Mein Kampf

At a recent auction, for $32, I  bought a 1939 translation of Hitler’s Mein Kampf.  It was mostly written while he was in jail in 1927, although some was written before, in 1922.  The name means “My Battle” in English, and surely does predict his future battles.  The grammar is letter perfect, so I assume that this is a result of translation, and not “Der Furher’s smarts.  He was a rabid anti-Semite, and throughout the book, he expresses devout and un-ceasing hatred of the Jews, Austrians, and Karl Marx, although he never gives even one reason for his hatred of the Jews.  Hitler advocated National Socialism, while at the same time hated communism, and vowed to eradicate it.  I can’t see an awful lot of difference between them.

Hitler, in his book, advocates the secret police, (SS), state raising of children, and state everything, for all practical purposes.  The state must see to it that the children are physically fit, always ready for battle, and this was carried out with the ’Hitler Youth Corps,’ when he came to power.  When I finished it, I saw one particular item which explained why Obama won the recent election, and how to win elections in general.  From page 76 and 77:  “All propaganda should be popular and should adopt its intellectual level to the receptive ability of the least intellectual.”  (Stupidest – Democrats, illegals, illegitimate, trash of all races).  “If the object is to gather a whole nation within its circle of influence, there cannot be enough attention paid to avoidance of too high a level of intellectuality.  The receptive ability of the masses is very limited, their understanding small, and they have great power of forgetting.  This being so,  all effective propaganda must be confined to very few points which must be brought out in the form of slogans until the very last man is enabled to comprehend what is meant by any slogan.”  Substitute the word ’campaign speeches,’ for ’propaganda,’ and you have the Democratic campaign perfectly.  Simple slogans to appeal the even the dumbest voters, and you have “CHANGE,” and “NO MORE EIGHT YEARS OF BUSH,” as examples.  Simplistic, non explanatory, stupid slogans, as Der Furher advocated,  and the Democrats won.

Hitler hated legislatures, because every time they met, they seemed to vote for themselves, and against their nation and citizens, and he was absolutely correct in that.  Think about the history of the American Congress.  In past columns, I pointed out that all of our troubles were voted upon by Congress, not the voters.  On page 151, Hitler opines, “There is hardly anything so depressing as to watch all that goes on in Parliament in its sober reality and to have to look at that constantly repeated betrayal.”

From page 190: “Political parties are always ready to compromise and bargain with their opponents.  (They) almost always at first cherish a hope of rising to despotic authority, but the poverty of their programs robs them of the heroism which is demanded.  Their readiness to conciliate attracts them to the petty weak spirits, (of the voters), so they usually stick fast early in their history in the slough of their own miserable pettiness.”

Hitler decided that the only way a nation can be successfully run, is with a despotic dictator, such as himself of course, whereas our Founders decided that a “Republic” is the best form of government.  A ’republic,’ is not a ’democracy,’ and should not be confused with one.  ’Democracy,’ comes from the Greek, and literally translates into ’people rule,’ and that’s not what we need.  We need, but don’t have, a representative form of government, a republic, which has escaped us by wide margins.  How?  Over the years, the legislators found out that the more they promised (unconstitutionally) from the public treasury, the recipients of the largess would vote for them, eventually bankrupting the nation, but keeping them in office.

Gee Dad, isn’t what we have now?  With an additional $1,000,000,000,000 in the hopper in a month, plus $1,000,000,000,000 already printed, and $70,000,000,000,000 in promised largess over the years, which of course is un-payable, other than by printing press scrip, which eventually may have the same value as Monopoly money, thereby ruining everyone, what more is there to say?  After WW I, German reichsmarks went from a quarter US, to hundreds of billions to one U.S. gold backed, non-inflationary, dollar.  Germans lost everything they had.  Savings accounts, insurance policies, bonds and stocks, all became utterly worthless, which is what brought on Hitler.  Drowning people will latch on to any absurdity to save themselves, and Hitler was that absurdity.  History does have a way of repeating itself, doesn’t it?  Americans, caught in the web of inflation, and maybe eventual hyper-inflation, could lose everything they have also, as far as value in dollars, stocks, bonds, and insurance policies.  That has happened over and over again in history, and no one seems to realize it, when once again, history repeats itself.

Saw a wonderful 1931 Jean Harlow movie, “Platinum Blonde,” on Turner Classic Movies the other day, and during the film, a car driving though the streets passed a gas station which was displaying prices.  High Test 17 cents, and Regular 15 cents.  Since I wasn’t born then, I can only remember 19 cent a gallon gas, but I can remember nickel ice cream, nickel Cokes, and three trolley rides for a quarter.  The point is to demonstrate how far down the dollar has depreciated. Dollar fans will say, “So what?  Wages have gone up to keep up with inflation.”  My retort is simplicity in itself.  “Great!  I’m glad you recognize what has, and is happening to the dollar, thanks to the politicos and Federal Reserve.  We must use dollars, but SHOULDN’T SAVE IN THEM!”  Saving in dollars, is like storing water in a leaky bucket, or trying to heat a house with the windows open.