Comparing President Obama to Hitler…

Anne Frank, just one of six million Jews who did not survive

the Holocaust. She died at 16.

As unbelievable as that sounds, I’ve actually seen quite a few sites trying to make an argument that President Obama is like Hitler. To say that shocks me, is an understatement. I wish I was well versed in history to list all the atrocities committed by Hitler, but the death of six million Jews alone, should speak for itself. This man is quite possibly the worst human being to have ever walked the face of the earth, and yet somehow people feel justified in comparing him to our president.

Maybe we should revisit some of the crimes that Hitler was responsible for to show how wrong and ludicrous this comparison really is. Hitler has been referred to a “madman” because of the extent of his evil acts. He knew exactly what he was doing and it did it enthusiastically. His crimes were atrocities against Jews and mankind. Not only did he ordered the deaths of six million innocent Jews, men women and children, he caused World War II. Countless lives of all nationalities were lost in that war trying to stop his reign of terror. Does anyone remember the concentration camps, the mass graves, how body parts were put into baskets and later used to make soap?

Once, when I was in high school, I had a young, Jewish English teacher, Miss Dodes. I really liked this teacher a lot. She was enthusiastic and it was contagious. One day we were discussing the book, “Animal Farm,” by George Orwell. It was an allegorical book using symbolism to describe World War II. We were each given a symbol and told to explain how it relates to this historic event. One of my friends gave her speech on "Hitler’s Germany" and, when she was done, the teacher asked, "What about the killing of six million Jews? that had been left it out of her report. My friend answered, “I didn’t think that was important.” Miss Dodes blew a gasket! She took the comment to mean the girl didn’t think the Holocaust was important, but what she meant was that the Holocaust wasn’t depicted in the book, so she didn’t include it. Never-the-less, Miss Dodes would not let this rest because, like all Jews and many others, she believes the Holocaust should never be forgotten. The following day she brought in a very long, black and white documentary of actual footage of the Holocaust, from World War II Germany. It described and showed in graphic detail, the despicable, evil, unimaginable things that were done to the Jewish people and their corpses. If I forget everything that I ever learned in high school, I will never forget that video.

I know that everyone wants to make the opposing candidate look bad so their candidate will win an election. They will pull out every skeleton in their closet; drag their family through the mud; twist their words around and take them out of context; they will lie about them; they will contribute huge sums of money to their campaign; they will volunteer for their campaign…all in a collaborative effort to get their man elected. Both sides do it. It’s nothing new. But, when you try to demonize a man, any man, by comparing him to Hitler, you have crossed a line. Is anyone in the history of the world comparable to Hitler? Not in my mind. What little history I have learned throughout my education, no one even comes close to his crimes and reputation.

But, that’s not even the worst of it. What is worse and sadder still, in my opinion, is that while some are busy trying to demonize President Obama with this comparison, they are at the same time minimizing and trivializing the crimes against Jews and humanity by Hitler. They are disrespecting and insulting those who died in the Holocaust. How many Jewish people do you think would be happy or agree with this comparison? How does anyone agree with this comparison? I have no idea. None.

Joe Gandalman, a Jewish writer, doesn’t agree with it. He writes, “Several times before his 1973 death my grandfather Abraham Ravinsky would open his family photo album and show me pictures of men, women and children who had been our relatives in Russia who were among the many exterminated by Hitler. He’d point: “Killed by Hitler…killed by Hitler…killed by Hitler” He’d look at me, then go on, telling me a murdered relative’s name. I still think of those doomed little kids.”

And here’s another thing that occurs to me. There are those who may be trying to gain Jewish votes with this tactic, but their strategy will backfire. Comparing President Obama to Hitler is not going to score points, quite the opposite. They are touching on a very real, and still very painful nerve, mentioning Hitler. They are opening up old wounds and making them relive a tragic part of their history. It’s all very disturbing to me and I’m not Jewish.

And when I hear these comparisons being made, I remember one of my favorite books of all time, The Diary Of Anne Frank. It's the story of a 13 years old Jewish girl, whose family went into hiding in Holland. I had the inspiring privilege of visiting “The Annex,” where her family hid during World War II, when I was visiting Amsterdam many years ago. Her diary is well worth reading and you can find many graphic videos of the Holocaust online, similar to the one I saw in high school, if anyone is interested. I’m posting a short video of Anne Frank’s Diary below. Anne Frank did not survive the Holocaust, but thank God her diary did. It's been reported that, after the Bible, this is the most read book worldwide.

Obama in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage...

President Obama supported civil unions and not gay marriage. Over the years he has flip-flopped on this issue. When he became President in 2008 his stance was in favor of civil unions, not marriage. Now, as we approach the 2012 election, he suddenly has a change of heart. Now he supports same-sex marriage, stirring up a controversial debate as to his intentions. Did he change his mind because his views evolved or because it’s a strategic political move to try and get more votes? No one can read his mind, but the timing of the announcement is surely suspect.

What do I think? I think same-sex marriage should be legal. Why shouldn’t two consenting adults who are in love, same sex or not, be afforded the same rights and privileges? People who are against same-sex marriage often change their minds when the issue hits closer to home, like in Dick Cheney’s case. Cheney has a gay daughter and so now he supports same-sex marriage. For him it became a personal issue. For Obama, it’s become a political issue. He needs votes. Maybe Cheney needs to cleanse a guilty conscience. Some people even support same-sex marriage because they feel it’s the right thing to do, without a personal agenda.

I think my feelings about this also evolved over time. As I learned that people do not have a choice about their sexual orientation and studies have shown they are born gay, I had to rethink my position. Many years ago, society frowned on homosexuality and gay people stayed in the closet, afraid to reveal who they were. The whole issue of homosexuality and the psychological aspects of it started being more openly talked about when I entered college and I took interest in it. This is not a learned behavior or one that is chosen, it is the way most gay people are born. If they were born that way, and you believe in God, then you have to acknowledge that God made them this way. Why would the same God, who created them, then want to prevent them from marrying, if they found someone they loved and wanted to spend their life with?  It doesn’t make sense to me. Unfortunately, God doesn’t have a 1-800 number or email where we can ask him directly what He thinks. And, we are all only human, so we are each going to have our own ideas and we can even change our minds over time.

So back to Obama, who very likely changed his stance or went back to a previous stance from the past, in order to improve his chances of winning the election. I say, so what, who cares. I think legalizing same-sex marriage is the right thing to do. I don’t really care how it comes about or why. Sometimes the right things happen for the wrong reasons. This may be one of those times. Eleven other politicians also changed their stance on this issue over time. More and more citizens are changing their minds on it too. Why? Because we are all finding out that we have a gay person or more in our immediate family, in our extended family, in our closest circle of friends, in the group of people we respect and admire, and so do the people we love. We want those people to be happy and have fulfilled lives. If that means they want to be married to someone, we are going to support that in every way we can. Who is it hurting if we legalize same-sex marriage? No one. Who is it hurting if we don’t? Every gay person who dreams of finding their soul mate, everyone in their families and group of friends who wants to see them happy, the children they may choose to raise…

For me the issue is clear. I may not have always felt that way, but I took the time to consider how I felt and why. I don’t see any good, logical reason not to legalize same-sex marriage. I see plenty of good reasons why we should. People say marriage is sacred. How sacred could it be with the divorce rate so alarmingly high? Are straight people taking marriage seriously? It doesn’t seem to mean anything to many of them, at least not enough to do the work necessary to maintain it. Gay individuals seem to take it more seriously, maybe because they don’t have the right and can’t take it for granted like straight individuals can and do.

It’s just a matter of time before same-sex marriage is legal everywhere, it’s the right thing to do.

Should We Release Osama's Picture?

A big debate and a lot of consideration is being given as to whether or not the government should release photos of Osama bin Laden. It has been reported that the government has three sets of pictures, taken at various times during the operation. The one picture that is recognizable of Osama, is extremely graphic, taken after he was shot. The decision whether or not to make the photo available probably hinges on considering the consequences of that action. While most Americans, a reported 59%, want to see the photo, there is concern that releasing it to the public will enrage Muslim extremists and al Qaida members and further incite them into taking terrorist action to avenge his death.

Would I like to see the picture? Yes, I would. Do I think seeing it is worth risking throwing “fuel” on an already raging fire? No, I don’t. I believe the government has taken every precaution to gather identifying information, such as photos and DNA that has been already been tested and is a match at 99.9%. That is enough for me. I think showing the photo will do more harm than good and enough harm has already occurred thanks to that evil man.

The way our country handles things from this moment on may affect us and we have a lot to do in the aftermath of Osama's death. We need to investigate Pakistan’s role in all this and whether they knew Osama was there all along. There was a lot of information gathered during the operation that needs to be scrutinized by our intelligence about al-Qaida’s future terrorist plans.

I would like to see us move on now. Justice has been served. The President will be at Ground Zero on Thursday, with the families if the victims of 911. I hope his words bring them all some measure of comfort and peace. This has been a cloud over all our heads for over 10 years. And now it’s over, finally over.

God Bless President Obama, the Navy Seals, US intelligence personnel, our heroic military men and women, for their tireless efforts and determination in closing this chapter in our nation’s history.

Osama Is Dead...

Osama was found at long last, after almost eleven years of searching. I just learned that Pakistan has been apparently lying to us all these years about his whereabouts. They built him a custom-made hideout in Abbotabadd, a rich area surrounded by military personnel and heavily secured. A million dollar home with no telephones or internet. It was located just 100 yards from a Pakistan military academy. Now, we just have to wait to see what in the world Pakistan is going to say about what we have learned.

President Obama promised that he would pursue Osama until he was found and killed. He delivered on his campaign promise. This is quite a coup. However, from reading the Republican point of view, he is not going to get one ounce of credit, as Commander and Chief of our Military forces, for this accomplishment. He will never get credit in their eyes for anything, this in particular.

I had to think about this. I’m sure if McCain was President right now there would be jubilant celebration on the part of Republicans for his being able to accomplish this historic feat. His remarkable leadership would be applauded to no end. However, McCain is not President, Obama is. It was on his watch and during his military leadership, that Osama, number one enemy of this country, was found and killed. No credit for Obama from Republicans, who are avoiding even the mere association of Obama with this act of justice and retribution for our citizens and our country. Instead, they praise the men and women who were actually there to physically execute this operation.

I also praise the military, the intelligence and all those involved in Osama’s capture and death. They deserve credit and praise. No one disputes that. But Obama does deserve credit. Why isn’t he getting any from Republicans? Because this victory, a long time coming, is not going to be forgotten for a very long time. And, guess what, there is a presidential election coming up in a year and a half, in November 2012 to be exact. How will they find someone to run against a President who not only vowed to captured and kill Osama bin Laden, but actually accomplished this during his first two and a half years in office? To praise Obama might even raise him to “hero” status. We cannot have that so close to an election. To add insult to injury, I have even heard that Republicans are trying to credit Bush, before giving any credit to President Obama. President Obama, who was only involved in this operation every step and decision along the way, will not get any acknowledgement from conservatives.

Well, I think the victims’ families of 911 will rest better now. I hope they will have peace of mind knowing Osama has been killed. I will be curious to see who they credit with this mission. I am just one New Yorker who knows I will be sleeping better tonight thanks to President Obama.
　
And, don’t be surprised at the end of the day, if everyone except President Obama gets credit for the success of this operation. I think Republicans will even get around to crediting the royal couple, Will and Kate. It was, afterall, their wedding, which created the overwhelming, international distraction necessary to bring the operation to its successful completion.