Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, was noted for many of his quotable statements. It’s interesting to see how some of his observations relate to the situation in America today, over 60 years later, in a far different time and place.

Goebbels said: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Observation: So, let’s see, just how much is the power of government being used by the current administration to repress dissent? How about castigating GM and Chrysler bond holders for objecting to being treated with a lower priority than unsecured creditors? Or firing CEO’s of major corporations, selecting the board members of public companies, dictating executive compensation or otherwise making dictatorial decisions that appropriate private property, contrary to the powers authorized by the U.S. Constitution?

Goebbels said: “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”

Observation: When the Obama administration passed the stimulus bill we were told that we were faced with an emergency so dire that the financial structure of the United States would collapse if Congress did not pass the legislation the president wanted immediately. (Remember, the frequently quoted statement by Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”). Congress did Obama’s bidding, over the objections of the majority of the American public, and Obama’s message is still being used to justify his policies, such as taking control of the banking and auto industries, while repeatedly stating that he inherited the deficit from the Bush administration. (He conveniently ignores the fact that his own policies have quadrupled the deficit in just a few short months.)

Goebbels said: “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.”

Observation: The conduct of the American media is a graphic illustration of this principle. The media played a major role in getting Obama elected and continues to shield him from the consequences of his actions. Instead of questioning his policies and his decisions, such as taking over the banks and the auto and insurance industries, the media have remained faithful cheerleaders, allowing the Obama administration to use them as its megaphone.

Goebbels said: “Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place”

Observation: Faith in Obama and his words made it possible for a man who had no experience at running anything to get himself elected to the highest office in the land. But, within six months of his inauguration, it has also become clear that his lack of experience is leading to what may be the worst financial disaster in the nation’s history. In short, I seriously doubt that Obama has the requisite knowledge to solve the nation’s problems, economic, political, international, war time, or otherwise. The public’s faith in Obama got him elected and has enabled him to pursue his agenda, but it is not clear that he has the knowledge needed to succeed.

Goebbels said: “Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state, for every form of power politics and any dictatorship-run state has its roots in the street.”

Observation: Although we may not be a dictatorship-run state (yet), many people are becoming fearful that it is happening on our watch, as Obama assumes increasing power over every aspect of daily life in America. The new “street” may be the Internet, which Obama has employed so effectively to not only get himself elected but to advance his policies and to increase his power. The stimulus bill is just one example.

Goebbels said: “If we are attacked we can only defend ourselves with guns not with butter.”

Observation: The Obama administration is reducing the defense budget. Clearly, they do not agree with Goebbels’ maxim, given the cuts in defense that are currently being made. Who’s right? You decide.

For my part, I believe we are living in a very dangerous world and should not knowingly weaken our military no matter how tempting it may be to use that money for other programs, such as health care. The situation with Iran and North Korea today should be all the evidence we need to strengthen not weaken our defenses.

© 2009 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved

Read more of Harris Sherline’s commentaries on his blog at “opinionfest.com”

In general, Americans place great store in being popular. It’s ingrained in our culture and is constantly beamed at us from every direction, by the media, commercials, our schools, entertainment, books, movies and music. So, it’s no wonder that it has become such an ingrained part of our personalities and psyches.

But, just how realistic is it to base public policy on the idea that being popular with other societies will enable us to conduct foreign policy that will help us achieve our economic or strategic goals or make us safer?

Unfortunately, the historical record doesn’t support the notion that being liked helps keep people safe. International policy is generally about power, not popularity. The records are replete with stories about the implacable cruelty and violence that has been directed at people for no reason other than the fact that someone wanted to conquer them. Attila the Hun (406 AD -453 AD) was notorious for his cruelty to those he vanquished, destroying entire cities and killing everyone in them for the purpose of spreading fear ahead of his advancing troops.

Before Attila, the Romans vanquished most of the known world, employing essentially the same tactics, often sacking cities and enslaving their populations.

The point is that it didn’t matter how much people were willing to lay down their arms before the advancing armies of the Huns and the Romans, pay tribute, even live in subjugation, they were still often slaughtered and enslaved by their conquerors. Being liked didn’t even enter into the equation.

Wars are fought for a variety of reasons: economic, religious, cultural, territorial, etc., and it really doesn’t matter whether one side is liked by anyone.

The oldest military treatise in the world, the Art of War, written by a Chinese warrior. Wikipedia tells us Sun Tzu was “a heroic general…(whose) victories then inspired him to write The Art of War…which historians place “in the Warring States Period (476–221 BCE)… a time of constant war among seven nations seeking to control all of China.”

The Art of War is still studied at West Point and in other military training programs as the basic treatise on warfare. Among his many cogent observations, Sun Tzu noted, “All warfare is based on deception…in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger…that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards…Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.”

There is nothing in Sun Tzu’s writings to suggest that winning a war has anything to do with being liked by anyone.

Whatever Obama chooses to call the war on terror, it will continue to be a clash between cultures, based on religious differences, as opposed to a struggle between nations over territory or economic principles. The goal of the Muslim extremists is to destroy America. Our very existence offends them. Moishe Yaalon comments in The Rules of War (AISH.com), “The difference between us and the terrorists is clear: We endanger ourselves to protect their civilians. They endanger their own civilians to protect themselves.”

Yaalon also observed: “The reason terrorist groups such as Hezbollah (terrorists) use human shields is elementary. They try to exploit the respect for innocent human life that is the hallmark of any civilized society to place that society in a no-win situation. If it fails to respond to terror attacks, it endangers its own citizens. If it responds, it runs the risk of killing innocents, earning world opprobrium and inviting diplomatic pressure to stand down.”

Responding to an article in Aish (26/5/2009), Muslim Bronx Bombers Strike Out, Alan Kornman commented: “The Islamist world view is very simple Dar al-Harb and Dar al-Islam - House of War and House of Islam. Every human on earth is in one camp or the other. That is the way it is dictated in the Qur’an and Sunnah by Allah himself - to be a good Muslim you must believe that the Qur”an is “God” inspired while every other religion, government, etc. is fatally flawed and corrupted by man…So when you see Islamists behaving violently - don’t be amazed, shocked, and say to your whiney self - what have I DONE to make them hate me. These are simply GOOD Muslims following what is in the Qur’an and Sunnah.”

Obama has been pushing the notion that the United States can influence the outcome of the struggle we are engaged in with terrorists by somehow getting the less radical elements of the Muslim population to “like us.” However, I submit that this is a non-starter. It simply doesn’t comport with reality.

© 2009 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved

Read more of Harris Sherline’s commentaries on his blog at “opinionfest.com”