RichardHarlos.com

I found this quote just today. Because there are so many quotes of questionable authenticity floating around the Internet, I’ve cultivated the habit of trying to verify things before I share them.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this quote is indeed authentic per Snopes.com. I say ‘pleasantly surprised’ because it tickles me whenever I stumble across an insightful perspective from long ago. Such is the case with this quote by the infamous Hermann Goering.

For those who may not be familiar with Goering, he “was a German politician and military leader known for being second in command of the Third Reich, a leading member of the Nazi party, and commander of the Luftwaffe. He was tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials in 1945-1946 and sentenced to death. He avoided execution by committing suicide in his cell a few hours before the sentence was to be carried out.” (source: Wikipedia).

Here is Goering’s quote as recorded by Gustave Gilbert in his book Nuremberg Diary. Gilbert writes:

We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction.

“Why, of course, the people don’t want war,” Goering shrugged. “Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that 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 in America, 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.”

“There is one difference,” [Gilbert] pointed out. “In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.”

[Goering replies] “Oh, that is all well and good, but, 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 pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”

Goering wasn’t a virtuous person but his insight into the human condition and into the power of government is, in this quote, quite obvious. Had we learned anything 60 years ago when Goering uttered those words to Gilbert, perhaps the American people wouldn’t have given up so much of their power. Perhaps we (the people) have surrendered too much, exchanging our sovereignty in pursuit of anything and everything less valuable.

How does it feel to be among those who are doing the bidding of the leaders, America?