Dear Editor:
RE: ‘Extreme views’, Feb. 11.
Again, I read with interest, Jim Taylor’s letter to the editor. I have always found that when a discussion devolves into false assertions, insults or name calling, it is self degrading to respond.
I would however like Taylor to think about his statement at the end of his letter, and just why he thinks those “rags” with a different perspective are any more reprehensible than the “accepted” norm.
I am writing these letters, not because I have “extreme views” but because I am scared about the direction our nation is heading. I am a firm believer that “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” (Winston Churchill).
After my initial letter (Just like Hitler? – Jan. 28) was published, I got a phone call from a strong acquaintance of mine. This individual is in his 90s and he went through most of his formative years in Nazi Germany. He practically begged me to stop writing these letters, not because I am wrong, but because he feels I am too close to the truth, and the powers at play will mark me for silence or worse.
As reprehensible as the Nazis were, I truly believe they were not the most reprehensible political movement in the 20th century. By far the most reprehensible movement in the 20th century by a factor in the hundreds beyond the Nazis, was the communist movement.
Putting it mildly, life is very unpleasant under socialism/communism, and anyone who believes anything different is very seriously misinformed.
Common tactics employed are geared around the one objective: to do anything possible to get into power. This is usually manifested by appealing to any number of our deadly sins through lies and manipulation and discrediting or silencing any opposition.
Once in power, a common tactic is to run up massive debts, so any alternate government will have no choice but to follow the dictates of the previous government just to manage the massive debt (any of this sound familiar?). Time and space limit further expansion on a lot of other tactics.
In conclusion, we need to stop depending on an empty shell (our government[s]) and start to seriously think about the consequences of our individual actions, namely our overwhelming dependence on government, because the far reaching effects are too horrendous to imagine.
Wayne Baker,
Wellington North