General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]Sophia4
(3,515 posts)In Germany, the reaction that became Hitler's movement was born of the desperation that followed the loss of WWI. A terrifying amount of inflation occurred in the 1920s in Germany. And that set off the right-wing reaction of the 1930s and ultimately WWII.
These movements start slowly and as reactions to economic despair. Joblessness, debt, hopelessness all contribute. Those who are excluded from prosperity and fear for their families blame others -- quite naturally.
In our country, I notice that fewer and fewer people seem able to buy and pay for houses. When I was growing up, you got a job, you kept that job (companies did not fire people so easily and quickly because they needed good employees), you bought a house (maybe with the FHA or VA loans) and worked until you retired. Nowadays, the companies hire and fire with impunity. They move or simply close their factories or production facilities, even stores, leaving individuals and entire communities to deal with the changes that their abandonment leaves in their wake . . . and then Democrats are surprised that so many people vote for heartless Republicans like Romney and Trump.
I'm not surprised at all. I have read a lot about the history of the Third Reich and what led up to it. It could happen here. It would be different because we have a different history, but it could easily happen here. We have a long history of racism and hating others that we don't deal with very well. It could happen here and may be happening here as we write.