Re: Rights

"Al" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> L&J Welch wrote:
>
> >
> > "Al" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >> Marvin Edwards wrote:
> >>
> >> > " L&J Welch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> >> > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >> >
> >> >> And reasonable people can disagree on the judgment.  At one time it
> >> >> was
> >> > thought by some that the most good could be achieved by sacrificing
> >> > children to the volcano,...or killing the goat,...or marrying our
> >> > siblings,...or attacking Pearl Harbor,...or creating the holocaust. <
> >> >
> >> > Excellent point. Even a democratic people, such as the Germans during
> >> > WWII, can be misled en masse down a path to genocide.
> >>
> >> Point of order, Mr Chairman!
> >>
> >> The above might lead one to conclude that Germany 1939-1945 was a
> > democracy.
> >> It wasn't, though the German people themselves were arguably democratic
> > but
> >> oppressed.
> >
> > History shows that Hitler was democratically elected.
>
> Urban legend, I'm afraid.
>
> AH became Chancellor in Jan 1933 because he was appointed to the post by
> Hindenburg to whom he had narrowly lost the Presidency. Human rights were
> suspended Feb 1933 following a fire at the Reichstag, and that suspension
> was used to supress the Communists and others. At elections in Mar 1933,
> the Nazis failed to obtain an outright majority and returned to power
based
> on a coalition with the DNVP. Dictatorial authority was obtained a few
> weeks later with the 'Enabling Act'. Office of Chancellor and President
> were merged on the death of Hindenburg the following year.
>
> So, history shows that Hitler was *not* democratically elected even by the
> standards of the time, never mind the standards of ours.

Wasn't he democratically elected by his party (NAZI) who then was the party
who could form a government (as recognized by Hindenburg?).  In that case
could one not argue he was as democratically elected as Blair?
>
> Also, the United States was at no time "one vote short of choosing German
as
> the official language", another urban legend. I know you didn't say so,
but
> I thought I'd get it in!
>
> > He then created
> > illusions of foreign and internal threats to assume more and more power
> > until he was a dictator.
>
> Yup.
>
> > Reminds me of WMD and the Patriot Act.
>
> Et tu? Although there is some difficulty: a "war on terror" that is to
last
> for decades (so the rumor goes) is consistent with both these statements:
> 1. There is nothing to fear because other democracies who have engaged on
> multi-decade wars on terror (such as the UK, Israel) have avoided turning
> into dictatorships;
> 2. In newspeak, "War is peace" justifies dictatorship, ergo, there is
> everything to fear from an administration that countenances effectively
> perpetual warfare.
>
> These steps have been trodden before -- wisdom must be in identifying the
> fork in the road before it must be done in hindsight.
> -- 
> Al
> --
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