A quotation from Eric Hoffer

Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 260 (1955)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/19134/

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A quotation from Hannah Arendt

What stuck in the minds of these men who had become murderers was simply the notion of being involved in something historic, grandiose, unique (“a great task that occurs once in two thousand years”), which must therefore be difficult to bear. This was important, because the murderers were not sadists or killers by nature; on the contrary, a systematic effort was made to weed out all those who derived physical pleasure from what they did. The troops of the Einsatzgruppen had been drafted from the Armed S.S., a military unit with hardly more crimes in its record than any ordinary unit of the German Army, and their commanders had been chosen by Heydrich from the S.S. élite with academic degrees. Hence the problem was how to overcome not so much their conscience as the animal pity by which all normal men are affected in the presence of physical suffering. The trick used by Himmler — who apparently was rather strongly afflicted by these instinctive reactions himself — was very simple and probably very effective; it consisted in turning these instincts around, as it were, in directing them toward the self. So that instead of saying: What horrible things I did to people!, the murderers would be able to say: What horrible things I had to watch in the pursuance of my duties, how heavily the task weighed upon my shoulders!

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, ch. 6 (1963)

More info about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/13940/

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TFW your brilliant idea is voting for a rapey, narcissistic pedophile fraudster, because he won't get along well with all the psychopaths the GOP embraces, both at home and abroad, and *might* be willing to help the US, while he serves himself.
#selfJustification #pretzellogic

A quotation from Hannah Arendt

In their moral justification, the argument of the lesser evil has played a prominent role. If you are confronted with two evils, thus the argument runs, it is your duty to opt for the lesser one, whereas it is irresponsible to refuse to choose altogether. […] Politically, the weakness of the argument has always been that those who choose the lesser evil forget very quickly that they chose evil.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/arendt-hannah/45553/

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A quotation from Ambrose Bierce

RECONSIDER, v. To seek a justification for a decision already made.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Reconsider,” The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/bierce-ambrose/1073/

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A quotation from Eric Hoffer

There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for acts which are prompted by our own questionable inclinations and impulses. Both the strong and the weak grasp at this alibi. The latter hide their malevolence under the virtue of obedience: they acted dishonorably because they had to obey orders. The strong, too, claim absolution by proclaiming themselves the chosen instrument of a higher power — God, history, fate, nation or humanity.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 85 (1955)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/hoffer-eric/17587/

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A quotation from A. R. Moxon

   Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but out of a hope for restored patriotism, or a sense of economic anxiety, or a hope to preserve their religious values, or dislike of their opponents, or raw political opportunism, or convenience, or ignorance, or greed.
   That word is “Nazi.” Nobody cares about their motives any more.
   They joined what they joined. They lent their support and their moral approval. And, in so doing, they bound themselves to everything that came after. Who cares any more what particular knot they used in the binding?

Andrew R. Moxon (contemp.) American writer, critic [a.k.a. Julius Goat]
Essay (2017-01-16), “Sky,” Blogspot

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/moxon-a-r/38965/

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#fascism #history #selfjustification #Nazi #rationale #support