re: You Might Be a Lunatic If...

snadrs mentioned a post to me, entitled You Might Be a Lunatic If..., by Megan McArdle, who received an email that reminded her...

of a lengthy email dispute I had with a liberal commenter/emailer a few years back. After some initial heat, he (she?) calmed down, and we had a fairly reasonable discussion of his/her fears problems with the Bush administration, some of which I shared.

But then my correspondent mentioned that they thought it was reasonably likely that there would be no election in 2008. Not certain, but enough that we should be preparing for it. I think at one point they called it more likely than not.

At this point, I was at a loss. What does one say in the face of an entirely sincere belief that an American system of government that revolted when FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court would, suddenly and for no apparent reason, allow George Bush to cancel elections and appoint himself dictator for life? I mean, other than, "You are a lunatic. An apparently nice and well meaning lunatic. But nonetheless. A barking moonbat."

So I'm kind of dizzy with deja vu when I read this sort of prime-aged poppycock coming from the right of me. When you hear that "some people fear" that an utterly anodyne bill creating emergency response centers "could be used as "concentration camps for political dissidents, such as occurred in Nazi Germany", the correct response is not to repeat that remark, except to make fun of it...

...these things can creep up on you. There was a time when people did not understand the threat that Hitler posed...

...There will be plenty of time, should such camps be proposed, to leap into action and unleash the mighty force of your righteous opposition on the hapless would-be dictator. Premature anti-fascism just makes you history's clown.

I understand the point that none of us should be "the boy who cried hyperbole", and that all citizens should try to rationally discuss political issues, rather than just shout slogans past each other. But I think we should be able to state that our current administration belives strongly in silencing dissidents with whatever means they have available, and - like all bullies - will only be emboldened by any silence of their opponents.

I would also ask Ms. McArdle to please name the specific date, sometime between "plenty of time" and "these things can creep up on you", when it stopped being appropriate to appease Hitler and start opposing him? Would it have been before or after Chamberlain gave his "peace for our time" speech?

And if "premature anti-fascism just makes you history's clown", anti-fascism delayed just makes you the victim of tyrants. There is no bad time to be anti-fascist.