Once upon a time there was a nation that consisted of small and divided states. This nation had once been an empire but now they were scattered, disorganized and vastly unorganized. They were all plagued by economic strife and there seemed to be no way out.
But then, a young politician took power and he was determined, more than anything, to change this. In a period of 10 years, he built up his nation's economy and in a series of wars, he was able to successfully unify these scattered states/regions into one nation. In the last war, his military was vastly outnumbered by their enemy but this size meant he could move much quicker and before his enemy could come together, he split their forces and defeated them. This new unified nation had not only come together but greatly expanded its borders. The nation thrived so greatly that it ranked in the top five powerful nations in all the world. For the first time in a hundred years, all was right.
This all changed in a span of 40 years when the world exploded into conflict. The nation answered its allies' call and sent their fathers and sons off to war. Millions were lost in the battles that would not cease for four years. When it was all over, the nation that was once a unified country now found its economy shattered and its population decimated. To add to their troubles, the lame for the conflict was unjustly laid at their feet and they watched helplessly as their territory was chopped up and sanctions imposed upon them. Economic strife and depression hit this nation hard and there was no hope of escaping this time around.
A glimmer of hope came when a young man stepped from the throng and was determined to make a change. He had been a veteran of the recent war and was angered by the world's actions against his adopted homeland. Through his rhetoric and writings he began to gain support. As time went by, his speeches inspired many because he told the crowds of thousands of people exactly what they wanted to hear. These people, who were not informed otherwise, took his word as gospel. Through these efforts, this man found himself running the country with the pledge to make it a great country again.
Once he found himself in control, he used the power he had to spread hate upon a group of people and blamed them for their country's misfortune. To put it simply he began to persecute people based on the religious views and the god they worshiped. He monitored and urged the destruction of their places of worship and began a systematic registration/deportation of these peoples into ghettos.
This was not the tip of the iceberg. After spending months in the ghettos, these people were rounded up and put on trains where they were interred into camps. Their humanity was stripped from them as they were given tattoos of numbers; these were their names now. Through years of turmoil and a renewed world war, these peoples were systematically exterminated at the hands of this brazen leader and his cronies. By the time it was all over, millions had been killed in what has become one of the world's greatest tragedies.
The country spoken here (in case you couldn't guess) was Germany in the last thirty years of the 1800s and first forty years of the 1900s. The tragedy that transpired here was the Holocaust and brazen leader who let it happen and advocated for it...well, it's not that hard to figure out.
How Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party were able to rise to power is attributed to a variety of factors. To put it simply, it was an uneducated, tired and ignorant population who rallied to their side. These people were plagued by economic problems and were sick and tired of always finishing last. Someone then stepped forward with the promise to make their nation great again and told them what they wanted to hear. Without anyone else who could step up to the plate, no one was able to challenge the racist ignorance that was aimed primarily at the Jews (as well as the Romani, Poles, Blacks, Gays and numerous others). The people ate it up and took his word as gospel. The result: a great tragedy that was the Holocaust was able to take place.
In America, we are on the eve of an election year and there is a terrifying similarity between the German Führer and Republican front runner, Donald Trump. Am I saying that Hitler and Mr. Trump are the same exact person? No, but there are similarities to how he is rising in popularity. For starters a recent poll has shown that Trump's support mainly come from uneducated people. These people have not even bothered to research his political platform but simply jumped onto the bandwagon. Yahoo broke down the poll further by explaining "that Trump runs significantly stronger among less-educated, less-affluent voters, and performs particularly well among voters in the 50-64 age range." It's terrifying that an uneducated populace will eat everything Trump says and help him obtain the Republican nomination and possibly the presidency.
His racial views towards Muslims is something else that eerily mirrors the German Führer from the 1930s and '40s. In the wake of recent attacks across the globe and the mass shooting in California, Trump has put the blame for terrorism and the fear of it at the feet of the Muslim people in the United States and the world. With this he has called for the banning of Muslims from entering the country. It won't be any easier for Muslims at home because the presidential hopeful has also called for mosques to be monitored and Muslim Americans to be registered into a database. He's basically violating the document he will be called upon (in the unfortunate case he's elected) to "protect and defend" by infringing upon people's right to practice their faith freely.
The similarities are there and you may do what you wish with them. You can either dismiss them or agree. It's your choice and not my place to force my political views upon you; it is not my place to do so. I will just leave you with this final note. The last time a country's people blindly followed a political hopeful, who pledged to make his country great again, it lead to the greatest tragedy in human history. Before you decide to (in the event you do) follow Trump on his crusade to "Make America Great Again" do your research and determine if you still agree with him. I personally respect those Trump supporters who have done the research more than the blind and ignorant band wagoners.
