As we enter the New Year, it's tempting to turn our back on 2021 and concentrate on looking forward. But it has long been established that "History repeats itself" (George Eliot), and turning our back on it only dooms us to suffer the same dreadful consequences over and over again. As Erin Gruwell put it, "Silence ensures that history repeats itself."

Less than one month ago, my husband took me to Washington D.C. to celebrate my birthday with friends who live and work there. In addition to the fun stuff we did, he managed to score us last minute tickets to the Holocaust Museum (they are free but generally need to be reserved well in advance). It's not a happy way to spend one's birthday; but I've wanted to tour the entire museum for years and have never managed to get myself together enough to get tickets ahead of time. We spent 3 hours in that place, and I could have spent 3 more if we didn't have to catch our flight home.

I thought I'd be overwhelmed with grief, particularly given my Polish-Lithuanian heritage, but I found myself in a particularly scientific frame of mind as I viewed the increasingly horrific records of the "Final Solution" imposed by Adolf Hitler during World War II. The subtlety of Hitler's intentions preceding the war and how his propaganda methods shielded the German population from recognizing and impeding them are undeniably similar to the methods used by former president Trump and his supporting legislators. People were suffering from the intense economic downturn after the first World War, which made it even easier to turn a blind eye when their stomachs and their wallets started getting full again. Wallet fattening is the biggest reason Americans support Trump, such that they excuse behavior they would never tolerate in an opposing candidate. We have already gone beyond the subtle stage, as Trump supporters are readily admitting their own hypocrisy.

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Please don't confuse my comparison of Trump to Hitler with the annihilation of the Jewish people. I'm not saying that Trump has the exact same intentions of Hitler - it seems money and power are more important to Trump than anything else he claims to stand for - but Trump respects Hitler and believes in himself in the same way, and experience is already showing that he won't hesitate to use the same methods to achieve his ends. As stated in a 1951 column by Daily Oklahoman newspaperman Elmer T. Peterson (who attributed the quote to Alexander Fraser Tytler two centuries before): "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."

As I wandered through the Holocaust Museum, my thoughts kept going back to the attack on the US capital last January 6. If the US were to go down the Fascist spiral of WWII, the Jan 6th insurrection - and it was an insurrection - was the match to light that fire. In hindsight, it would be very hard to refute the negligence of the legislators who are refusing to acknowledge the serious threat to our Democracy and do something about it.

But what can I do about it? Like the average German citizen during World War II, not a whole lot directly. But I can be the Lorax; I can speak for the trees.

At least for now, I can call out the hypocrisy and hatred and demand accountability. At least for now, I can ask others to join me in doing so. At least for now, I have a choice of candidates and parties, can vote with my conscience instead of my wallet, and can plead with others to do so, even when they clearly disagree with me.

At least for now, I can hope that Never Again is more than just a well-meaning slogan.

This is why, whether you are a right-wing conservative or a bleeding-heart progressive, I am pleading with you to *Pay Attention*. Don't ignore what's going on because it doesn't directly affect or may actually benefit you. Don't let emotive language, politics, and bullying cause you to ignore the facts or their potentially dire consequences.

We all watched the live news coverage at the US capital on January 6. The violent actions of that day cannot be refuted. With that in mind:

If you watch just the first 30 minutes of this unedited footage (from the Jan 6 committee appearance before the House Rules committee) with a truly clear and objective mind, I don't know how you can't come to the conclusion that what happened on Jan 6 was an insurrection that was deliberately facilitated, at the very least, by President Trump's inaction. Regardless of whether Trump and his accessories are punished to the full extent of the law, which would be death, allowing Donald Trump to run for office again will be devastating to our Democracy even if he loses, as it will only facilitate the next wanna-be-dictator candidate and party, who will undoubtedly learn from Trump's mistakes.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH8p7wLzjKo&t=165s

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To read more from Melissa Rooney, see http://www.melissarooneywriting.com/blog/.

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