The Don of Jokes

We all live by a set of laws. There are the laws of physics. The laws of the land. But there are also laws that are unknown to most of us. Have you ever heard of Godwin's Law? Many have not, but according to the man who promulgated the law, Mike Godwin, whoever reads this is probably also living by it.

The law states:

"As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."

This means that if there is a discussion going on online, regardless of what it is actually about, at some point someone will compare someone or something to the Nazis or Adolf Hitler.

That sounds plausible, but i believe things have changed since the law was created. Instead of it only applying to online discussions, I think it can be argued that it now applies to discussions in general. It isn't limited to the World Wide Web anymore.

How many times have Fox News compared Barack Obama to Hitler? Probably more times than I would want to know. I don't even watch Fox News and I have noticed how they will go out of their way to make the comparison.

Whenever people feel like their lives are being controlled by some sort of federal agency the comparisons to Nazi Germany are not far away. "The government wants to take away our guns? What is this? Nazi Germany?"

I think these comparisons are pointless, counterproductive, and ridiculous. Nothing Obama does can compare to what Hitler did, unless you're talking about their appreciation for art. Stricter gun-control doesn't mean that the government is run by Nazis. It just means that the politicians want less guns on the streets. I think people should stop making the Nazi or Hitler comparisons.

But there are always exceptions.

Even if I don't like making these comparisons I cannot deny that they are disgustingly fitting when they are applied to a man who's attempting to become the most powerful man in the world. Donald Trump.

If you look at Hitler's rise to power you find many of the same strategies that Trump is using in the 2016 US presidential race. Seeing how Trump is conducting his presidential campaign, the comparison to Hitler is not unfair. It is necessary.

Now, I am not saying that Trump is anywhere near the extremism Hitler showed. I am just saying that there are similarities that should be known and talked about. I'll start right here.

First of all, both men played with basic human emotions. Fear and Anger.

In Germany it was the fear of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and anyone else deemed lesser by the Nazis, that boosted Hitler's rise. In the US, Trump is fueling the fear many Americans have of Muslims, immigrants, and terrorists. This is done in order to gain popular support.

People are always afraid. They were afraid throughout the 20th century, and they still are in the 21st. I know of a little green dude who spent a lot of time thinking about what fear does to people. That little green dude is a character called Yoda, and he put it like this:

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

Anger and frustration with the establishment is a powerful tool. Hitler knew it, and Trump knows it. And both men have used it.

Following the first World War, Germany was pretty much screwed by the Treaty of Versailles. Conditions in Germany were dire, and this led to an angry population who directed their frustration towards their leaders. The people felt like they had been betrayed by the men in charge. Hitler used this to gain support. He poured gasoline on the fire of German frustration by calling the leaders incompetent backstabbers who had run the country into the ditch. The people followed Hitler and his promise to make their country great again.

Make America Great Again. That is the slogan of Trump's campaign. He travels the country, telling people how stupid people in Washington D.C. are, and how they have made America weak. He points to policies regarding immigration and trade, and argues that America has lost its strength and respect in the world. For some reason, people are buying it.

Is America actually weaker? Is the respect gone? I don't think so. At least not in the way Trump is describing it. The only reason why America has lost any strength or respect internationally is that clowns such as Trump are allowed to run for president. His whole campaign is a joke. The fact that he's actually winning the republican nomination makes it a sad joke. The world was laughing at the nation that allowed Trump to run as a candidate. Now, the world looks on in pity. The world feels bad for the US.

We all know that Trump is no new Hitler. There are similarities in their political toolboxes, but Trump will never try to take over the world. He might claim that he will shut the world out by building walls, but this is just another joke that no one's laughing at anymore. A joke told by a sad, little, insecure clown.

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