ranks.)

Strong show of local culture.

Social Darwinism

Defense of Blood and Soil (German: "Blut und Boden" - represented by the red and black colors in the Nazi flag)

"Lebensraumpolitik", "Lebensraum im Osten" (The creation of more living space for Germans)

Related to Fascism

In practice, Nazis were far right extremists who exterminated opposition from the left, not just the socialist and communist parties that existed within Germany at the time but also people they considered “liberal elites” and “intellectuals.” For a fascinating insight, the book Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner is a fascinating and terrifying insight into Hitler's persecution of intellectualism and liberalism. http://www.amazon.com/Defying-Hitler-Memoir-Sebastian-Haffner/dp/0312421133/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302104997&sr=8-1 And if you replace the phrase öst-Juden with Muslim, you can see remarkable parallels with current Republican schools of thought.

So what's my point? Reasonable, rational people never believed that Obama was a Nazi, right? One would hope not, but where are Glenn Beck's viewers coming from? We've all seen the Tea Party signs of Obama with a Hitler stache right? It's fear-mongering and lies and propaganda and it needs to stop. No Democrat votes in a way that would please a real Nazi, they vote Republican, like the Klan. (Remember David Duke? What, too honest?) So when you hear people using buzz words instead of thinking, call them on it. If they use a phrase that rhymes or they sneer when saying “Obamacare,” remind them that catch phrases are for people who don't really understand the issues, and the health care reform bill that passed was largely based on Republican legislation from the Clinton era. Then call them Nazis, just for good measure. Playfully, don't get into a fight.

Thanks for reading.

*Anything not specifically cited as being from another source comes either from my brain or the news I read and listen to daily, specifically NPR, CNN, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, The Economist, and yes even the admittedly biased Huffington Post. I watched some Bill O'Reilly last week too, but that wasn't pertinent to this posting.