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June 30, 2000/27 Sivan 5760, Vol. 52, No.43
The Hitler analogy
MARTY LATZ
Special to Jewish News
Adolf Hitler comes as close to personifying the most purely evil human being as ever walked the face of Earth. The death and destruction he wrought will forever scar human history.
Yet, politicians and others continually raise the specter of Hitler and analogize current public figures to him in an effort to motivate us to support their views and proposed actions. Case in point is Arizona Congressman John Shadegg's likening President Bill Clinton to Hitler for proclaiming the Ironwood Forest northwest of Tucson a national monument.
"I would draw a parallel to Hitler," said Shadegg. "He eroded the will of the German people to resist evil." Shadegg was talking about Clinton's use of the president's executive power to create national monuments.
When a person analogizes Hitler or the Holocaust to a current figure or event, it should invoke an extraordinarily powerful emotion relating directly to the horrors of what Hitler did. Hitler meticulously planned to systematically annihilate a race of people and led a powerful war effort supported by millions that almost allowed him to accomplish this horrific goal.
If the parallel being drawn does not directly relate to this essential aspect of Hitler, the analogy weakens the world's memory of the true horror of what Hitler did.
Further, use of analogies - especially those to highly emotion-laden figures and events - often represents an intellectually lazy effort to convince listeners to adopt the speaker's conclusion without independently analyzing the complicated issue at hand. Shadegg mentions Hitler; we think evil. Shadegg mentions Clinton; wants us to think evil. It's sound bite persuasion, guilt by association. It may be unaccompanied by a real effort to explain why the objectionable person's actions may be flawed in some way.
And even if some explanation is forthcoming and the speaker complains of being taken out of context by the media, the speaker may well be media-savvy enough to know reporters love such quotes and sound bites. It's disingenuous to use an analogy hoping it will get news coverage, then complain when it does.
Finally, analogizing current figures and events to Hitler and the Holocaust in most cases is historically inaccurate and misleading. Significant and important distinctions abound with most current political leaders and events, including even those who have murdered portions of their own population.
Several years ago, I toured the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and gained a deeper understanding of the true scope and magnitude of Hitler's "Final Solution." While I had studied the Holocaust extensively, the experience still personalized it in a unique and powerful way.
I don't know if Shadegg or others analogizing current figures and events to Hitler and the Holocaust have ever taken this tour. If not, they should. It's important for them to appreciate the true nature of Hitler's evil. It may also help them learn to think before they speak.
Reach Marty Latz by letter to Jewish News or by e-mail to Latz@NegotiationInstitute.com.
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