Who does Donald Trump praise? Russsian leader Vladimir Putin, who has successfully transformed Russia from a Marxist to a Nietzschian nation. And Sanders is openly socialist, unashamedly Marxist. If Sanders is elected, we can expect the destruction of the American economy, because socialism never works. If Trump is elected, the really scary thing is that he might actually succeed at making America great. (Pay no attention to the secret police and the compounds housing not Jews but Muslims.)
A few weeks ago, I listened to a Bernie Sanders speech for the first time. As I listened. I finally understood why some people had said, “I’m not sure who I’m voting for, but it’s either Trump or Sanders.” When I first heard callers to talk shows say that, I thought, “What? That makes no sense! Those guys are the two extreme ends of the field of candidates!” But as I listened to Sanders talk, I realized that he and Donald Trump were, in fact, the exact same kind of candidate: Both are making big, bold promises that the president does not have the Constitutional authority to deliver.
Whether it’s free college for all or a wall that Mexico will pay for, universal health care or keeping all Muslims from entering the country, promising people what they want to hear is kind of what we expect from politicians, right? But there’s reason this time to be afraid that ~35% of Democrats and ~35% of Republicans are excited and cheering in large groups for this rhetoric. Why? Because these promises come from a place of core ideology, and ideas have consequences.
To understand Sanders and Trump, we need to go back to the 19th century and understand two German thinkers, Karl Marx and Frederich Nietzsche. Both men saw major problems in society and both thought of solutions, paths out of the problems:
- For Marx, the solution was the elimination of private property, the destruction of capitalism and the creation of a classless society. Who would possibly be powerful enough to make this a reality? Only the government, and so the ideal state could only be achieved by revolution and the establishment of a “People’s Republic.”
- Nietzsche, on the other hand, saw the solution is the “will to power” and the rise of the Superman. In other words, in power and greatness.
Hitler was tremendously successful in “making Germany great again” in the 1930’s. From the founding of Volkswagen and the re-kindling of German manufacturing to the successful 1936 Olympic Games, Germany grew in economic and military power in the 1930’s faster and more successfully than any other nation in history. Yes, they has secret police and a troubling discrimination against Jews and the world was not too happy with their hyper-nationalism, but no one dared to openly challenge or confront the German nationalists.
Stalin was less successful because socialism runs more contrary to human nature than a militant nationalism. But he pursued his plans with equal vigor and was able to achieve many of his goals, even if forcing the farmers of Russia into a communal situation cost the lives of ~20 million of them.
Today, we have Bernie Sanders promising to end income inequality, even if it means giving the government even more power and control over businesses. Trump is promising national security and greatness, even if he has to trample on the Constitution and offend the world in the process. We’ve been down this road before. You see, Marxism always promises equality and Nietzsche-ism always promises greatness.
And we can already see the fruit. It’s not hard to see or hidden from view. Who does Donald Trump praise? Russsian leader Vladimir Putin, who has successfully transformed Russia from a Marxist to a Nietzschian nation. And Sanders is openly socialist, unashamedly Marxist. If Sanders is elected, we can expect the destruction of the American economy, because socialism never works. If Trump is elected, the really scary thing is that he might actually succeed at making America great. (Pay no attention to the secret police and the compounds housing not Jews but Muslims.)
Do you think I’m over-reacting?
- Talk to the young black woman who was violently assaulted by Trump supporters in Kentucky. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBPyLs87WM0).
- Talk to the young black college students who were escorted out of a Trump rally in Valdosta, Ga. (http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/01/opinions/trump-valdosta-rally-black-students-ejected-bailey/index.html)
- And who were the first people Hitler came after? The disabled. How does Trump treat the disabled?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX9reO3QnUA
The ideas of Marx and Nietzsche led the world into the bloodiest century in our history and led to the most notorious dictators in history. It’s time for America to soundly reject these ideas in the 21st Century. Instead of chasing after the candidates who promise us what we want, we need to embrace the ingredients that did make America great, the nation that defeated the Nazis and the Soviet Communists: hard work, entrepreneurial enterprise, limited government, Constitutional rule of law and close-knit local communities.
Jason A. Van Bemmel is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. This article appeared on his blog Ponderings of a Pilgrim Pastor and is used with permission.
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