Ray, there are some aspects of the USA which have always reminded me of teutonic character. Germans aren't inherently genocidal nazis, but they do have a teutonic nature which lends itself to stricture, regulation, obsessive orderliness, compliance and the like.
There isn't any shortage of that in most people and of course those are desirable attributes in many respects. So many things which go wrong are desirable things taken to excess, like a person washing their hands 200 times a day and carrying out obsessive-compulsive rituals.
So far, the USA has been moderate-enough in teutonic character that we are seeing what a good third Reich would have been. As my father wrote in admiration of some German equipment during his time around El Alamein, if they turned their talents to the arts of peace instead of war, they could be great. The USA seems to me like a teutonic people who, for the most part, focus on the arts of peace, though as we regularly see, there is a willingness to take a militaristic approach at the drop of a hat.
Let's hope they don't reach a cusp, perhaps during a major recession or depression, as Germany did in the 1930s, when they flip over into a repeat of what everyone burbles on about; "Lest we forget", "Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat this cliche", etc and does exactly the same thing, yet again.
I wouldn't be surprised. Not everyone in the USA was anti-Nazi. Some were avid admirers. I think Prescott Bush and Ford and a few other notables for example were okay with some 'discipline'.
Mqurice |
