The Imprudence of Comparing to Hitler

This past weekend, I took the opportunity to visit the Holocaust Museum while I was in Washington, DC. As I recall, one of the earliest exhibits was devoted to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. The Nazis’ repeated use of antisemitic propaganda eventually gained a foothold in a nation recently shamed and defeated in World War I. But to say the very least, there are no words, no reasonable justification for the unspeakable and horrid evils that the Nazis perpetrated upon the Jews, the handicapped, homosexuals, and various other groups in the Holocaust.  If anyone has the chance to see this museum, I would highly recommend it. One of many benefits of visiting a place like this is having a chance to put our current state of affairs in perspective.

As a conservative, it has always bothered me when someone on the left evokes Hitler or the Nazi party in comparison to someone on the right. Since such a tactic has been employed by some on the left, I suppose I might have even used it as well. But rarely is this ever truly justified, and if I have used this type of rhetoric in a trivial manner, I readily apologize,.for by employing such a comparison, either the legacy of history is distorted or the most hateful of insults is being delivered.

To accuse someone, of either political persuasion, of being similar to Adolf Hitler or the Nazi party is to diminish the nature of what actually happened. When Ward Churchill refers to those in the twin towers on 9/11 as “little Eichmanns,” he erodes the legacy of Adolf Eichmann. When anyone refers to tea party demonstrators as “brown shirts,” they essentially belittle what the “brown shirts” actually were. And yes, even when Ann Coulter compares Obama to Hitler, Hitler is trivialized. But also, when Ann Coulter is compared to Hitler, Hitler is trivialized once more. As much as it may upset my friends on the right, when Obama is given a Hitler mustache, we are no better than those who put said mustache on George W. Bush. Neither makes a valid point. Both accusations make the bearer of such a message into a discredited fool.

Have we watered down the nature of this history so much or are these comparisons truly sincere? If someone is well aware of what happened in Nazi Germany, and they proceed with such an accusation, it had better be founded with reasonable facts or it is nothing more than a rude and hateful insult. Certainly, it is the rightful nature of our free republic to allow such speech. The right of those to employ this type of rhetoric is without question. But the imprudence of this misuse of history cannot be denied.

However, if there are reasonable and factual comparisons to be drawn with Hitler or the Nazi party, they should be done with the utmost care, if not avoided altogether. We are to learn from our history in order to avoid the mistakes of the past. If we demean the truth of our history, we begin to dissolve the severity of these mistakes. This is something we cannot afford.

So, instead of employing self-destructive comparisons and emotional distractions, we should debate issues on the grounds of fact and merit. Otherwise, neither we nor those with whom we disagree will benefit.

Article first published as The Imprudence of Comparing to Hitler on Blogcritics.

Burning Books Never Solved Anything

A church in Gainesville, Florida has decided that it would be somehow beneficial for them to burn copies of the Qur’an on September 11th. I couldn’t disagree more.

Those who know me are aware of the fact that I am a Christian and that I do not support nor endorse the religion of Islam. Far from it, actually. But I know that if I were to turn on my television and see a group of Muslims burning the Bible, I would be angry and upset. Why? Because the Bible is precious to me.

The Bible is, what I believe to be, the revealed word of the Creator of the universe. Now, I’m not here to make a case for the Bible, much less a case for the Qur’an. But I know that the Bible is a book I would like to see in every village, every city, every country, every continent. I want people to read it. I want Muslims to read it. I want Jews to read it. I want Buddhists, Taoists, Pagans, Shintoists, Hindus, atheists and agnostics to read it. And considering that many of them obviously don’t do it enough, I want Christians to read it. Destroying one copy of that book deprives someone of a chance to read it. And frankly, it’s the same with the Qur’an.

If Christians were concerned about the souls of Muslims, which they should be according to…the Bible, they would do well to read the Qur’an, not burn it. How will a Christian convert a Muslim without knowing Islam? And how else will a Christian learn about Islam without a Qur’an?

The Qur’an is not sacred nor precious to me, but I can say that I do understand why it is important to Muslim people around the world. Burning the Qur’an only fans the flames of ignorance toward a people who Christians should reach out to, a people who also trace their spiritual lineage to Abraham. Every time a copy of the Muslim holy book is burned, Christians are one step further from reaching the Muslim community. It’s time that we Christians step in a different direction.

Article first published as Burning Books Never Solved Anything on Blogcritics.