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We've all asked the questions for years and years - how Germany could have allowed Hitler and the Nazis to rise to power like they did. How they could have bought into all that ridiculous propaganda. How they could have sent their boys off to fight and die for a cause that was bogus from the beginning. And yet, I wonder if we aren't just seeing it all happen again, and there seems to be nothing that can be done to stop it.
I mean, it's not like we *aren't* doing anything. Look at all the effort going to try to educate the far right about how far off they are. All the good, solid arguments against this false story or that goofy conspiracy theory. But nothing gets through. They only get stronger. They believe whatever any nutcase tells them - gladly! They stand in line to see Sarah Dumbass Palin, for goddsakes. And I worry that just under the surface there's the same old racism and hatred and anger and lust for blood that all humans seem to carry.
What would it take, really, to rally all those whackos into a group that's formidable enough to silence the rest of us? Beck's doing his level best. Drudge and Limbaugh are relentless. Fox News seems to be everywhere. It's possible that even if Obama's numbers ended up good, efforts to re-elect him would be futile, even if everyone were united and active (which doesn't seem likely).
Sometimes I see the future coming at us like this unstoppable juggernaut with an ocean of misinformation and overwhelming ill-will. Is there any escape?
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