When I was a kid, my Dad and I would talk about WWII. Many

[yy4me]

members of his family served in Europe fighting Hitler and his gang of thugs. As a child, I could not understand why the people of Europe did not revolt against the growing threat of Hitler. I remember asking Dad why the Jews and the Gypsies did not get together and fight back. How naive I was. I now believe it is as simple as this. No-one believed what was happening until it was too late. By the time reality sunk in and things were beyond their control, those poor souls had nothing left to fight with. No home, no money, no spirit. All they had was fear. Their rights as citizens of this earth were stripped away. The Reich did not last its 1000 years but millions died because of it.

Why are we so complacent here and now? Where is the revolt to keep the very freedoms we are-or-were granted by the Constitution? Sure, there are some of us that are speaking out in defiance of the dictator in Washington but we should be out in force. Why can we not seem to gather enough brave souls to go to our capital cities with our signs, demanding that our concerns be recognized?

Is there so much fear now? Are we so much in denial that we will wait until it is far too late to do anything?

On November 7th, I hope my faith in the American people will be renewed. If we do not change the power in Washington, I fear we are all lost. It has taken me 65 years but I now think I understand.

[Warpy]

1. I grew up hearing people ask why the usually sensible Germans

allowed Hitler to take over. They stopped asking that question in 2001.

They knew.

People are passive right now because they still have hope they can vote the Fourth Reich out of office. If they can't, they'll be passive hoping they're not on the list of targets. By the time they realize we're all targets, it will be far too late.

[Freeusfromthechurch]

2. Trust me -

If I could afford it I would camp out on the white house lawn and protest daily. The best I can do here in South Carolina is to inform as many people as I can. I'm working on a way to become a full time activist for the injustice in the world. Wish me luck

[enigma000]

3. Maybe they didn't see it coming

I mean, things were good in Germany in the late 1930s: Berlin Olympics, less street riots, economic progress. The US was still in economic depression. Stalin was killing millions in the USSR. We just assumed the Nazis weren't nuts.

[hippiechick]

4. ... because people focus on what affects them directly ...

... they don't have time to keep track of the criminals and the bogus legislation and Constitution shredding signing statements coming out of DC because they're strugglig to keep the lights on, make sure little Bobby doesn't get kidnapped or shot on the way to school and pay for grandma and grandpa's meds and respite care all on their non-union Wal-Mart minimum wage.