“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”
Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials
A terrific quote. Thanks for the insight Fatso.
But let’s focus on the real lesson here. It’s not to elect trustworthy politicians. That is impossible. People who run for public office, by definition, want to rule people through force. That sound like someone you can trust? The real lesson is:
NO LEADERS!!!!!
Which requires this impossibility: no followers.
That’s right CC.
Your comment is as profound as the quote from Georing.
The document that is the law of the land was to insure that there would be no leaders. But, the lawyers have been at their deception so long most people have long since accepted that they are in fact the leaders the document intended for them to be all along. Because most have never even read the law of this land, the Constitution.
Blessings:-}
Clever statement.
He implicates the NSDAP, but he makes sure everyone who reads it understands it applies to all governments.
That may be one of the most truthful deathbed confessions of all time.
I have never been able to find an online copy again, but shortly after the beginning of the war in Iraq, a newspaper in St. Louis published a cartoon that presented a concept for an Iraq War Memorial for Washington D.C. It was a statue of a common man, cowering in fear in his easy chair in front of a television and on the monument was this same quote. A great cartoon. Throw in an old Radio along with the TV and it would make the perfect memorial for EVERY American war.