This week marks a very important turning point in American history by two stories worthy of noting.  One deals with the discovery of a quote by Adolf Hitler that 'taints' a senior yearbook at Easton High.  The other involves a polarizing rally called "Restoring Honor" with controversial TV host, and cantankerous conservative, Glenn Beck as its host.  On the surface these two events are different in their make-up. However, juxtaposing the two, there emerges a startling similarity.  In short, there is no difference.
Hitler quote: Â Background
The Post Chronicle reports that a startling discovery in the senior yearbook was made in a Pennsylvania high school at Easton High.
On page 190 of the 2010 yearbook, a quote from the Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler, was discovered. Â After the school's administration learned of the offensive quote, they scrambled to have it censored witih a special sticker.
Tucked away inside the yearbook along with quotes from other famous leaders was this entry by Adolf Hitler:
"And in the last analysis, success is what matters."
Michael Koch, principal of the Easton, Pennsylvania high school expressed remorse over the event and stated that they are doing all they can to prevent long and short-term negative impacts by the offensive discovery.
He had this to say:
"By no means did we want it to be there. Â It was an oversight in the revision process. Â It was an honest mistake."
By his own admission, the quote by Hitler, that was taken from the literary work, "The Face of the Third Reich: Â Portraits of the Nazi Leadership", had created a sour environment in the school. Â He admits that it "tainted the yearbook and the memories" for the graduating seniors.
The Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" rally: Â Background
In just two days on August 28, 2010, Glenn Beck will host his controversial "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial in the national mall of our nations' capital. Â He claims that he is hosting the event to "reclaim our civil rights" and to honor the men and women who sacrifice their lives in defense of our country.
So far, I'm wondering if this announcement "taints" the American spirit.
There's just one problem with this, or several if I may add. Â This so-called "Restoring Honor" Glenn Beck rally is being held on the same day and in the same place where the world usually pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech.
Beck states that he was not aware of the conflict in the dates, but his rally should put an end to the "haters" who believe his agenda and rhetoric is designed to be divisive. Â This, by all accounts, will be a strong sell.
Glenn Beck and Adolf Hitler: Â How are they similar?
Hitler was known for his brilliant style of leadership that sparked fear into the hearts of those who loved him and feared him. Â This charismatic dictator rose to the top of Germany's leadership, and left an indelible legacy behind marred in hatred, guilt, murder, racism, and genocide.
Hitler led with an iron fist promoting antisemitism, German nationalism, anti-capitalism, and a single-party dictatorship.  He is known for his fiery and thunderous orations spreading propaganda for the expressed reason for acquiring and maintaining absolute power over the nation in which he led, with hopes of world dominion.
Fast forward to Glenn Beck, there is a subtle similarity. Â Many would argue that the similarities are conspicuous, as Beck makes no effort to conceal that he aligns with the conservative and "Tea Party" movements.
Beck uses his media savvy, fiery rhetoric, and role at "Fox" as a platform to spread his separatist agenda. Â His following, largely whites, conservatives, and white supremacists, should serve as an indication as to how his messages are received.
Instead of using planes to drop leaflets around the nation spreading his conservative propaganda against the Obama administration, and minorities, he uses an event like a "Restoring Honor" rally to further his quest to synthesize a one party rule, cloaked in a "Tea Party" agenda.
The only thing that is right about Beck and Hitler, if one were hard pressed to quantify a positive is, had Hitler been part of this American democracy, he would have a right to free speech.
But, even free speech has its inherent limits.
Which one "taints" the foundations of our inherent liberties, more: Â a Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" rally or a quote in a year book at East High by Hitler?
©2010 by Bruce Baker for Gather.com, All rights reserved.
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Comments: 95
I like history majors. They know some pretty neat stuff. Like when the first ant crossed the Atlantic and other good stuff
I get that you don't like Beck but give some reasonably accurate reason why other than the usual lame talking points. Is the "I have a Dream " speech one that can only be celebrated by Black Americans? Surely you won't say yes to that.
Beck has done shows on the Founding Fathers and Revolutionary heroes including African American heroes? What is controversial about that?
He raises substantial money for a charity for families of special forces members killed in combat called Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). Did Hitler do that?
What has Beck said that agrees even tangentially much less substantially with anything that Hitler said? You fail to offer any real evidence to support the title of your piece.
As for Beck, he is just another man with a popular media position and yes, I have heard him speak. He has just as much a right to be an extreme conservative as Obama and Mr Baker has a right to be extreme Leftists. I have heard Beck, Obama, and now you Mr Baker. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect that. You should respect others as well. If we all work together in building a solid government, we can all be relatively happy in these endeavors. However, trying to nullify the Beck gathering by lableling this coming event as some sort of KKK meeting is not going to be productive. I agree with Ken, and I also believe you should attend this meeting at the Lincoln Memorial so you can accurately report what happened instead of a biased opinion of your own personal hatred.
You defininately lost out on the impartial reporting prize here, but why Beck? Does his opinion on Obama and the original freedom fighters that founded this country threaten you in some way? Is this influencing you to mention "white people' as if they are your own personal cancer threatening your way of life?
If 17% of the population is black, how did a black president make it into the White House? White people voted for him. Put your color issues away, those crutches are broken.
As for Beck and conservatives of any color, let them be. They are entitled to their opinion just as you are yours sir. As for this rally, I would like to know what is said, not what you think will be said with a tainted opinion. Give the man a chance.
Ken, you are right too, Dr. King's niece is very supportive of Beck and she is now the victim of these attack dogs. No doubt she will be identified as the next Hitler! How ridiculous.
Excellent point, Pete.
Another excellent point. Seems to me that would have to mean that even some current TEA partiers also at one time thought Obama was worth voting for . . .
Make no mistake, Beck has openly acknowledged that he has no respect for the civil rights movement. He views his own supporters as the true movement for civil rights. The man is beyond delusional.
Beck: Saturday rally to 'reclaim civil rights movement'
"Content of character! YOu definitely lose.
Ken asked for "sources please," . . . you gave this page as your source. And here is Beck's quote:In fact, he doesn't think the entire Civil Rights movement is an abomination ... he has never said a word of condemnation for the roots and results of the movement or for Dr. King or his beliefs, standards, actions, words, or work on behalf of Civil Rights.
What he has done though, by using two very similar photos to illustrate, is draw comparisons between MLK et al. and what they did and why and how he conducted his public life vs. those who have tried but failed in many ways to take up his mantle.
But there is more. For instance, when people can't comment on the events of the day or on the president's policies, or speak about white knights or cosmic anomalies such as black holes without being called racist, something is wrong with the modern "civil rights movement" orrrrr something is wrong with those who call themselves civil rights activists.
It's becoming a political and cultural joke to either call someone or be called a racist because it's tossed around falsely and unnecessarily so much by so-called civil rights advocates.
i'm a racist he's a racist she's a racist we're a racist
wouldn't you like to be a racist too?
i'm a bigot he's a bigot she's a bigot we're a bigot
wouldn't you like to be a bigot too?
In other words, while it may be just as unpalatable as the way your source spun it, it's not the Civil Rights movement as it was necessitated, finally coalesced, was conceived and given structure through King's mind and heart that is the abomination, but what it has turned into is fast becoming that; and at this point it seems to be more a political cutlass than a hallmark legacy of Martin Luthor King.
a href="http://dwaunh.gather.com/" title="David Anderson " target="_blank">David Anderson Aug 27, 2010, 5:08pm EDT
Beck refers to the civil rights movement as an "abomination". That makes his efforts to upstage the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech extremely offensive to most Americans. He's even dubbed the event "Restoring Honor", a name many take to imply that what King achieved robbed America of its honor.
Make no mistake, Beck has openly acknowledged that he has no respect for the civil rights movement. He views his own supporters as the true movement for civil rights. The man is beyond delusional.
Nora J A. Aug 28, 2010, 9:35am EDT
David, shame on you! you did an outtake quote, the full context is "we reclaim the civil rights movement. It has been so distorted and so turned upside down. It is an abomination."
JARivera 1st Grade Graduate (back in the 40;s they used to give us a graduation after approving the 1st grade) I have some more but this one was the most important and the only one I did displayed in my office.
actually, Hitler was anti-communist, NOT anti capitalist. You know, like Beck. :) The Nazi party during its rise to power loved to send storm troops into the streets to beat up jews and communists. Yeah, I realize that "Nazi" is an acronym for "national socialist"- but it was the frenzied Nationalism that was at the heart of the nazi party, not the socialism. The socialism was German-style socialism, based on capitalism, not communism.
Kind of the same way quoting Mao probably tainted a certain recent graduation ceremony for many graduates. Mao ... Hitler --- similar basic principals (or lack thereof) residing in the minds of two different men.
Using it as a comparison to Beck is just stupid. Just because you disagree with his politics doesnt mean that he is Hitler nor should you insult him like that. Anyone for that matter. I despise Pelosi with every fiber of my being...but I would never compare her to Hitler. That just isnt right.
~M
'I don't like how you think, I don't like it that a lot of people agree with you thereby representing a lot of people who don't agree with ME.......therefore you are a NAZI!
No critical thinking required...Character assassination is all that is needed!
I do love it though that Glenn has so many liberals flailing about...It represents how effective he has been at spreading the anti-liberal..Anti-progressive message.
Fact is, is that there are twice as many self professed conservatives as self professed liberals in our country and the moderates are NOT going to follow the Dems in near the numbers they did when Obama was propagandizing his way into the office of the Presidency.
This fall is going to be exciting to say the least!
You can watch the Restoring Honor Rally live on facebook.
The quote, "And in the last analysis, success is what matters," is basically Hitler's way of saying the end jusitifies the means, so if the kid had written that, would it even have been noticed? That's the ideology behind Hitler's quote and it's pretty much accepted in this society. I'm not saying it's acceptable but it's obviously well accepted.
How you segue into Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally from a Hitler quote in a yearbook so you can find a way to conclude by making a ridiculous comparison between Glenn Beck and Hitler shows lack of any kind of continuity. You could have pointed out a Hitler quote on a cereal box or in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to segue into Beck if you were that desperate to segue into Beck. There's no specific connecting relationship between the two in the first place, except your idea that you're trying to point out the tainting of the yearbook memories as synonymous with tainting of the American spirit, and that's only if you do agree that the quote taints the yearbook or if you think that Glenn Beck hosting a rally on MLK day with MLK's neice as one of the prominent speakers at the rally is tainting the day at all. It's "fast forward" alright and it's so "subtle" as to be unrecognizable except how you've blatantly imagined a contrived connection where there is none, and only for those hell bent on defaming Glenn Beck at all costs.
There is not much difference between Hitler and Stalin or in how they came about in building their dictatorships.
There is more similarities between Obama, Hitler and Stalin in how they used and manipulate the system to their advantage.....Bush had to work with two parties and come to comprimises....his biggest fault is that he was too democratic at times.....how in the world would he be ok with Ted Kenndy sponsoring a bill for him???
Go ahead and keep waving these white america is a racist country flag....people are getting so turned off with that....it is time we start calling it what it is....pure racisim from the african american crowd. The white americans have turned over trillions of dollars to the black community....IMO it has only caused the black community to become enslaved by their own black leaders....eerie similar to what happens in african countries once they were liberated from the white countries only to become enslaved by their own brothern.
Oh please. JEWS fled German, leaving their money behind because they were not allowed to take it with them. I.G. Farben and many other large industrial groups got in bed with Hitler and used the slave labor that he handed over to them. Bottom line, Hitler was okay with capitalism. The things that he could NOT tolerate were if you were Jewish, Gay (!) or opposed to Hitler. Any of those things apply to you, you died. HITLER WAS RABIDLY ANTI COMMUNIST. You can find this in his writings. You can also understand it by the fact that he signed a non-aggression pact against Stalin, only to break it with a surprise attack after he digested most of Poland. There could be no peace between Hitler and the subhuman communist hordes of Asia.
Enough with the historic revisionism. Obama and Hitler, not on the same page. For one thing, Obama believes in the rule of law, and Hitler obviously did not. Yes, Obama is okay with the Supreme Court reviewing his laws and sinking the ones that it does not like. And stop seeing african american racism where it does not exist, and being blind to white racism, which is not dead. Nobody has cornered the market on racism.
"To rescue Germany from the effects of the Great Depression, Nazism promoted an economic Third Position; a managed economy that was neither capitalist nor communist.[15][16] The Nazis accused communism and capitalism of being associated with Jewish influences and interests.[17] They declared support for a nationalist form of socialism that was to provide for the Aryan race and the German nation: economic security, social welfare programs for workers, a just wage, honour for workers' importance to the nation, and protection from capitalist exploitation.[18]"
Managed economy? Seems like something that's being tried in our country right now doesn't it?
I don't hear liberals expressing admiration for Chairman Mao. I'm not sure where you get that.
"Mr. Baker,are you saying that only black people have the right to a share of the lagacy of Dr. King" not from where I am sitting. It seems to me that Mr. Baker, like many African Americans who are still grateful for Dr. King's role in freeing their parents from the shackles of Jim Crow and second class citizen status in the South, is nnoyed that Beck and others are using the symbolism of 8/28 to STEAL and claim for their own something that does not belong to them. The legacy of Dr. King belongs to people of good will of all colors- but does NOT belong to those who practice the politics of exclusion, as do Beck, Palin, Limbaugh, and Schlessinger.
If Beck had been around in 1963, he would have been very suspicious of ML King junior. The willingness to encourage federal intrusion in States Rights. The talk of economic fairness, unionization, the need for those with much to share with those with little. All that stuff, he would have hated it.
Beck said today that "America Today begins to turn back to God." How ignorant. Most of Americans are in fact Christians, and the 10% or so who do not accept the existence of a deity are not changing their minds just because Beck tells them to. I understand what he believes, it's not hard, though I can't quite understand HOW he believes it.
Socialism has never worked, and it definately can't work while also maintaing individual freedoms. I guess the left in this country just believe they can do a better job of it, try something different. I'm glad come November our greatest experiment with socialism will come to an end....Hurray!!!
Obama in no way represents tyranny of any kind. Neither does he represent the end of the rule of law in the USA. We still have elections, and clearly Obama is going to get dumped on in a couple of months. What are you whining about?
Wanna bet who wins in November?....the american people will be the winners.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
I think that Langston Hughes was talking about something more important than comfortable white people keeping all their tax $ because they do not care about anybody but themselves.
not sure about that. There are no communist countries left. China is now a one-party capitalist state in which the Cadres get all the money from the new industries and the rest of the people get to work there. As to the middle east, they say they hate us because we prop up Israel, but really people like Ahmedinejad need us around as a whipping boy so that his uneducated supporters can keep him in power.
Where do you get such craziness?
China is no longer a communist nation. It is a politically repressed Cadre oligarchy. You might want to be aware that China does not even have Government provided health care. Get sick, it's on you to come up with the $ to see a doctor.
We aren't unique, many countries have faced this...in fact we did so ourselves causing the civil war. The biggest problem is that we have gone so far away from the constitution in allowing the federal government more power than the constitution allows. We need to get back to where what the constitution doesn't spell out as power for the federal government goes back to the states.
You have to hand it to our founding fathers, what a system they put in place with these united states. My only hope is that more and more people come to see what that really means and starts voting to return us to that and get us away from the all powerful federal government who acts more like a communist politburo with a ruling class.
He has made more money and become more popular with Obama in the White House than ever before....do you mean he wants to go back to being poorer and less known?
Please give us some insights because with the known facts your post really doesn't make any sense Juan.
There are no objective standards available that indicate anything has ever been objectively better in America without there being a corresponding cost. Social justice just wasn't as prevalent then as now.
John, your narrowing of Juan's comment to Mr. Beck in particular shows that you didn't understand. The rest of your post isn't necessary. He was referring to a larger class context.
There were a lot of things better 30-50 years ago than they are today...there were also some things not so good either. The best thing we had then was less government that followed the constitution more and we had less activitist judges. Today we have a government out of control and doing things that are no where near constitutional.
Today in trying to be a one stop shop for everyone we are risking what we can actually provide to those that need our help the most. For the life of me I can't figure out why the far left wing would want to turn us into a 3rd world country.
Without the things you dislike so much, we return to a savage, third world, slavery-based nation. With the things you dislike, we are modern, with a large electorate, and strong protections for minorities that otherwise would be tyrannized by the majority.
If you are against small government then you are against the constitution.....if you want big government then change the constitution.
R.F...heres a little history for you....open up a book once in awhile man.
The First Continental Congress was formed even before the revolution to coordinate the colonies' relations with England. It also provided for an army and navy and appointed George Washington as Commander in Chief of the American Forces. The Second Continental Congress was responsible for the writing of the Declaration of Independence. After the Revolution, the Articles of Confederation were drafted and served as the basis for governing the United States. This form of government was not very successful, so a committee was given the task of improving it. Instead, they scrapped the Articles and wrote the Constitution in 1787.
Throughout the whole process their main goal was to limit as much as possible the power and actions of the federal or central government.
Gotta give you guys credit..even in the face of overpowering revulsion of your ideology by the majority of americans you still soldier on.....not sure if that means you have more guts or just less brains...lol
Throughout the whole process their main goal was to limit as much as possible the power and actions of the federal or central government.
Thank God for those men.
john a. Sep 1, 2010, 11:27pm EDT
Guess you never heard of the declaration of independance.....does "all men created equal" mean anything to you?
R.F...heres a little history for you....open up a book once in awhile man.
The First Continental Congress was formed even before the revolution to coordinate the colonies' relations with England. It also provided for an army and navy and appointed George Washington as Commander in Chief of the American Forces. The Second Continental Congress was responsible for the writing of the Declaration of Independence. After the Revolution, the Articles of Confederation were drafted and served as the basis for governing the United States. This form of government was not very successful, so a committee was given the task of improving it. Instead, they scrapped the Articles and wrote the Constitution in 1787.
Throughout the whole process their main goal was to limit as much as possible the power and actions of the federal or central government. . .
The Hitler Quote (and the obvious continuuing mindset that thought quoting him would be a good thing to memorialize in school yearbook).