I hope to write , from time to time, about the era of the Dust Bowl. Why, You might wonder? It was so much a part of my parent's lives. I write about it because of my fear of revisionist history, as I see it, all over the television and radio, because of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. I grew up hearing stories about the Dust Bowl era, and President Roosevelt's role in ending the Great Depression. About the time that generation was dying off, people like Rush Limbaugh became millionaires by ranting revisionist history on the radio. Put Rush side by side with Adolph Hitler and watch both of them deliver speeches. Notice that they get mad and angry, and the sincerity of their anger draws supporters. I know exactly what my father would have said about it. He would have called Rush Limbaugh a modern day Heinrich Himmler, a propogandist who “revised” history for Adolf Hitler, and I have no doubt at all about this. He fought a war so that such revisionist historians wouldn't have a leg to stand on, on our side of the Atlantic, and he was proud of it. He considered himself politically, “middle of the road”. Today he would be considered liberal – but he didn't consider himself liberal. Dad was simply a typical member of the Dust Bowl/World War Two generation. EVERY member of his generation was just like him. That is how and why Roosevelt was elected four times in a row. That generation loved him, and were proud of his policies, which they MADE him do!.
Well, one day a decade ago someone wrote the letter to the editor (left) of the local newspaper. It used to be called “Altus Timer Democrat”. I left Altus and returned about 20 years later, and when I mentioned the local newspaper, calling it the “Altus Times Democrat”, I got a blank stare in return. I was immediately informed that it was now called simply “Altus Times”. http://www.altustimes.com/
That is how I found out they had changed their name.
Later I read the 'letter to the editor' below about Charles Lindbergh. I too, have heard Lindbergh had been an early supporter of Hitler. I, like many, thought after he discovered what Hitler was really like, had 'probably' changed his opinion about him. But I really didn't, and I still don't know. So I wasn't upset, initially, at his 'letter to the editor'. I didn't get upset until I read the last half of his letter. He says all Roosevelt's advisor's were Communists. NO! MORE REVISIONIST HISTORY! That is some of Rush Limbaugh/Fox News revisionist history.
Here is that letter.
Again, in my father's day, it wasn't uncommon to call people who hated Roosevelt's policies and reforms 'evil', or even 'pro-Nazi'. Nobody does that now. I knew my father well, and I know that is what he would have called people like Rush Limbaugh or Fox News. But his generation is gone now, so others can claim theat his generation had other views. Rush and Fox News would have you believe his generation, were right wing -- NOT TRUE! They were politically, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! They liked some liberal ideas, some conservative ideas, and voted middle of the road! Far right wing ideas were very umpopular because the people remembered the Great Depression and knew right wing policies had brought it on. They'd just fought a war against Hitler and knew the horror far right wing policies might bring. Todays people have forgotten the ways of their fathers. What was middle of the road 50 years ago, is considered LIBERAL today. It is scary how far right we have become. Sadly, most people don't seem to realize it! I know what Dad would have said about Fox News. He would have recognized them immediately and would have called their 'news' what it was – propaganda! He would have shown the similarities between Limbaugh and Heinrich Himmler, Hitler's revisionist historian/propagandist. Hitler was known to give great speeches. He would get the crowd worked up and angry at 'the other', those not like themselves. He'd paint them as weak and wicked and sinful. He'd get a laugh by rolling his eyes at liberal politicians, saying they were perceived as weak. They'd warp Christianity and claim it as theirs, ignoring the fact Jesus said help those in poverty. They ignored the fact that Jesus himself was dark complected, and genetically he was a Jew. They'd paint average Germans as righteous and 'the other' as lazy, takers, as leaches, people living on and using them. Sound familiar? Oh, if only the ways of 'the other' would be squashed, the good people left would create a great nation. 'The other' is ruining it! But this could only be fixed if only the weak, the damaged, the homeless, helpless, oh, and the dark complected, were minimized.
Yes, dad's generation would have recognized Fox News propaganda tactics as the same tactics used by Heinrich Himmler.
It is my hope that by speaking out on this, that many will realize how far astray we have gone. The German population went with Hitler to an extreme, without realizing it. But we can stop it before we go down that road to the same conclusion that they embraced. We are NOT watching this change as vigilantly as we should. Below is my response to the Lindbergh letter above. Apparently someone had said something about Lindbergh and this other person was upset by it. When he lied about F. D. Roosevelt's advisors, it upset me. Here is my response to it, written a decade or so back.
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