I hope you all had a chance to look into the last posts question. The articles I showed you in the last post come from the constitution of a particular regime. All in all the rights given by it weren’t that bad. Some weren’t too different from our own laws. But there is a twist. So, are you ready for the answer? Well here it is.
Shocked or a little surprised? Privacy of correspondence, a representative assembly, elections, and the right to assembly in Nazi Germany? I hate to say it, but it’s true. A common misconception by many people is that when Hitler came to power he abolished the Reichstag (parliament), the constitution and a number of other laws. Not really. He pretty much said he was above all of that and didn’t see a need to change much of it. That is not to say he didn’t do some maneuvering.
Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany January 30, 1933. After continued political battles between the Nazi Party and other parties in the Reichstag, Hitler asked the President to dissolve the assembly and have new elections in early March 1933. However, before the elections took place the Reichstag building was set ablaze on February 27. Hitler and his cronies blamed communists (though many are of the opinion that the Nazis started the fire). Hitler said the nation was in a dire state and so the Reichstag Fire Decree was issued which took away basic liberties for a time, you know, in the name of security. The elections were held March 6th but the Nazi’s still did not achieve a majority in the Reichstag.
Later that month Hitler brought the Enabling Act to a vote. This Act would give Hitler and his cabinet legislative powers for four years, again for security. To ensure it was passed Hitler used the provisions of the Fire Decree to keep several opponents out of the vote and the communists were already banned from attendance. After much reassurance and promises to his opponents the Enabling Act passed overwhelmingly. That coupled with the Fire Decree practically made Hitler and his cabinet a legal dictatorship.
Hitler now began to systematically erase any opposition. Rival parties were broken up and banned. Through the scare tactics of the SA, Hitler’s storm troops, he intimidated his opponents into resigning or running. Within months the Nazi Party was the only party in Germany and Hitler was running the show.
But what about the President, Paul von Hindenburg? He was still the head of state and had veto power (this was one of the promises Hitler made to get the Enabling Act passed). Well, on August 1st the cabinet passed a law that stated upon Hindenburg’s death the office of president would be abolished and all the powers of the head of state would go to the Chancellor. Hindenburg died the next day (in this case, at least, it wasn’t murder). Overnight Hitler had become the absolute leader of Germany. He had become the Führer. And to top it off, it was nearly all legal.
Sure he used physical and political intimidation as a tool. But he was appointed Chancellor, he didn’t take it. The laws that made him a dictator were voted on. His blatant disregard for constitutional law was ignored, especially by the people at large. Even his becoming Führer was approved by 90% of the vote. He then led his 1,000-year Reich into complete desolation in twelve years. He murdered millions and is responsible for the deaths of millions more. All of this was done without changing or abolishing the constitution. He didn’t need to. He just made some laws that ignored the basic rights of the people and no one challenged him. No one in great enough numbers at least.
So what is the lesson to take away from this? First I want to make clear that I don’t think the current or and administration in the near future is going to be the next fascist regime. That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that words on paper don’t mean a thing without belief in what they stand for and without someone to see them through.
The Second Amendment affirms we have the inalienable right to keep and bear arms. There literally are law-makers saying we should just ignore it now. The Fourth Amendment protects us from unlawful search and seizure. This has been violated countless times, especially in the event of an “emergency” (see Hurricane Katrina and the War on Terror). These are just ink blots on paper if no one will stand up for them. Those in power can, and regularly do, ignore the laws of the land to further their agenda. If the Constitution doesn’t fit with how they feel, they work around it. Changing it is too much work.
So here’s my request. When you see a scenario where a politician or any elected official is operating outside of the law or is trying to undermine our Constitution, call them out. Write to them, to Congress, to the President himself (I’ve done all of these). If nobody speaks up then why would these people think they have to worry about opposition? You can sit there and say “that’s not right” all you want but if you and everyone like you keeps their mouths shut nothing will happen. Use that First Amendment that way it was meant to be. We don’t live under a king or dictator (yet) so you can say what you need to.
Remember, the most dangerous enemy we face is denial. Hitler seemed a hero to Germany, (yes, there were a lot of extenuating circumstances). But his actions leading to power were clues if not to the demoralized German people than certainly to the rest of the world, (heck, if you had read Mein Kampf Hitler said exactly what he was going to do years before he did it). And, the most dangerous thing an American can say is “they can’t do that” or “that can’t happen here”. No one in Germany, outside of Hitler’s closest, could have imagined concentration camps designed to murder countless innocents. People say they can’t take our guns. I ask why? If we don’t say anything they’ll try (“try” being the operative word).
So read the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. They go hand in hand. I consider them to be two chapters of the same document. Know what they say and don’t fall for the crap some people are saying today that it’s outdated and should be done away with. The Founders words ring true even centuries later. Don’t let America slip through your fingers with apathy and good intentions. That is the path to tyranny.
Thank you for reading. God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America.
No comments:
Post a Comment