I clearly remember learning about Hitler and the Nazis and the Holocaust for the first time, I believe in 5th grade while studying world history. I think my teacher was Mrs. MacClennan, and I remember learning about the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia from her, and also about FDR and the New Deal from her. I remember learning how the second world war effort primed our manufacturing industry and triggered the boom that turned America into a great country, and I remember asking, “Why don’t we have wars all the time if they make us richer?”, and I can remember her laughing and saying that it would seem like a good idea, but that war was bad, so we can’t do that. Hmm.
I also remember clearly learning about the Nazis and Hitler and the Holocaust one day from her. I can remember asking, “How did an entire nation of people think it was ok to kill all of these other people? How did they all go along with it?”, and I remember her telling me that it was complicated, but that the German people’s economy was so bad and they were all so upset that they were able to be taken advantage of. And then we never really talked about it again. And I can clearly remember thinking that it seemed we should spend more time learning about this Holocaust and the Nazis. But we didn’t.
We learned about Henry Ford, and how great he was because of the lasting empire he built on the assembly line, and the great wealth he created, and the way the automobile impacted almost everyone’s lives. We did not, however, learn about how much of that wealth he spent fighting for the fascist cause, which was strong here in America. Something else we didn’t learn in school. Not all of America wanted to fight the nazis nor have anything to do with a war much less a world war. Just like now how not all of America wants to aid Ukraine in their defense against Russia. And for a variety of reasons.
Henry Ford funded a newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, which reached a readership of 900,000 by 1925. He used his wealth and this paper to spread lies about “the Jews” being responsible for all of the ills then facing his readers. He used the megaphone created by his great wealth to influence 900,000 readers to hate a certain “other” group. We certainly did not learn about that in school. But we learned that this same Henry Ford was a great man, because he was a capitalist, and he could generate profit.
What other “great men” do we see using their wealth to create the megaphones which influence their followers to hate some “other” group that conveniently can be told is the problem? Some other group with little defense in comparison to the great wealth of the great man with the megaphone? Other groups like trans people, like immigrants, like the generationally poor, like those with little to hold onto but each other. Underdogs, all. America, remember when you liked the underdog?
Back when America liked the underdog there were lots of movies about underdogs. Like the Bad News Bears. Remember how that ends? The underdogs realize they they are stronger together, and they organize, and they overcome their seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The time is now underdogs.
Chris Bevens | pedalpoet 