OK, it's a guilty pleasure of mine, but occasionally, I actually DO look through my junk mail folder to see if there's anything funny to laugh at, or, on rare occasions, something that was actually accidentally sent there. Today offered me something that is both truly outrageous, humorous, offensive, and assinine - all at the same time. It began with the simple title, "Hungary has fallen."
Now, as I happen to be of Hungarian descent, this is of some interest to me - which also explains why this came to me, I'm sure. "Well," I figured, "This ought to be at least amusing."
According to this message, Hungary is no longer a democracy. OH GOOD GOD, SAY IT ISN'T SO!!!!
I mean, really, why wouldn't everyone in the world stand up and be the exact same as 'Merica? Don't they KNOW that our system is the best and they should all aspire to be just like us? But I digress. The message went on to say that the current president has signed away the rights of the opposition parties after many years of, "gutting legislative powers, crippling the free press, and eliminating all mention of a "republic" in the country's constitution." Hmmm...so, they managed to do what the GOP and Democrats have both been trying to do (unsuccessfully) for the last 200+ years. And they made it legal? This is sounding almost more like a blueprint than a travesty. But this gets better.
The message goes on to say that there has been a marked rise in state-sanctioned antisemitism, racism, the criminalization of the homeless, attacks on women and the LGBT community, and worst of all - there are three (count them, THREE) men who are simply known to have ties to the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party. Now, here's where I began to laugh. I know, I know, call me crass, but here's where this message really "jumps the shark." I will invoke Godwin's Law here, (for those not aware, in 1990 Mike Godwin surmised that eventually, every internet conversation will lead to a comparison to Hitler and Nazi Germany) because the rest of the e-mail pretty much says, "sign this petition to tell the European Union to do something before Hungary becomes the next Third Reich."
And I laughed. I laughed hard.
Now, I did not laugh because the accusations - especially if they are indeed true - are something to laugh about. I don't like to hear that people are being oppressed anywhere. Nope, what I'm laughing at is the implication that Hungary could ever become something even remotely close to the Third Reich of Nazi-Germany. I mean, this is Hungary. The last "Notable Battle" according to the Wiki on it.....1849, when they tried to gain independence from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire (you know, those Habsburgs we all learned about in high school). The attempt failed.
This is a very small country (just under 100,000 km2 and just under 10 million people) surrounded on all sides by mountains, with 44,000 military personnel - 34% less than our good neighbors to the north, Canada. (via nationmaster.com). Oh, and their neighbors are Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Ukraine. Let's pretend that Sun Tzu's "Art of War" is still practical for a second...how would an army made of mostly tanks and needing supplies, get through any of its neighbors without a sudden and vicious onslaught coming back at them??????? The next Third Reich? Really??? I mean, there's a big difference between having France to one side of you, Poland to the other, and being surrounded by mountains full of people who have turned fighting and killing each other for the last 50 years into an art form!
We're talking about a country that hasn't really been in the news for anything since a small political uprising in 1956. The Gabor sisters (Zsa-Zsa and Eva) are the most known export, other than Gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi, and perhaps musician Bela Fleck. So - what are they going to do to the world? Make us watch old ladies do a floor program to music that Fleck wrote? This is, of course, assuming that they CAN prevail in any sort of world-conquering scheme.
OK - I realize that what this email was talking about was not the military might of Hungary. It's talking about a mindset that can very easily be taken over by fanaticism and warped into something wholly different. We see it all the time, from Islamic extremists to the Westboro Baptist Church, to the GOP members who try to outlaw love to the Liberals who try to outlaw guns. It is pervasive in our world. Extremism - the blatant and purposeful lack of understanding housed in the idea that what an individual or group believes is correct, regardless of practicality - is wrong. But we must also remember something: as Americans, our viewpoint that because we have certain freedoms, rights, and privileges then everyone else MUST have the same ones is ALSO wrong. We're good at demanding our own social freedoms. We're arrogant in assuming that our way is the best for everyone, everywhere.
Commentary is welcome, both positive and negative. Please construct good arguments.
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
