Evil is Effective

People don't like to admit it, but evil is effective. I would need to research the matter more thuroughly (and it could take a lifetime) but it seems to me that Hitler was pretty damn effective in making Germany strong. I mean, yes, the Allies had a lot to do with the rise of a strong Germany, but is seems to me that Hitler was pretty effective.

What got me on this line of thought was today's broadcast of The Diane Rehm Show featuring guest villian and author, Pat Buchanan. Villian, as in "vile".
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-10-25/patrick-buchanan-suicide-superpower-will-america-survive-2025

I have to applaud NPR and Ms. Rehm for having this man on the program, as a balance to certain liberal-minded guest such as Johnathan Stewart. This was one of the most powerful broadcasts I have ever heard on her show, mainly because it made my blood curl and boil at alternate times.

And it is a frightening reality that his opinion represents a large swath of America.

I am using strong words, and perhaps unfairly. Maybe his heart is in the right place, as I am wont to forgive many wrongheaded types. However, I don't think so. And even if that's so, is villany maked by what is intended or what is done?

I thought about calling in, or e-mailing, but I didn't know the number, and managed to keep missing it each time it aired. I have written in down, now.

Also, in calling in, I would have had a hard time keeping my anger at bay. If the man had his way, America wouldn't be very far removed from Nazi Germany. There was at least one caller who disgraced themselves (and discredited their anger) by allowing their vemon to show through.

He did have a few good points, however. Mostly, a simple truism that a polite orderly community is easier to live in. Duh. That's one of the few points I would agree with. I agree with his in unity over diversity, but I do NOT agree that diversity is the antithesis to unity. Yes, diversity can bring disorder, but unity WITH diversity IS possible, and is an ideal worth striving for. It isn't an easy road, that's for sure.

What I found most startling was his fairly clear hypocrisy in advocating an extreme patriotism that reproached even loyal criticism, while his own book was as "unpatriotic" as it gets, in the sense of saying the America is in decline. I forget his examples; I need to relisten to this.
http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=14985