Avner Less was a Jew. A German Jew. His family was murdered in the extermination camps. His destiny required his survival. He became a policeman and rose through the ranks. He was an Israeli. Eichman was the organizer of the Wansee Conference, chaired by Reinhardt Heydrich in January 1942. It was the meeting during which the industrial scale murder of Europe’s Jews was planned. They spoke in euphemisms. They talked about shipments “east.” They talked about “special treatment.” They talked about settling the Jewish question and called it the “final solution.” The meeting was filled with lawyers. Everything was legal. The Nazis were obsessed with legality. Everything was buttoned up, especially the meticulous record keeping. The surviving set of minutes is the record of the greatest crime in the history of humanity – planned in a leafy Berlin suburb over a sumptuous lunch in just 90 minutes. That is all the time it took.
Stand up. Act up. Or we will surely lose the future. "What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander." - Elie Wiesel
Yvon Chouinard is quoted as saying, “Evil always wins if we do nothing”
I believe what we are witnessing is based in evil.
It’s a powerful, dark entity that fills the depraved, greed filled, soulless and power driven actors. And it has unlimited fuel by the complicit media that refuses to call it out.
The survival of our country is in our hands. We have the power to stop this destruction.
Thank you Steve for once again speaking the truth so eloquently
I wish I had your ability to express oneself so well. You deliver a prose that hits all the high notes in describing the abhorrent behavior of wannabe dictators and their followers. Their depravity is on display every day.
Once I believed Fascism could not take hold here in American. Now, I am not so sure with the rise of Fox News. These Right-wing propaganda outlets have normalized Fascism. They wrap it up in the American flag to disguise it but it is unmistakably Fascism. I have seen family and friends fall under their spell and it enrages me. I know truth is a powerful weapon in this struggle but it is falling on deaf ears. I fear the rewriting of history is happening at an accelerated pace, too fast to be countered with truth. I hope I am wrong and I pray truth sets us free from the tyranny of Fascism.
When lucidity breaks through darkness with the magnetic force that is you, Steve Schmidt, when words and reason are belief in the dignity that we all deserve and live for, hope becomes selective for those who trust and understand that democracy is the sole system of government that guarantees the dignity of man. To defend and protect democracy is the one course of action ahead. This community gathered here is made up of women and men who understand that such is the action we must all take. Vote with the wisdom that there are too many bad candidates running for office in America. Too many. But what sets them apart is that for every Vance there is a Ryan, for every Mastriano there is a Shapiro, for every Abbott there is an O'Rourke. Good candidates are fighting for our dignity, mobilizing voters against all odds like Stacey Abrams. America shines with the talent and determination that can weed out bad candidates, fake candidates, those empty vessels that point towards becoming time bombs if let loose to pursue MAGA delusions that have nothing to do with the greatness of America other than the destruction of its very foundations that, by design and vision, have given its people what no other country has, a Constitutional Republic for a nation of immigrants and committed to the signature of treaties with its Native Americans. It is an affront to our dignity as American citizens that Donald Trump still parades through Washington D.C. as if nothing ever happened, spewing his mockery and name-calling to get the laughs from those who think alike, hate alike, denigrate alike, and taunt the power of the Rule of Law.
Steve, Your voice is unique, at least to me, among political commentators, in that your prose evinces the true emotions of the moment you are delineating. You come across as blunt, knowledgeable, and forthright. I for one appreciate the tenor and tone of your powerful remarks. Thanks for your clear eyed knowledge of history and its importance, still, in our daily lives.
Thanks for another great article, Steve. I love the historical perspective to bring clarity to our current challenge. In order for the "millions" to conquer over the "thousands", the leaders of the "millions" need to put asided their battles and band together to bring the extremist movement down. FDR and Churchill put their hatred of communism aside and built a winning coalition with Stalin to put down Hitler. Democrats need to understand that the fight is no longer between conservative and progressive causes, but a battle to save our democracy.
The Republicans are using culture wars and left-right debates to fracture this majority coalition. I hope the "millions" are closely watching the 1/6 hearings. The committee itself is setting an example. Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney have put their differences aside to fight for our democracy. I hope the "millions" can follow their lead.
I don’t think the behaviors of the little Eichmanns are thoughtless. The thought behind it is to return this country to idealistic time (I’m not sure if it ever existed) when life was simple and predictable for white middle-class people. It’s a turn to a Utopia for the few and a dystopia for the many. This turn is happening worldwide.
As
Eichmann believed in racial purity, he abandoned his humanity for an ideology. This too is what the GOP is doing. And worst of all they cloak this MAGA ideology in Christianity. So, it becomes more than an idea; it becomes a fight for the soul, and then everyone forgets what it all means as they fight for their salvation. Ironically, this is the banality of evil.
Steve sees this and can articulate and analyze it beautifully, and we subscribers can see this—but why can’t the Trump supporters? They are enticed by his subtext promise of a return to a “Leave it to Beaver” world of comfortable White supremacy and his stoking of fear and distrust of a truly multiracial democracy where White people are not the default upper status group. Some can overtly see and claim this. Many others are closet endorsers who secretly yearn for the Beaver’s return while hoping things do not get too out of hand.
Wow, I'm speechless, every paragraph is a gut punch of truth, honest savage unadulterated truth, Unfortunately. Thank you for your service, and your superb writing! Amazing to watch such nonsense play out, never thought I'd see the day.
There are no words, just WOW - any one reading this, please, VOTE, get your friends and family to vote - we must preserve our delicate democracy - we cannot let the naysayers win in November - they say the Democrats will lose the House, this doesn't have to happen - write letters, send texts, call people and get out there and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE - Thanks Steve
Do we want democracy too?
Stand up. Act up. Or we will surely lose the future. "What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander." - Elie Wiesel
Yvon Chouinard is quoted as saying, “Evil always wins if we do nothing”
I believe what we are witnessing is based in evil.
It’s a powerful, dark entity that fills the depraved, greed filled, soulless and power driven actors. And it has unlimited fuel by the complicit media that refuses to call it out.
The survival of our country is in our hands. We have the power to stop this destruction.
Thank you Steve for once again speaking the truth so eloquently
I wish I had your ability to express oneself so well. You deliver a prose that hits all the high notes in describing the abhorrent behavior of wannabe dictators and their followers. Their depravity is on display every day.
Once I believed Fascism could not take hold here in American. Now, I am not so sure with the rise of Fox News. These Right-wing propaganda outlets have normalized Fascism. They wrap it up in the American flag to disguise it but it is unmistakably Fascism. I have seen family and friends fall under their spell and it enrages me. I know truth is a powerful weapon in this struggle but it is falling on deaf ears. I fear the rewriting of history is happening at an accelerated pace, too fast to be countered with truth. I hope I am wrong and I pray truth sets us free from the tyranny of Fascism.
When lucidity breaks through darkness with the magnetic force that is you, Steve Schmidt, when words and reason are belief in the dignity that we all deserve and live for, hope becomes selective for those who trust and understand that democracy is the sole system of government that guarantees the dignity of man. To defend and protect democracy is the one course of action ahead. This community gathered here is made up of women and men who understand that such is the action we must all take. Vote with the wisdom that there are too many bad candidates running for office in America. Too many. But what sets them apart is that for every Vance there is a Ryan, for every Mastriano there is a Shapiro, for every Abbott there is an O'Rourke. Good candidates are fighting for our dignity, mobilizing voters against all odds like Stacey Abrams. America shines with the talent and determination that can weed out bad candidates, fake candidates, those empty vessels that point towards becoming time bombs if let loose to pursue MAGA delusions that have nothing to do with the greatness of America other than the destruction of its very foundations that, by design and vision, have given its people what no other country has, a Constitutional Republic for a nation of immigrants and committed to the signature of treaties with its Native Americans. It is an affront to our dignity as American citizens that Donald Trump still parades through Washington D.C. as if nothing ever happened, spewing his mockery and name-calling to get the laughs from those who think alike, hate alike, denigrate alike, and taunt the power of the Rule of Law.
Please circulate this more broadly. This is one of your best pieces and should be read by everyone.
Steve, Your voice is unique, at least to me, among political commentators, in that your prose evinces the true emotions of the moment you are delineating. You come across as blunt, knowledgeable, and forthright. I for one appreciate the tenor and tone of your powerful remarks. Thanks for your clear eyed knowledge of history and its importance, still, in our daily lives.
Thanks for another great article, Steve. I love the historical perspective to bring clarity to our current challenge. In order for the "millions" to conquer over the "thousands", the leaders of the "millions" need to put asided their battles and band together to bring the extremist movement down. FDR and Churchill put their hatred of communism aside and built a winning coalition with Stalin to put down Hitler. Democrats need to understand that the fight is no longer between conservative and progressive causes, but a battle to save our democracy.
The Republicans are using culture wars and left-right debates to fracture this majority coalition. I hope the "millions" are closely watching the 1/6 hearings. The committee itself is setting an example. Adam Schiff and Liz Cheney have put their differences aside to fight for our democracy. I hope the "millions" can follow their lead.
I don’t think the behaviors of the little Eichmanns are thoughtless. The thought behind it is to return this country to idealistic time (I’m not sure if it ever existed) when life was simple and predictable for white middle-class people. It’s a turn to a Utopia for the few and a dystopia for the many. This turn is happening worldwide.
As
Eichmann believed in racial purity, he abandoned his humanity for an ideology. This too is what the GOP is doing. And worst of all they cloak this MAGA ideology in Christianity. So, it becomes more than an idea; it becomes a fight for the soul, and then everyone forgets what it all means as they fight for their salvation. Ironically, this is the banality of evil.
Steve sees this and can articulate and analyze it beautifully, and we subscribers can see this—but why can’t the Trump supporters? They are enticed by his subtext promise of a return to a “Leave it to Beaver” world of comfortable White supremacy and his stoking of fear and distrust of a truly multiracial democracy where White people are not the default upper status group. Some can overtly see and claim this. Many others are closet endorsers who secretly yearn for the Beaver’s return while hoping things do not get too out of hand.
Steve, I’m so grateful to you for your straight out commentary. I hope enough people are listening to make a difference this November.
Wow, I'm speechless, every paragraph is a gut punch of truth, honest savage unadulterated truth, Unfortunately. Thank you for your service, and your superb writing! Amazing to watch such nonsense play out, never thought I'd see the day.
Thank you. I look forward to reading THE WARNING and sharing it.
There are no words, just WOW - any one reading this, please, VOTE, get your friends and family to vote - we must preserve our delicate democracy - we cannot let the naysayers win in November - they say the Democrats will lose the House, this doesn't have to happen - write letters, send texts, call people and get out there and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE - Thanks Steve
This is your most powerful essay yet. Thank you for the wake up call. I am sharing it far and wide. God help us. And may we not be idle bystanders.
Brilliantly written, and terrifying. A powerful call to action. Thank you.
Thank you for demonstrating, once again, what words can do to bring focus and clarity in the perilous fog we are wading through.