SADDAM’S ALLIES
SADDAM’S ALLIES: Sam Schulman finds some chilling similarities between those whose appeasement of Hitler allowed the Holocaust and today’s anti-war movement. While I tend to discount the idea that anti-semitism motivates many people in the anti-war movement, I agree with his point about pacifism being the equivalent of appeasement:
[A]mong those categories of people – the very nicest, the most thoughtful, the most progressive, those with the highest degree of social and moral conscience – it is not self-regard to count not only the cream of American Jewry, but probably the majority. It is not self-flattery, because the behavior of these people in the 1930s – signers of peace petitions, supporters of disarmament, idealistic Communists and socialists, New Dealers, members of the America First committee, supporters of the League of Nations – were “objectively” supporting Hitler, as George. How? They condemned “unilateral” efforts to compel him to obey the Versailles treaty (or unilateral efforts to stop Mussolini from invading Ethiopia) as warmongering; by believing in the efficacy of diplomacy – and even prayer – over preparing, they enabled Hitler to build up his arsenal and ready himself for total war – externally against free (but oh so flawed and immoral) countries, and internally against the Jews.
The Popes of the 1930s did – like the Pope of today would, alas, do – far more harm to the Jews because they wanted and wished for “Peace” than because of any anti-Semitic feelings they may have harbored.
Indeed.
As Orwell pointed out long ago, pacifism in the face of armed evil is equivalent to a blind worship of force. For those of our race – the historic victims of so many causes – it would be disastrous to make the same mistake twice, and entrust our children’s fate to the hands of these sad and complicitous pacifists.
Quite so.
