Sound Familiar?

[Guest guest]

The other day I received a spam e-mail, which contained a

very "George W. Bush"-ish comment about war -- but was attributed to

Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarshall and Luftwaffe-Chief under Adolf

Hitler in World War II. Now, anyone who knows me at all knows I am no

fan of Mr. Bush; but in that Bleeding-Heart-Liberal spirit of

fairness, I figured I'd better check the quote before spreading it

too far around.

 

Well, guess what? It's true! Herr Goering spoke these words not at

his War Crimes trial, but in his cell -- speaking privately to a

intelligence officer/prison psychologist on 18 April 1946, just four

months before he committed suicide by cyanide. The psychologist

wrote:

 

We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary

to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very

thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction.

 

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why

would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when

the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one

piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia

nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That

is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who

determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the

people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or

a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."

 

"There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people

have some say in the matter through their elected representatives,

and in the United States only Congress can declare wars."

 

"Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people

can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy.

All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce

the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to

danger. It works the same way in any country."

 

It seems that Herr Goering was right, nein? For the full story behind

the spam, see the Urban Legends site at

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/goering.htm

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe