PrintMarch 22, 2009
Who's 'Hitler' now?
President Obama's crack about his bowling acumen being worthy of the Special Olympics has raised a few hackles. Normally I'd say "lighten up," but this time some examination is in order.
George W. Bush was called "Hitler" virtually every day, with no real basis for the accusation other than that liberals said so -- and liberals are like, really smart, so it must have been true.
But Obama's comment, for me anyway, means that we're just a few weeks into the new administration and the new president is already more worthy of a Hitler comparison than Bush ever was.
Obama's Special Olympics comment may have been merely a clumsy attempt at self-deprecating humor. But the likelihood exists that it was a sneak peek at the heart and mind of The One who has a philosophy that cannot work unless human beings are gauged based upon their usefulness to the state -- and for any leader attempting to construct those kinds of underpinnings, the helpless and handicapped are as undesirable as governors who won't accept stimulus money.
Obama the politician is smart enough to know he never should have said that, but Obama the Grand Visionary of Exemplary Communities obviously isn't. That Obama is vehemently pro-abortion, even during late term up to and including the moment of natural birth, is Hitleresque in its design as well, and tends to take away any humor of his Special Olympics joke.
The first truly horrific thing Hitler did -- long before the German invasion of Poland -- was to issue orders to "clean up" and purify his society. The handicapped and the helpless were among the first targets, and it all started with a little, perhaps even seemingly innocuous, statement -- except it was in the form of writings in Mein Kampf instead of regrettable wise-cracks on The Tonight Show.
David Nicholls wrote in his book, Adolph Hitler: A Biographical Companion, that Hitler created "Hereditary Health Courts" as well as "A Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring." In other words, Sarah Palin would have been forced to give up her son instead of what ended up happening to her in 21st century America, which was to give birth to the child while getting bashed by some for not killing her own baby in the name of societal perfection. Heaven forbid a "mentally handicapped" person should ever be allowed to grow up and prove that he or she is smarter than a liberal.
The Hitler/Obama similarities cease, however, when we take into account that Hitler, as Nicholls wrote, called for the sterilization of "asocials" in the belief that the state could not afford to have beggars and vagrants reproduce. Obama would never do this -- after all, somebody's got to attend his town hall meetings.
Basing a system of government on an individuals "worth to society" is a most frightening slope to begin to slide down -- be those individuals the innocent unborn or the mentally challenged. "Jokes" about the latter are all the more disturbing coming from this president when we consider his position on abortion. The same mental handicaps Special Olympics competitors have would, only years earlier when these same people were in their mothers' wombs, have been considered legal justification for their slaughter. This is one reason why Obama's joke was anything but funny to so many people, and the real reason it was so offensive to parents of those with special needs.
We must be very careful though, because once that "usefulness to society" ball gets rolling, it's only a matter of time before another leader comes along who deems bad bowlers as unnecessary to the state.
Of course, Obama didn't call for the euthanasia of the disabled and mentally handicapped (once they're already born, that is) -- all he did was make what for now seems to be a clumsy, off-the-cuff crack. But as much as I want to chastise the president's critics in this situation for being too thin-skinned and knocking Obama over the head with the very PC we should loathe, I can't help but ask this question: Are we witnessing Obama not only taking the "Hitler" torch from Bush, but adding a speck of merit to the flame?
If some Special Olympians weren't much better bowlers than Obama, I'd answer "yes" to that.
Doug Powers is a columnist and author from Michigan. He can be reached via his blog at DougPowers.com
Doug Powers is a columnist and author from Michigan. He can be reached via his blog at DougPowers.com
