While I do not study WWII history as much as I used to, for a long time I was quite the “buff.” I read every book, and I watched every movie and documentary. I have some amazing connections to the events as well: my aunt Louise was one of the Eisenhower’s personal secretaries throughout the war, and my uncle Rich was the quartermaster for the D-Day invasion. My father was a crew chief/mechanic for spitfires and P51 Mustangs. It’s a pity no one ever asks me to give a lecture on it.
Anyway, one cannot study World War II history without studying the psychological profile of Adolf Hitler. Here was a guy who was quite possibly one of the most evil men in history, and yet here is the astonishing paradox: he thought of himself as being a really nice guy. I kid you not.
Actually, that’s a bit of an understatement. Hitler saw himself as the savior of Western civilization. He saw Jews and communism as horrific evils to be stamped out at all costs. In other words, he never saw himself as being evil; he truly believed that he was a righteous man. (Incidentally, one of the reasons he attacked Russia was that he thought the English would become his ally in fighting a common enemy.)
Anyway, the reason I say all this is to show how it’s very tempting– and very easy– to think one is righteous, even though one is completely wrong.
When I look at the current civil discourse, or perhaps I should say the uncivil civil discourse, it becomes terribly obvious to me that people on both sides of the political spectrum are jockeying, not so much for a given principle, but for belief in their own righteousness.
Now I am not a fan of Rick Santorum, but I don’t disagree with him 100%– Actually, every once in a while he says something that I agree with. The same goes for Newt Gingrich. But I do see people on both sides of the political spectrum taking this or that statement out of context and twisting it, not for the purpose of leading to any meaningful collective policy agreement, but simply for the purpose of creating a sense of totally demonizing the other side to create a sense of relative righteousness. This cannot lead to a good ending, no matter which side you are on. It is the energy of a lynch mob. They do evil in the name of a greater good. Yikes.
My guy Machiavelli once pointed out that no man is entirely good or entirely evil. That goes for Hitler, that goes for Republican candidates, that goes for Barack Obama, and yes, sadly it also goes for you and me. It is very dangerous to start to believe in your own absolute righteousness, because if you fall for that illusion you stop checking for mistakes or corruption. Our entire system of government is based on the idea that human beings are flawed and corruptible. The founding fathers were so right. We need checks and balances. People seeking greater power always say they can be trusted, and they truly believe in their own righteousness. It never works.
I love to feel morally upright, pure, and righteous . . . and you probably do as well. Political candidates and various interests are forever pitching to that desire. If Adolf Hitler could think of himself as a righteous man, it must be easy to do. Caveat emptor.
© Justin Locke
