What Goes Around Comes Around (Political)

Psychological profiling is a key element in today’s crime-fighting television dramas like Criminal Minds on CBS, or Law and Order: Criminal Intent on NBC.  A psychological profiler analyzes the criminal mind to understand how they think and what they’ll do next.  But psychological profiling is not a new thing.

In 1943, the OSS (Office For Strategic Services – a US intelligence agency formed during World War II and the precursor to the CIA) released a psychological profile on Adoph Hitler.  The complete profile can be found here: http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/osstitle.htm

One of the most intriguing parts of that report is to be found in the chapter entitled “Hitler – As his associates know him.”  Here, the report’s authors suggest how Hitler approaches the job of swaying the public:

His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.

Flash forward just seven years.  In February, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin said in a speech that the U.S. Department of State was “infested with communists,” launching one of the darkest periods of threat to American freedom since, well, World War II.  Most likely without even being consciously aware of it, McCarthy used Hitler’s rule book: McCarthy lied about his own war record while running for office, and accused his opponent during the election of “war profiteering,” without proof, of course.  He ruined careers, using half-truths and misstatements without apology.  The story of Joe McCarthy is (hopefully) widely known and his ultimate, well-earned downfall only appropriate for one who chose to employ Hitler’s “big lie” for his own gains.

Fast-forward again to – now.

On June 13 of this very year, Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security accusing Mohamed Elibiary, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.  This was after DHS had already cleared Elibiary of an earlier charge by Gohmert.

But, Gohmert is not alone in his efforts to suggest the Department of State is full of bad actors.  Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), along with Gohmert are all calling for investigations into whether the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the U.S. government.

Also in July, Michelle Bachmann accused fellow U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn) of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.  Ellison happens to be a Muslim.  Earlier, Bachmann similarly accused Huma Abedin, an aide to Hillary Clinton, and in this case even John Boehner found Bachmann’s allegations “dangerous.”

Are there employees of the United States government that are practicing Muslims?  Yes.  Are they all threats to the security of the United States?  No.  Do these Representatives have any proof that any of them are a threat to the security of the United States?  It doesn’t seem so.

Is this anything more than old-fashioned racism?  You be the judge.

Hitler’s approach to managing public opinion is still at work in the world.  It’s most saddening to recognize that the Big Lie is still at work (again) here in our very own country.

Next up: How fear drives some of us to do whatever it takes…