Plan B Forum

I have the impression that the persons directing the policy of the . . . government are not normal. Many of us, indeed, have the feeling that we are living in a country where fanatics, hooligans and eccentrics have got the upper hand.

I'll come back in a day or two and give you the source of that quote. Any guesses in the meantime?

Without looking it up -- it's sounds Orwellian.

well I wish that you had given the whole quote...., the three dots indicate that you didn t....

but,

...Reagan?

I don't remember the author, but I do recall the quote and who it refers to...

Talk about your weird coincidences - I’m just now watching the docuseries Impossible Peace: The Time Between World Wars, and that very quote was utilized in an episode exploring Hitler’s rise to power in the early 30’s. I can’t recall the name, but I *think* the speaker was an ambassador from Britain?

Are you by chance also watching this terrific history series, or is this really just a totally random coincidence?


eta: And yes, when I was watching the scenes of Germany’s descent into fascism and read that quote on the screen (I always play the captions these days, to avoid missing narration and dialogue due to poor hearing and/or thick accents), I immediately thought of Trump rallies and Trump supporters all over the internet and in the public space.

The missing word is Hitler. The author was the UK Ambassador to Berlin in June 1933 in a note to the Foreign Secretary, who was then Sir John Simon.

I bought a history of the European approach/reaction to Hitler in the years leading up to WW2, Appeasement by Tim Bouverie. Obviously Chamberlain, PM at the time of Munich, is universally condemned now for his attempt to mollify Hitler. I've always had a bit of a feeling that Chamberlain is unfairly judged because although he was wrong - and he was, no doubt about it - it's impossible to believe that anyone, with the very recent history of WW2 and its horror, would not do anything in his power to avoid a redo. It's the opening quote to the first chapter.

But you can't help but add 86 years and look at that quote in the context of today.

The book was reviewed in the NYT a few days ago.

I see BSG has posted while I was writing this so you win the prize. No, I hadn't seen that series you mention - is it on Prime or Netflix?

ETA - wes's guess of Reagan is pretty good. Wrong; but I like it.

It’s on Prime; release year is 2017 and it’s a Magellan TV production. Excellent use of period footage and some interviews with historians as well. It’s 8 hours exploring the economic and social and political issues that led from the war to end all wars into yet another a mere 20 years later.

Watching this series in current times is very, very unsettling; it’s clear what a fine balance there is between a world of relative peace and one of chaos. It seems very possible these days that such chaos might come again all too soon.

it could easily have been said about Obama s gov t...., and bush s

wesw wrote:it could easily have been said about Obama s gov t...., and bush s

And Trump's so-called government too.  Don't go leaving him out.

-"BB"-

"... I've always had a bit of a feeling that Chamberlain is unfairly judged because although he was wrong - and he was, no doubt about it - ..."

I agree. People like to blame Chamberlain; it is simple and requires no knowledge of the militaray status quo. But he went to Munich with a country completely unprepared to back up a defiant response to Hitler and badly weakened by the great depression. He should have defied him anyway just to signal to all of his allies the UK resolve to back them was as strong as ever. And it might have bought time for the Czechs to harden their defenses.

There is also the moral depravity of the Hoar-Laval agreement years earlier which was symptomatic of British Governmental moral weakness (governmental, the people were shocked when it was revealed).

yrs,
rubato