Once upon a time Jack Reacher was a mensch among men, an uber-mensch. O how the mighty have fallen.
I recently read a tale of Reacher's escapades ("Night School") in which one of the main enemies he confronts consists of a group of "far-right" neo-Nazis.
Jack, Jack, Jack...and to think that I always considered you to be the smartest guy in the room. To call neo-Nazis far-right is so wrong on so many levels that I hardly know where to begin. Let's start with some basics and take it from there.
The traditional Western political spectrum runs from massive centralized government on the extreme left, to increasingly smaller government as you move further right, to no government (anarchy) on the extreme right.
Bigger Government on the Left, Smaller Government on the right. Bigger Government on the Left, Smaller Government on the Right. Are we clear so far Reacher -- I'm not going too fast? Good.
We should note in passing that as government increases individual freedom decreases, and vice versa.
Let's move on to fascism shall we? Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) is widely credited with founding fascism. Following are a couple of quotes from him:
For the Fascist, everything is in the State, and nothing human or spiritual exists, much less has value, outside the State.
All within the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State!
Let me Americanize those quotes in order to help elucidate things:
For the Fascist, everything is in the Federal Government, and nothing human or spiritual exists, much less has value, outside the Federal Government.
All within the Federal Government, nothing outside the Federal Government, nothing against the Federal Government!
Pop quiz Reacher: Do the above quotes sound like they come from someone on the left side of the political spectrum (Big Government), or someone on the right side of the political spectrum (Small Government)? Take your time, I know it's a real head-scratcher.
Bingo! You are correct sir, it sounds like something someone from the left side of the political spectrum would say. Maybe there is hope for you after all.
Fascism is a left-wing ideology all the way. The "Spanish Civil War" (1936-1939) for example, was a left vs. left turf war--left-wing communism against left-wing fascism. (Think Shia and Sunni Islam--same basic ideology, differing details, at each other's throats).
Which brings us to the Nazis--a subset of fascism. The Nazi political party was the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei). Left-wing or right-wing?
Let me give you a hint Reacher--Socialist Workers Party. Left-wing or right-wing? Put it all together, come on I know you can do it. The Nazis were and are a subset of fascism, which as we have seen is a left-wing (Big Government) ideology, and the operative words in the Nazi party label are "Socialist Workers Party" which means that the Nazis are....
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Oh you're close, it's on the tip of your tongue I can tell. That's right! The Nazis are left wing. Atta boy, I knew you could do it.
One more teensy hurdle to jump and you're home free Reacher. If fascists and Nazis were, are, and always will be left-wing, then neo-Nazis are...? Left-wing. Correctamundo my man! (You are on a roll Reacher. If it's not too much trouble I suggest you clue your pal Lee Child in on all this. It's what a friend would do).
Don't feel too bad that you were duped by the Left for so many years--you have LOTS of company. I did expect you to see through the lies, obfuscation, misdirection and smoke 'n' mirrors though. Ah well, as I say, you have lots of company.
The late Oriana Fallaci--an undeniably bright and astute person--was also fooled by "this Left that gave birth to Mussolini then Hitler." Fallaci was an anti-fascist partisan during WW II, and an iconoclastic lifelong leftist. Late in her life she compared the communists and fascists to two soccer teams that appeared to be in passionate opposition, but behind the scenes were working together hand in glove.
"And there are moments when I curse myself for not having understood it earlier; for having let myself be fooled by the two soccer-teams for so long. Dammit."-- Oriana Fallaci "The Force of Reason" p.206
Are you with me so far Reacher, is everything copacetic? Excellent.
Once one understands that fascism in general, and Nazism in particular were, are, and always will be, left-wing ideologies, then the scales drop from your eyes, heavenly choirs rejoice, and "I Saw the Light" will play in stereo surround-sound inside your head. Well okay, maybe not that dramatic, but many previously muddled and perplexing incongruities will clear up and disappear.
That's it for today's lesson Jack. Perhaps we will get together again and talk about the collusion between globalists and jihadists...you know, the collusion that is intentionallydestroyingwestern Europe'snation states? That one. (The "useful idiots" are clueless about all this because, well, they're idiots. You are not an idiot are you Reacher? No? Good to hear).
You're a smart guy Reacher; I am sure you will be able to figure things out for yourself, now that you know your left from your right.
Born June 4, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Served in the U.S. Navy from 1970-1974 in both UDT-21 (Underwater Demolition Team) and SEAL Team Two. Worked as a commercial diver in the waters off of Scotland, India, and the United States. Worked overseas in the Merchant Marines. While attending the University of South Florida as a journalism student in 1998 was presented with the “Carol Burnett/University of Hawaii AEJMC Research in Journalism Ethics Award,” 1st place undergraduate division. (The annual contest was set up by Carol Burnett with money she won from successfully suing a national newspaper for libel). Awarded US Army, US Navy, South African, and Russian jump wings. Graduate of NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School, 1970). Member of Mensa, China Post #1, and lifetime member of the NRA and UDT/SEAL Association.
Once upon a time Jack Reacher was a mensch among men, an uber-mensch. O how the mighty have fallen.
I recently read a tale of Reacher's escapades ("Night School") in which one of the main enemies he confronts consists of a group of "far-right" neo-Nazis.
Jack, Jack, Jack...and to think that I always considered you to be the smartest guy in the room. To call neo-Nazis far-right is so wrong on so many levels that I hardly know where to begin. Let's start with some basics and take it from there.
The traditional Western political spectrum runs from massive centralized government on the extreme left, to increasingly smaller government as you move further right, to no government (anarchy) on the extreme right.
