The Difference

The boys over at Sadly, No have posted a charming piece comparing and contrasting the 'difference' between the wingnut diehards and the nazis. Interesting.

The Nazis were bad because they used violence, racism and propaganda to fuel the persecution of an innocent minority group for no other reason than their ethnic and religious status. Ask us if torture is wrong: we’ll say of course it is, under all circumstances, because the use of savagely inhumane treatment against other human beings is something that should be opposed even if it were effective, which it isn’t. Ask us why we hope to prevail against terrorism, and we’ll say, once we finish eating our brisket taco, because we believe that democracy, freedom and justice are values worth preserving — the very basis of our national identity, and to be defended fiercely against anyone who would take them away, whether an internal or external threat. We’re always saying high-minding shit like that.

Ask a lot of folks on the right what was so bad about the Nazis, though, and it seems pretty likely they’d say “They directed their tactics at the wrong people.” Ask if torture is wrong, and they’ll say “only if the other side uses it.” Ask why they hope to prevail against terrorism, and they’ll say “because we’re America, and they’re not.” It’s as simple as different names for sides with a lot of these people, which saves them all the messy trouble of deciding how far is too far, what threat is a legitimate threat, and whether it’s possible to err by adopting the methods of your enemies. (The answers, for those of you who haven’t been watching the G.O.P. debates, are “none too far”, “all of them” and “no”.)

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