That said...
The misconception that "Hitler and the NAZIs came from the right" goes back to who and when that statement was made - Joe Stalin WWII.
Any attack on Stalin would have, by necessity, come from the "right" as he was posited as far to the left as possible. To equivicate "that right" with today's conservative right is falsity, and will destroy any credibilty you may have built up here on FR.
The left likes to throw the Nazi term at the right to deflect attention away from their own exstreamisms. 99% of the time this attempt occurs, they have already lost the argument and they know it.
Any attack on Stalin would have, by necessity, come from the "right" as he was posited as far to the left as possible. To equivicate "that right" with today's conservative right is falsity, and will destroy any credibilty you may have built up here on FR.
Yes, and I've tried to make it clear that I'm not calling anyone here a fascist just because they call themselves right. First off I'd argue that both modern left and right in America try to purge themselves of any commis or fascists, at least publically.
I'm probably going to get blasted for this too, but there are still some modern threads left over from the left vs. right conflict of that time. I'm going to illustrate some points the two sides argue around. I used Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932 contrasting his view with socialism.
1) "All men were created equal."
commi: yes equal everything, lets kill the rich and take their stuff.
social democrat: progressive taxation, social services for the poor, let's actively fight social disparity.
conservate: flat tax, get rid of social services, the rich will take care of the poor if you let them.
fascist: no, nature never made all men equal. My race/nation/group has a right to crush others if it can. Evolutionary supperiority of races/peoples/cultures.
2) Internationalism
Commi: "workers of the world unite!", the worker has no country, solidarity for all man (and usually women).
socialist: let's strenghten the UN and make big international treaties
conservative: America first, use loose coalitions as we see fit. The threat of war will keep other countries honest. Never compromise our sovereignty.
fascist: "War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it." My country should be conquering its neighbors or I'm doing something wrong.
There may be other points were this contiunum from left to right is appearent. Of coarse on important issues like democracy and freedom both wing nuts seem to wind up the same. I like the political compass Capt Phoenix mentioned.
The left likes to throw the Nazi term at the right to deflect attention away from their own exstreamisms. 99% of the time this attempt occurs, they have already lost the argument and they know it.
Yes, I agree, and not all people on the left are raving commies. It is important to save words like fascist or communist for the few occasions where they really fit. You may have a point that there may be more nutty leftists that don't value democracy than there are rightists that would openly question the value of it.