I think it's an interesting quote in and of itself. If it came from Sun Tzu's Art of War, or from Plato, or Machiavelli, I would still find it interesting, and appropriate to the current situation. I would find it less interesting, though still accurate, if Christopher Green had said it simply because I'd know the exact situation he was talking about. When a historical quote meant to apply as a general principle, or to a long-past event, applies aptly to a current situation, it has a certain patina of authority and inevitability that mere intelligent analysis of current events lacks.
To the extent that it is interesting because it's from Goering, well, I would attribute that to his being rather a successful expert at getting people into a warlike mood, not because he was evil per se. So, yeah, if I want to know how to get people to go to war, maybe I want to listen to Goering (or Roosevelt) rather than, say, Jesus or Salvador Dali or the "Car Talk" brothers.
I should think that "the twisted mind of a man complicit in the mass
murder of millions" could possibly offer us quite a lot of insight on how to get many other people complicit in the mass murder of millions.
Robin
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
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
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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
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