Time-Life: The Nazis

[PCIntern]

It seems that they're advertising this 24/7. I'm of two minds: on the one hand, it's important that no one ever forget the horrors of the rise and fall...OTOH, this may be construed as a 'how-to' process for the Right, which, IMHO, they've taken a page...no...several chapters out of the Nazi playbook.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. The ad is like something from Saturday Night Live

Their audience is people who are really into Nazis but they have to pay lip-service to Nazis being bad people.

The result is a lot of critique of nazism delivered in an excited and seemingly approving tone.

Weird, weird ad.

[Mira]

2. I'm on the side of always to keep alive what we MUST remember,

because as it will give some instruction to those who seek it, it also gives the power of discernment that comes from knowledge to those who must combat it.

[deaniac21]

3. OTOH, your whole thought goes down the drain when you play

the nazi card. Shows a total lack of seriousness.

[Uncle Joe]

5. I believe the concept of totally writing off an argument based on this logic is faulty. n/t

[deaniac21]

7. Uncle Joe, you are in the minority.

[Uncle Joe]

8. It won't be the first time and probably won't be the last, but I can't base my reason or logic

on popularity.

I believe that totally dismissing out of hand and eliminating any comparison of contemporary behavior to that of the NAZIs works against critical thinking and indeed against the wishes of the concentration camp victims and survivors, basically "To never forget."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin_Law

Godwin's law (also known as Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies or Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies)<1><2> is a humorous observation made by Mike Godwin in 1989 which has become an Internet adage. It states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."<3><2> In other words, Godwin put forth the sarcastic observation that, given enough time, all discussions—regardless of topic or scope—inevitably end up being about Hitler and the Nazis.

Godwin's law is often cited in online discussions as a deterrent against the use of arguments in the widespread reductio ad Hitlerum form. The rule does not make any statement about whether any particular reference or comparison to Adolf Hitler or the Nazis might be appropriate, but only asserts that the likelihood of such a reference or comparison arising increases as the discussion progresses. It is precisely because such a comparison or reference may sometimes be appropriate, Godwin has argued<4> that overuse of Nazi and Hitler comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact.

Although in one of its early forms Godwin's law referred specifically to Usenet newsgroup discussions,<5> the law is now often applied to any threaded online discussion, such as chat rooms and blog comment threads, and has been invoked for the inappropriate use of Nazi analogies in articles or speeches.<6>

It's important to note that even Godwin didn't propose that all comparisons were invalid, he was just arguing against overuse.

One other point, the NAZIs weren't just about the end product; war, genocide and concentration camps, they were also about racism, propaganda, demonization, nationalism, and general estrangement etc.

I believe that each argument or comparison must be based on it's own merits.

If you can't compare modern day dynamics to what you perceive to be similar historical benchmarks due to a sarcastic blanket observation, then debate is stifled and if logical debate is stifled, the chances of falling in to the same or similar traps are increased.

[glinda]

4. that tells you exactly where we are today in the usa

[DefenseLawyer]

6. My take on the ad was that it plays up the Obama is a nazi sentiment

There is at least one reference to "it could happen again" or "people need to know the warning signs" or some such thing. It just made me think that they were going for that audience, but that was just my quick first impression.