Power Of Life And Death Is In Our Words

IBD Editorials ^ | March 2, 2009 | Thomas Sowell

[Kaslin]

They say talk is cheap. But in fact it can be devastatingly expensive. Among the generation of Germans who were enthralled by Hitler's eloquence, millions paid with their lives and their children's lives for empowering this demagogue to lead them to ruin and infamy.

Germany before Hitler was one of the more tolerant nations in Europe. That was what attracted so many Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe — tragically, to their doom.

German immigrants who settled around the world have been among the more tolerant peoples — not angels, a standard that only intellectuals could use, but comparing favorably with most others.

Do not for one moment think that we are either intellectually or morally superior to those Germans who put Hitler in power. We have been saved by our institutions and our traditions — the very institutions and traditions that so many are so busy eroding or dismantling, whether in classrooms or courtrooms or in the halls of Congress and the White House.

Talk matters for good reasons as well as bad. Anyone familiar with the desperate predicament of Britain in 1940, when it stood alone against the Nazi juggernaut that had smashed whole nations in weeks or even days, knows how crucial Winston Churchill's command of the English language was to sustaining the national will, which was the margin between survival and annihilation.

[sionnsar]

We have been saved by our institutions and our traditions — the very institutions and traditions that so many are so busy eroding or dismantling, whether in classrooms or courtrooms or in the halls of Congress and the White House.

"THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE FREE: THE GERMANS, 1933-45"

[LibFreeOrDie]

That was “incendiary” and “ugly”... /s

[Cindy]

SNIPPET from the link in post no.1:

"Unfortunately, people on the make seem to have a keener appreciation of the power of words, as the magic road to other power, than do people defending values that seem to them too obvious to require words.

The expression "It goes without saying . . . " is a fatal trap. Few things go without saying. Some of the most valuable things in life may go away without saying — whether loved ones in one's personal life or the freedom or survival of a nation.

Barack Obama is today's most prominent example of the power of words. Conversely, the understated patrician style of country-club Republicans is no small part of their many problems."

[kittymyrib]

And for those who think education is the answer to all the world’s problems, German was the best educated country in the world and most of the Brown Shirts were students.

God bless Thomas Sowell for his courage in pointing out the politically incorrect but inescapable truth in this article.
He can do it because he is a Black man, but patriotism knows no color barriers.

[OneWingedShark]

Sowell shows some good thought in his writing. Perhaps one day I will write as well.

[Force of Truth]

We The People give away are freedom in exchange for security.

[eclecticEel]

Every elected republican should be reading this article once3 a day from now till the next election, would it sink in by then?

[livius]

Very perceptive. It is true that conservatives in general are not good communicators because we seem to think the message should speak for itself. Rush is fantastic because he realizes that this is just wishful thinking; you have to get out there and say it. Furthermore, we're dealing with a population that is so undereducated that they have little knowledge of American principles, so we have to do massive education in a way that will catch people's attention.

Part of it, in terms of the GOP itself, is that there are many Republican candidates who long ago forgot their principles and actually don't have anything to say. But even those who do are understated and way too polite.

I liked this observation: Gen. Douglas MacArthur gave a one-word definition of defensive warfare: defeat.