Authoritarian Quotes and Political Warnings, plus Some Wisdom

“His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.” — US Office of Strategic Services report (pg 51) prepared in 1943 describing Adolf Hitler‘s psychological profile.

“It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion.” —Joseph Goebbels Speech, October 1933, when introducing the National Press Law which put the press under government control.

“Why of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don’t want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.“ — Hermann Goering (President of the Reichstag), attributed April 18, 1946 in Nuremberg Diary, by Gustave Gilbert, an Allied appointed psychologist, who visited daily with Goering and his cronies in their cells, afterwards making notes and ultimately writing the book about these conversations.

“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law” –a quote attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte and then Donald Trump, in Feb 2025

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely” — Lord Acton (English historian), attributed 1887

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.” — May 1918 editorial by former president Theodore Roosevelt

And now, some wisdom and guidance for our leaders and fellow Americans:

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 25:40   Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.

James 4:16-17  But now you boast and brag, and all such boasting is evil. It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it.

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Albert Einstein: “The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.” (from a note to author Pablo Casals, 1953)

J K Galbraith (Harvard economist): “Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.” (from a book review, 1971)

“Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t real for somebody else.” — A Mother’s Wisdom, timeless