Q -

The observation that the actions in the Netherlands reminded me of what I perceive to have happened under Nazi occupation was absolutely NOT intended as a "condemnation." And I don't recall occupied or Vichy France being mentioned in this thread.

The point, if there is one, is that the political, religious, and social structures that existed then are very much similar to ones current today. The Nazis were able to impose and expand their influence because of the way the people in Germany and in the international community responded or failed to respond, and I think it's important to understand - at the small scale of individual citizens' actions and local politics, as well as at national levels - how it happened.

That I see, in a small way, similarities between recent Dutch events and the political structure that immediately preceded and carried into the Nazi occupation is NOT a condemnation. It's just an observation.

There is no country now, that I know of, that more resembles the political climate in which the Nazis took power and launched their regime than the US. There is no certainty that the US will become (more) like the Nazi regime; but there is, in my opinion, the potential for abuses similar to what happened then. Certainly no other country, if such abuses arise, has more potential to do world-wide harm than the US - at least for the present.

Condemnation is for fundamentalists - our current most-present enemy.
Observation and understanding are necessary for the rest of us.

John