I was rummaging through some old magazines in my basement and came across a copy of Pathfinder, a popular weekly news and opinion journal published in Washington D.C. The story that screams “Buyer Beware” is about a politician looking for more than a second term of office. It appeared on August 20, 1932, at the height of the Great Depression.
The headline: “Germany’s Political Racketeer”
In the first paragraph: “His political program is a queer hodge podge of sense and nonsense, and his personal character combines the virtues of a patriot and the follies of a mountebank.”
My dictionary: A “mountebank” is any false pretender who boasts of his skill in curing diseases; who sells medicines he pretends are infallible remedies; who cheats, boasts and lies; who deceives others to trick them out of money.
Someone we know?
Within months of his election the rule of law had been destroyed, and opposition was silenced and killed, especially minorities such as Jews, dissenting intellectuals and gays. Law and order meant more violence and strict obedience to a dictator. Many decent Christians, most, went along with him. Within a couple years cities all over Europe, and elsewhere, were on fire.
Filed under: #!!# |
Hans Howe 