Comparisons Between Trump and Hitler

I realize that this is off the beaten path of what I typically talk about on this blog, but there have been floating about the web comparisons between our current president and possibly the worst dictator ever to walk the face of God's green earth- Adolf Hitler. I'm currently reading a biography about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and I feel I need to weigh in on this issue, as the biography talks extensively about how Hitler slowly acquired power and implemented his hatred for the Jews. I think the comparisons have merit, but I think there are key differences as well. Let me elaborate.

First of all, the similarities are striking. Both Hitler and Trump rose on nationalistic emotions that ran deep within their respective countries. Both of them ran on a certain degree of xenophobia- Hitler towards the Jews and the Communists, and Trump towards Muslims and illegal immigrants. Both of them have significant psychological issues- Hitler was basically considered a madman of sorts, and Trump an extreme narcissist. Both of them took advantage of gullible Christians. However, I think that is the bulk of the similarities. It's important to also note the differences.

When Hitler came to power, it was roughly 14 years after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Much of the anger that Hitler channeled came from how intensely humiliating the treaty was to the German people. If Germany would have won World War I, or if the terms of the treaty weren't quite so stringent, I'm fairly confident World War II would not have happened, and Hitler would not have come to power and been able to take over the entire government. Now Trump has no such rallying cry, and while he did get elected I think the populace is just as likely to vote him out at the next opportunity. In our country, I have a hard time imagining Muslims being treated as badly as the Jews were in Germany in the years leading up to World War II. Maybe I lack imagination, but without something like the Versailles event it will be difficult to turn Muslims into the pariah the Jews were in Germany before World War II. Also noteworthy- our democracy has existed a whole lot longer than Germany's had when Hitler was elected. The importance of this is that having a stable democracy makes it significantly more difficult for someone like Trump to take over the entire government and turn it into a dictatorship like Hitler did. I'm trying to use my imagination about how it might be possible for Trump to abolish the House of Representatives and the Senate- no. I cannot conceive of a circumstance that would allow Trump to remove this important element from power.

Also noteworthy- our constitution has maintained order in our democracy for over two centuries. Germany had only had a democracy for 14 years when Hitler came to power. They WANTED a dictatorship, or something more similar to a monarchy. I have a hard time conceiving our military allowing our president to become a dictatorship, or for the people of this country to tolerate losing their right to vote. Why would they? We have a thriving democracy. I have faith that the vast majority of Americans, and our military, would fight for the rights of the people to have a say in governance. Which means it would VERY DIFFICULT for Trump to follow in Hitler's footsteps. What is far more likely is that Trump will be impeached, or the 25th Amendment rule where the majority of the cabinet can rule the president unfit for office- these possible circumstances are FAR more likely than Trump becoming a dictator. While Trump's noted hatred for the first amendment has been duly noted, I don't think he will be able to stop the press from publishing unflattering reports about the president's decisions. I admit that is a scary situation, but even if Trump could replace all the Supreme Court positions, he'd still have to get nominees through congress that have to support the constitution, or congress wouldn't allow them to be appointed. In short, I believe our rights are pretty safe. Not completely safe- not so long as someone like Trump is running our country, but pretty safe.

All this to say I think we as a country can somewhat rest easy. I'm not saying there aren't political fights worth fighting- for one thing, Trump's desire to "repeal and replace Obamacare" is unsettling. His tax plan is disgusting. And many other things he wants to do I think will do enormous damage to the health of our country. However, I think the risk of Trump taking over the entire government and becoming a dictator is EXTREMELY unlikely, though I do believe there is a prospect that we will choose to destroy North Korea or end up in war with some other country for no good reason. At least we'll have the ability to vote Trump out in four years, and if by some miracle Trump somehow is not impeached in the next four years and somehow also wins reelection (God forbid), the constitution states that he can only be in office for a total of eight years. I know, that's a long time. However, it isn't a lifetime- and his predecessor WILL be elected by the people. And that fact helps me sleep at night...