Rou

In Northport NY, graduation time has come. And with it, high school year books have arrived. Like many schools, Northport allows seniors to post a little blurb about themselves. Quotes, memories, meaningful tidbits, a brief bio. That sort of thing. However, two students decided to put in something that has stirred up a bit of a controversy. So much so, that the school is rushing to find a means to cover up their quotes. Right now, they’re thinking stickers or replacement pages.

What could these horrible quotes be? They must be really bad, right? Well, see for yourself:

Strength lies not in defense, but in attack.

The great masses of people ... will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.

The problem with the quotes is their origin. They are taken from a translation of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. And he was a very very naughty person. One might say he was an evil bastard.

However, despite his insanity on many things, nearly all historians and politicians agree that on some issues he was a certifiable genius. This is particularly true when you examine his ability to manipulate the public as a mass.

Look at the first quote. That quote, in all of its glory, is not Nazi propaganda. It’s a statement of strategy. Hitler’s view was clear. Regardless of the situation, military, or politically, you’re better off attacking your opponents then defending yourself. From a military perspective it was very successful for a very long time. Politically, his attack-first strategy got him in control of a country and eventually much of Europe (via the military use of this ideal).

Now, the second quote. It’s a clear cut example of how Hitler manipulated his people. It’s a famous quote that is as true today as it was when Adolf wrote it down. Many have even said it’s truer now and that the US government is a master of its usage. I have no doubt in my mind that this is the meaning intended by out little high school students here.

What I’m getting at is this: just because an evil bastard said something doesn’t mean it’s not true. In fact, I think the words of such evil bastards should be closely examined and given due thought. I would hope graduating students would be mature enough to look upon those words and recognize their meaning. I mean, they are mature enough to graduate, vote and join the Army. We should trust them to see a mass murdering bastard’s words and take them for what they are: a brief lesson in history. A lesson we should know well, lest that history repeat itself.

You may say that a yearbook is not the appropriate place for such statements. Perhaps that’s true. But the students thought enough of those quotes to include them under their senior pictures. Maybe their neo-Nazi fucks. Maybe they just wanted a chance to be controversial one last time. Or maybe they just wanted people to think about it.