Flashback to 1922

I am aware of the dangers of Reductio ad Hitlerum. Roughly translated, it means to invalidate someone by comparing him to Hitler.

Many comparisons are made between Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler. As someone who has read a great deal of history, I can say such comparisons are usually off the mark. Trump almost certainly will not be another Hitler nor anywhere near as bad.

But that's not to say he won't be dictatorial or authoritarian. He may turn out more like Benito Mussolini or some lesser nationalistic thug who held office.

If you have any concern about civil liberties and human rights, you have to agree that Trump's first week in office was a disquieting blemish on American history. A dark shadow is spreading across the United States.

Trump loves to demonize and he did that again this past week by attacking, amongst others, legal immigrants from certain countries as well as undocumented immigrants. If you're Hispanic or from one of his "banned" countries (which I am not), I have to imagine you found this past week to be particularly troubling. Nonetheless, I'm an immigrant, too, as is my boyfriend.

I happened on a 1922 New York Times article (link here) describing how a particular nationalistic populist used divisive rhetoric simply to whip up people and further his own political agenda. In short, he used hate to whip people up, but hate wasn't his ultimate goal.

While Trump is no Hitler, it's particularly disturbing that he's using some of the same practices -- practices which almost no respectable Republican or Democrat has ever used in this country.

We are living in a time where the greatest threat we face in this country may not be other nations or peoples, but the occupant in the White House.