Now, I am not comparing the marchers’ ideology to the Nazis. (Read that again, just to be sure of my point: I am not comparing the marchers to the Nazis.) I am only comparing their tactics.
People with the courage of their convictions, who believe that they are right while a dissenter is wrong, have the right — and obligation, to address those disagreements. That is irrefutable. People who only use force to stifle an opponent are extremely dangerous, and should not be tolerated by any truly free-thinking individual.
To the marchers: your opponents are in power now. If Obama is elected and the Democrats keep their majority in the House and Senate, then your side will be in power. Your signs and slogans state a simple ideology: democracy, peace, and justice. But what I’ve seen in St. Paul with my own eyes tells me that the opposite may be true. Do you support, or condemn, the actions of those on the fringe of your ideology? If you defend their actions, does that mean that when your side has the power, will you use those same tactics on me if I happen to disagree with you?
What I saw in those old films, and what I saw directly in Seattle — well, the differences were small, the similarities striking. All totalitarians believe that their rights can trample those not agreeable to them. And its up to the honest protesters to stand up and vociferously reject the tactics of their fringe.
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