Ewan McGregor
It's been said that a sure way to lose an argument is to play the Hitler card. And yes, too often a throw-away comparison is easily made with what, surely, is the most odious individual, and the movement he created and lead, in history.
But what has emerged in the great nation of the United States in the form of Donald Trump demands some comparison. Respected commentators have suggested such.
Like Hitler, Trump has shrewdly recognised resentments that lay seething in the community, or at least a large portion of it. He has been relentless in exciting them; he is undoubtedly a skilled demagogue, and, like any bully, able to spot weaknesses in adversaries, which he ruthlessly exploits. His respect for the truth appears to be non-existent.
He calculatedly aroused his rallies to fury, watching with undisguised satisfaction as they bawled out "Lock her [Clinton] up", and "Gaol the bitch".
On display was the psychology of a lynch mob. He/they are still at it. It's horrible.
Those resentments may be far less justified, or understandable anyway, than those which stirred within the breasts of 1920s Germans.
While Trump may personally bear little likeness to Hitler, his rise and that of the Fuhrer carry similarities that demand reflection. The underlying factor is nationalism.
Following World War I Germany was subjected to victor's justice, and it was harsh. Too harsh, and the consequences, as we know, were catastrophic: The rise of Hitler and an even worse war.
Germany was billed for reparations that she couldn't afford; machine tools were carted off; she had hated French troops stationed on her soil; she was ostracised by her European neighbours.
In America today resentments have lain largely dormant until the rise of Trump, articulated by the meaningless slogan "Make America Great Again".
Although far less potent, those resentments are real, nevertheless. They are driven by the inflow of immigrants of off-white skin, of different religion and culture, and maybe have difficulty with the English language.
They are willing to work hard, and, accordingly, compete for jobs. (Incidentally, unemployment is the lowest for a decade, but you won't hear that from Trump.) Corporations are moving their activities off-shore, but in a global economy, they have been for years.
Trump's anti-trade position seems to be the less erratic of his policy stances and, therefore, must be seen as a worry for us. In the long run his axing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) is likely to hoist China as the Pacific economic heavyweight at America's expense.
Another comparison of Hitler's Germany is his attacks on the media, which he variously has described as "lying", "scum", "dishonest", and "disgusting", but he won't silence them.
Hitler, on the other hand, seized the power to shut unsympathetic journalists down. Any editor who didn't get the message found himself in a concentration camp.
This is the manifestation of his intolerance of dissent. He recently claimed that those burning the ''Stars & Stripes'', deemed by the Supreme Court to be an expression of free speech, ensured in the First Amendment of the US Constitution, should have their citizenship suspended, or even gaoled.
Such populist rhetoric may excite the extreme right, but it won't happen because it can't, or certainly not at the will of the President.
So there are defining,and reassuring, differences between the fate of Germany under Hitler and those of America under a Trump presidency.
Hitler was elected Chancellor (head of government) democratically, but it was a most fragile democracy. Within 18 months the president (head of state) died. Hitler merely appointed himself as president, thus making him accountable to himself, and taking the name Fuhrer (leader). The equivalent here would be, in the event of the Queen's death, the Prime Minister assuming that position and sacking the Governor-General.
Thenceforth, under Hitler there were no more elections. The Reichstag (Parliament) become a rubber stamp appendage. But in four years time there will be another election in America, you can bet on it. In the meantime Trump will have to share power with Congress, and be subject to the rulings of an independent judiciary. What a relief!
Ewan McGregor is a former deputy chairman of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council. Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz