Bob Schwartz

Furnishing

1

this table seems
useful and pleasing
but does not belong here

2

pick your friends
your contacts
your teachers
your entertainments
your information
as you would
furniture in your room

©

“Put even more simply, the German Parliament would be requested to turn over its constitutional functions to Hitler and take a long vacation.”
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Williams L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich remains, almost sixty years after publication, the single most readable one-volume history of Nazi Germany. If you like history, but don’t think the story is relevant today, it is still a good read. If you think it might have some relevance, it is essential.

Hitler came to power without ever winning the presidency (he came in second in 1932) and without the Nazis ever having a majority in parliament. Yet in 1933, the Nazis were in control, all civil rights were abrogated, and Hitler would remain until 1945 dictator of one of history’s most infamous, oppressive and deadly regimes.

On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag, home of German parliament, was burned down. It was blamed on Communists, but it was actually the work of the Nazis. The Reichstag fire was an excuse to seize absolute power. Shirer writes:

On the day following the fire, February 28, he [Hitler] prevailed on President Hindenburg to sign a decree “for the Protection of the People and the State” suspending the seven sections of the constitution which guaranteed individual and civil liberties. Described as a “defensive measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the state,” the decree laid down that:

Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and association; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications; and warrants for house searchers, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.

In addition, the decree authorized the Reich government to take over complete power in the federal states when necessary and imposed the death sentence for a number of crimes, including “serious disturbances of the peace” by armed persons….

With all the resources of the national and Prussian governments at their disposal and with plenty of money from big business in their coffers, the Nazis carried on an election propaganda such as Germany had never seen before. For the first time the State-run radio carried the voices of Hitler, Goering and Goebbels to every corner of the land. The streets, bedecked with swastika flags, echoed to the tramp of the storm troopers. There were mass rallies, torchlight parades, the din of loudspeakers in the squares. The billboards were plastered with flamboyant Nazi posters and at night bonfires lit up the hills. The electorate was in turn cajoled with promises of a German paradise, intimidated by the brown terror in the streets and frightened by “revelations” about the Communist “revolution.” The day after the Reichstag fire the Prussian government issued a long statement declaring that it had found Communist “documents” proving:

Government buildings, museums, mansions and essential plants were to be burned down… Women and children were to be sent in front of terrorist groups… The burning of the Reichstag was to be the signal for a bloody insurrection and civil war… It has been ascertained that today was to have seen throughout Germany terrorist acts against individual persons, against private property, and against the life and limb of the peaceful population, and also the beginning of general civil war.

Publication of the “documents proving the Communist conspiracy” was promised, but never made. The fact, however, that the Prussian government itself vouched for their authenticity impressed many Germans….

On March 5, 1933, the day of the last democratic elections they were to know during Hitler’s life, they spoke with their ballots. Despite all the terror and intimidation, the majority of them rejected Hitler. The Nazis led the polling with 17,277,180 votes—an increase of some five and a half million, but it comprised only 44 per cent of the total vote. A clear majority still eluded Hitler. All the persecution and suppression of the previous weeks did not prevent the Center Party from actually increasing its vote from 4,230,600 to 4,424,900; with its ally, the Catholic Bavarian People’s Party, it obtained a total of five and a half million votes. Even the Social Democrats held their position as the second largest party, polling 7,181,629 votes, a drop of only 70,000. The Communists lost a million supporters but still polled 4,848,058 votes. The Nationalists [Nazis], led by Papen and Hugenberg, were bitterly disappointed with their own showing, a vote of 3,136,760, a mere 8 per cent of the votes cast and a gain of less than 200,000.

Still, the Nationalists’ 52 seats, added to the 288 of the Nazis, gave the government a majority of 16 in the Reichstag. This was enough, perhaps, to carry on the day-to-day business of government but it was far short of the two-thirds majority which Hitler needed to carry out a new, bold plan to establish his dictatorship by consent of Parliament.

The plan was deceptively simple and had the advantage of cloaking the seizure of absolute power in legality. The Reichstag would be asked to pass an “enabling act” conferring on Hitler’s cabinet exclusive legislative powers for four years. Put even more simply, the German Parliament would be requested to turn over its constitutional functions to Hitler and take a long vacation.

Those of us who do not strictly observe the Sabbath, or those whose beliefs don’t come close to even acknowledging it, can still accept its gift.

It comes around like clockwork, or actually calendarwork, like it or observe it or believe it or not. It is a stop on a weekly journey, sort of a vacation, literally. We vacate the week, stuffed as it is with whatever has been foist upon us by others or by ourselves.

It is not that we are different on this special day, no more than we are different on any of the holidays which we have just celebrated. Instead, on those holidays and on this weekly holiday, we are invited to be our best selves. The things of our weekly world don’t always bring out the best in us. The day is a reminder not that we can be better but that we are better, if we give ourselves the chance.

And, as we sense the joy it can bring, maybe our Sabbath selves show up every day.

“If he gives in now, that’s the end of 2019 in terms of him being an effective president. That’s probably the end of his presidency. Donald Trump has made a promise to the American people.”
Senator Lindsey Graham

Just because someone makes a promise doesn’t mean it’s a promise for something good. Just because someone makes a promise doesn’t mean you want him to keep that promise.

More than 60% of the American people don’t want the promised Wall. Even more Americans than that don’t want to marry Trump, or want anyone in their family to marry Trump. No matter what promises he made.

There are many viruses in the world that don’t have a devastating effect on civilization. Whether confined to remote jungles, swamps or deserts, they are at home in their natural ecosystem, where their harm is limited.

That is Trump. As long as he remained in the worlds of business and entertainment, he might do some damage and have some negative effect, but it mostly remained in those spheres.

Then, through a series of unfortunate events, he escaped those environments and was inflicted on the world at large. Like a virus brought home from a jungle, once it spread, it appeared there was no stopping it. A new disease, we are unsure of treatment. We hardly even know what it is. All we know are its symptoms and impact, the likes of which we have never seen before.

Trump just retweeted the above image, which was tweeted by a crazy pro-Trump type. Pictured in jail, charged with treason, are special counsel Robert Mueller, Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former President Bill Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

The first time I posted the question “Are we scared yet?” was on January 31, 2017, just a few weeks after Trump took office. I’ve asked it regularly since, most recently in June 2018, when CBS News was interviewing an ICE whistleblower at home, and government agents came knocking at the door in the middle of the interview. In truth, that question could be asked just about every day.

I try not to be unnecessarily negative, I am a reasonable person, and I am not paranoid. But I try to be realistic, I am a student of history, and I believe in America and in the rule of law.

Maybe you see where this regime is going, but don’t want to say it too loudly, so as not to panic your family, your friends, the economy and the market—or panic yourself. Maybe you see where this going and think that it doesn’t affect you, or that you will be alright, maybe even better off. Maybe you don’t see where this is going and are hoping for the best.

This is heading to a confrontation that we might find in history books or elsewhere in the world, but have never seen in America. As much faith as we have in our institutions, they have never been tested like this, and we haven’t seen the worst yet. Will we pass the test? We hope so. Should we be scared yet? Are we?

You can’t fight and eliminate myth. You can try. You can drive it away and banish it, but it will always turn up within the city walls. Because it is inside you and all the citizens.

When I began reading comic books, I didn’t know those stories were myths. When I first heard the stories of the Bible, I didn’t know those were myths. In the big world, something about these myths proved to be irresistibly and unstoppably popular. Comic book myths became an entertainment mega-industry. Religious myths laid the foundation for the beliefs of billions.

Enlightenment and modernism took on the task of demythologizing. That project has never been wholly successful. It is instead like whack-a-mole: bash one myth down and another will pop up. You may not recognize something as myth, but there it is. Bigger than life, embodying truths that defy everyday experience and evidence. Not only bigger, but more significant.

As the essayist Joan Didion wrote, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Maybe instead of trying to stop telling ourselves stories, maybe instead of trying to loosen our embrace of myths (both impossible anyway), maybe we keep conscious of the myths, try to let go of the unhelpful ones, and try to choose better and more beneficial ones.

The Ten Commandments constitute the most concise and famous list of moral values in the Western world. There are other lists, of course (see, for example, the Beatitudes). But if you want a quick checklist, the Ten Commandments are handy.

We don’t expect ourselves or others to achieve a perfect score, which could mean keeping every one or breaking every one. But the list does provide a way of keeping track and keeping score, in hopes of improvement.

For Trump:

You shall have no other gods beside Me: Unknown.
Trump appears to have little or no theological knowledge or belief. But until he expressly claims to be an atheist or polytheist, we can’t know what’s in his heart.

You shall make you no carved likeness: Broken.
This is the idolatry commandment. Trump has made an idol of himself. And in those rare cases when he can stop idolizing himself, he has occasionally made idols of others—often unworthy others.

You shall not take the name of God in vain: Broken.
This is commonly treated as the cursing commandment, and it is commonly broken. If it is cursing we are talking about, we are certain that Trump, whose private language is known to be crude, has broken this one.

Remember the sabbath day: Broken.
The Sabbath commandment is so regularly broken that Trump’s failure is hardly remarkable.

Honor your father and your mother: Kept.
Giving Trump his due, he seems to have genuine reverence for his parents—though the relationships were complicated. If this includes being a good parent, that may be another story.

You shall not murder: Kept.
We suppose not, certainly not directly, but given the sorts of people he has long associated with, we just don’t know.

You shall not commit adultery: Broken.
On a scale of 1 to 10, this goes to 11.

You shall not steal: Broken.

You shall not bear false witness: Broken.
As with adultery, this goes to 11. Or 12.

You shall not covet: Broken.

That makes seven Broken, two Kept, and one Unknown. How do you think it stacks up?

Crazy, I just cannot bear
I’m living with something’ that just isn’t fair

Mental wounds not healing
Who and what’s to blame?

I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train

Ozzy Osbourne, Crazy Train

Trump has broken down.

The first week after the midterm elections provided clear and convincing evidence. It is admittedly hard to tell with someone so publicly erratic and eccentric in the first place. “Trump is just being Trump, just a little more so” is an easy if uncomforting excuse.

But this is different. And not at all surprising. Whatever his preexisting psychological disorders, there are realities and pressures that even his walls of denial are struggling to contain.

One of the many signs this past week is his disappearance at events that even he knew were appearances he was expected to make and could have used as opportunities for his usual grandstanding. Not once but twice he missed high-profile events honoring American veterans. And two high-level Asian conferences that he was scheduled to attend will now see Mike Pence instead.

His immediate firing of Jeff Sessions and his attempt at appointing a loyal lackey as Attorney General is the first step in what will be a sea change in his inner circle. He feels more personally besieged than ever. He is demanding complete and utter loyalty, no questions asked, no internal resistance allowed. One could look at this as simply strategic in the face of great difficulties. But one could also look at it as the workings of a troubled and paranoid leader who believes the world is against him, and no counter attack is too extreme. This is war, and he needs a war cabinet around him.

If Trump has already broken down, or is in the process, there may be little we as citizens can do about it. He has a world-class powerful bureaucracy at his personal command. Congress, even with the upcoming Democratic House, can do little, even if there was bipartisan will, which there isn’t. Removal from office through impeachment requires two-thirds of the Senate to convict, which won’t happen. The 25th Amendment disability procedure is even more unlikely, since that provision begins with his Vice President and Cabinet. That won’t happen either.

The only “better” possibility is if Trump goes so far over the edge and over the top that even Republican Senators, and Pence and the new Cabinet, face the fact that psychologically, Trump can no longer be trusted with the office, having reached the point where “Trump being Trump” is no longer acceptable. Do we want to wait for that? Do we have a choice?