It’s always fascinated me how people can do or say the most heinous things to someone else just by objectifying them. Of course, when its you who becomes the target of such oppression, we’re always quick to scream about injustice.
In 2011, we can see how media, political -isms, and interest groups are splitting apart our polity today. In 1947, this wasn’t any different… because they had seen it happen in Germany. Worth about 17 minutes of your time when you have a moment… and can tolerate the 1950’s era tone:
When people split the American public, it’s typically to someone else’s advantage. Most folks don’t have the time to ask “why should I believe this?” when people present arguments — we just swallow whole what MSNBC, Fox News, the Washington Post or Richmond Times-Dispatch (pick your poison) tells us to believe.
Political power a lot easier to plunder for yourself when you target a scapegoat… which is why it’s so important to identify and critically assess this sort of rhetoric. It’s an old trick and an old tool, but always, always beware the revolutionary.