In today’s advanced society, we often find it hard to imagine how irrational policies and oppressive governments that violate human rights can assume power. Yet when we look at history, we can see just how easily the clamp of domination can take command.
When the guillotine became the main enforcer of inhuman practices during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, executions were not only common, but they even became fashionable. The days of freedom of speech were over, giving rise to the darkness of government control.
Raging freely, the “incorruptible” Maximilien Robespierre sent accused criminals through pre-determined trials that proved their guilt of conspiring against the Republic of France with little to no evidence other than a simple accusation.
This followed the trend of the original intentions of the Revolution, which were to liberate power from the nobility, who cared little for the suffering of the lower class. However, once the Republic was established, the “justified” violence continued, and blood was shed needlessly in an effort to ensure that the safety of the government was secured.
Those who spoke out against the policies of the governing body were publicly decapitated as an example to all those who would pose a threat, whether violent or verbal, to the supposed order instilled by the Revolution. “Freedom, equality, and brotherhood” was their motto, citizen.
Such militaristic order also ran rampant during the fascist movement of the Third Reich. Adolph Hitler, legally rising to the German presidency in 1934, managed to secure dictatorship by eliminating political threats, often through assassinations carried out by his secret police, the Gestapo.
Having more than enough funds to launch a full-scale war against the most industrial nations of Europe, Hitler managed to convince Germans that their country was still in the economic ruin it had seen in the years immediately following the First World War. In doing so, he placed Germany under the control of the military, creating a state where the government and army ran all aspects of life, under the control of the Nazi party.
For the people of Germany, if they were not persecuted by the Nazis as the Jews were, life wasn’t much better. Specific documents had to be carried at all times, houses were open to random searches and complete obedience to government policies was expected, no matter how irrational. Any sort of failure to adhere to these rules, whether accidental or intentional, resulted in certain and immediate death.
Victory, and the Fatherland.
Even in states where money supposedly didn’t exist, the world saw inhuman treatment. Communist Russia was founded on the ideals and philosophies of Karl Marx, and the original intentions of the communist movement were to disintegrate the government once a completely communist state was established.
However, the efforts of government officials, specifically Joseph Stalin, prevented this. While the people of Soviet Russia starved, Stalin focused his efforts on preserving the government. Any revolts led by those impoverished and emaciated or attempts to escape from the grasp of the government were put down with mass genocide on a scale grander than that of the Holocaust.
For the Motherland, comrade.
In each of these political and social movements, those in power looked away from reason in an attempt to radically implement the incarnation of their views. Those who strove to promote intellectual, moral and spiritual excellence were disregarded as hindrances to the preservation of power. Welcome to the Homeland, patriot.
Colin Lacy is a philosophyjunior from Delmar, N.Y.
