Chris Green quoted: "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 Nuremberg
While Chris' likely intent, worthy no doubt, was to take a shot at the warmongering Bush administration, I've been pondering the implication of his choice of quotation. At first glance it does appear to have a cynical ring of truth, although counterexamples to "of course the people don't want war" are certainly possible. But what intrigues me is that the quotation is notable primarily because it's Goering who said it. I don't think it would have the same impact if, for example, it was Chris Green. Goering, of course, is an infamous Nazi war criminal. Does this mean we should pay particular attention to what he has to say? Does being guilty of great evil make one an expert on how to do evil? Or, to paraphrase, of all things, _Fiddler on the Roof_, is it that when you're evil they think you really know? Or should we wonder what the twisted mind of a man complicit in the mass murder of millions could possibly offer us by way of insight on any topic? Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 0C8 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
