A huge, blind excitement fills the streets. The Republicans have come to power in a land tortured by unemployment, embittered by loss of control at the southern border, demoralized by political weakness. Perhaps this will be the new beginning. Most people think MAGA a little absurd here, too obsessive there. But perhaps the time for thinking is over. Trump did not seize power. He was offered it just as his relevance was declining. The politicians who made Trump argued, We are hiring him. Their figurehead was the ancient Mitch McConnell. Republicans and Democrats tried to take Trump coolly. This wouldn’t last, they said. Never-Trump conservatives took comfort from the fact that McConnell, still head of the Senate, was known to despise the vulgar little reality T.V. star.
With mock solemnity, Trump and his lieutenants walked to the Capitol for ceremonial Inauguration Day. MAGA’s strength had been built up by revolutionary violence. They had never imagined that they could take office legally. When protesters took to the streets, Trump seized his chance to suspend all civil liberties. His followers could hardly believe their luck. The old GOP, the symbol of apparent continuity, presided as they turned office into power by acts of sham legality. When Congress voted to allow Trump to govern with impunity, the GOP leadership made no comment. The legal president marched irresistibly into the role of the legal dictator. Trump proclaimed the new America, and meant it to last a thousand years.
The new America began to round up its enemies — Democrats, Independents, impertinent journalists, even disloyal Republican deputies. They bullied more than they murdered. From the first moment, Trump unleashed his promised campaign against minorities. MAGA organized boycotts of minority-owned shops. The real point was to encourage the American people to think and act bigoted as a matter of course. The outside world was horrified, but there were those, including many American minorities who thought the anti-minorities campaign the work of MAGA extremists, something Trump would put a stop to when he felt more secure.
There was to be a cultural revolution, too. American culture would be purged of the progressive taint. Books flew into the fire. Many of those who flung them were students and teachers. And, as the sparks rose, the intellectuals fled — writers and scientists — to give their talents to Western Europe. A hundred years before the German-Jewish poet Heine, whose books now went into the fire, had warned: “Where one burns books, there one eventually burns people.”
Does the above sound familiar? (Actually, I doubt it does to idiot Americans because the average moron living in this country doesn’t understand history, not to mention that these words, the original of which I used as a base, were written 50 years ago. And we all know for the benighted youth and the vast majority of adults out there that five decades ago is ancient history and before the time of TikTok; therefore, in essence, history has not begun yet, for if it’s not in people’s timeline, then it — whatever it is — never happened.) Below is the original version from episode one of “The World at War” (BBC, 1973). Narration by Sir Lawrence Olivier.
A huge, blind excitement fills the streets. The National Socialists have come to power in a land tortured by unemployment, embittered by loss of territory, demoralised by political weakness. Perhaps this will be the new beginning. Most people think the Nazis a little absurd here, too obsessive there. But perhaps the time for thinking is over. Adolf Hitler did not seize power. He was offered it just as his voting strength was declining. The politicians who made Hitler chancellor argued, We are hiring him. Their figurehead was the ancient President von Hindenburg. Communists and Socialists tried to take Hitler coolly. This wouldn’t last, they said. Conservative anti-Nazis took comfort from the fact that their old war leader Hindenburg, still head of state, was known to despise the vulgar little corporal.
With mock solemnity, Hitler and his lieutenants walked to the ceremonial opening of parliament. The party’s strength had been built up by revolutionary violence. They had never imagined that they could take office legally. When the old Reichstag building was mysteriously gutted by fire, Hitler seized his chance to suspend all civil liberties. His followers could hardly believe their luck. The old Hindenburg, the symbol of apparent continuity, presided as they turned office into power by acts of sham legality. ln March, when the Reichstag voted to allow Hitler to govern without parliament, Hindenburg made no comment. The legal chancellor marched irresistibly into the role of the legal dictator. Hitler proclaimed the new Germany, and meant it to last a thousand years.
The new Germany began to round up its enemies — Communists, Socialists, impertinent journalists, even Reichstag deputies. They bullied more than they murdered. From the first moment, Hitler unleashed his promised campaign against the Jews. The SA organised boycotts of Jewish-owned shops. The real point was to encourage the German people to think and act anti-Semitic as a matter of course. The outside world was horrified, but there were those, including many German Jews, who thought the anti-Jewish campaign the work of Nazi extremists-something Herr Hitler would put a stop to when he felt more secure.
There was to be a cultural revolution, too. German culture would be purged of the Jewish-Bolshevist taint. Books flew into the fire. Many of those who flung them were students and teachers. And, as the sparks rose, the intellectuals fled — writers and scientists — to give their talents to Western Europe and America. A hundred years before the German-Jewish poet, Heine, whose books now went into the fire, had warned: “Where one burns books, there one eventually burns people.”
The World at War (BBC, 1973)
All I did was swap out the nouns and other minor wording to make them relevant to today, but the connotations are exactly the same. I originally completed this exercise nearly seven years ago when traitor trump first came into power — before his complete takeover of the RepuliKKKlan Party — and not much in the passages’ meaning has changed. Indeed, if the ease with which this description of a horrific past can be re-applied to the present doesn’t terrify you, then we’re in even worse trouble than I thought. The question remains: Did what I write five years ago better describe the past or what is yet to come? Welcome to stupid (fascist) America! We are so f***ed. And no one cares! Mark my words, morons!
