Now is the time to be bothered.

I just finished watching a German movie, Er ist wieder da, and I thought I would take a moment to share my thoughts. The basic premise of the movie (originally released as a book by Timur Vermes), advertised as a satire, is that Hitler wakes up in 2014 and the film follows his rise to internet and TV fame. I would highly recommend the movie as it was well made and raises some serious questions about the current state of international politics. 

With the Austrian election nearly resulting in the presidency of far-right wing Mr. Hofer (who wore a cornflower in his lapel, a Nazi symbol in the 1930s, during his swearing-in as “Freedom Party Candidate”) (see: www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36362505 ), the popularity of the Front National party candidate Marine Le Pen in 2015 french elections (see: tinyurl.com/j244tds), and the overwhelming amount of anti-immigrant and blatantly racist propaganda flooding the EU, there is a growing problem that many in Europe, and across the western world, are failing to address. This movie quite clearly not only demonstrates, but makes one feel how Hitler was able to use the political disenchantment of the German people to create what would become one of the worst atrocities to affect our world. He arrives in 2014 Berlin and slowly gains fame by pretending to be the most unwavering of method actors. Perceived by many as a comedian, he uses the fame freely given to him to begin building the "5th Reich". As the movie progresses, those who question whether his rhetoric is not merely a joke, but a remanifestation of his previous rise to power in the 1930’s, are silenced or discredited in other fashions (such as by presenting them as drunk or sending them to a mental institution). One of the most integral, but not necessarily obvious, parts of the film is that the actor Hitler’s interactions with Germans on the street or in cafes are unscripted, authentic reactions. (See: tinyurl.com/hxlwzya) 

But it did not start in the gas chambers. As Er ist wieder da shows us, it starts with a few laughs - a joke or two that maybe that maybe touches a little too close to some of our fears, perhaps those of the unknown. Even I, a firm believer that Holocaust (and all genocide) jokes are always inappropriate, chuckled at it in the beginning. It is interesting in that it shows the modern day viewer the appeal that Hitler had to the German people at the time - it is readily admitted that Hitler was considered charismatic and extremely well-spoken. A Dutch commenter on IMDB puts it best: “My initial emotions during the beginning of this movie, were confusing to me. I had some good laughs, and I even felt sympathetic to the way he was portrayed. I couldn't help myself. I didn't want to feel sympathy for him or laugh about his silliness, yet I did. The beginning of the movie was humorous, yet as it progressed, it got more and more grim. And it was not because of the actors or the things happening in the movie, it was because of the reactions of REAL people to "Hitler".” Here she truly captures what makes this movie so relevant today: Hitler, without people to follow him, was just a man. But the ideas he spouted resonated with people and that is where the evil is made possible. In the film, he says it quite clearly himself: “Have you ever wondered why people follow me? Because at their core, they are just like me. They have the same values.” 

Donald Trump does not scare me. Yes, he is destructive and yes, the fact that his racist, malicious statements are being broadcasted to the entire world terrifies me. But he is just a single man. What scares me is that more than 10 million Americans have voted for this person who is spreading the same hatred that murdered 6+ million Jews, Roma, LGBTQ+, and more because of their “otherness” 70 years ago. His supporters are my neighbors, many are my friends. They are, I am sure, of all religious persuasions, but because of my Catholic upbringing, I am most aware of those who are Christians. Christianity whose very base doctrine is to love thy neighbor as thyself sees many a Trump supporter who subscribe to abandoning the poor and turning away the refugee. Do you disagree? This is what Trump is saying. That is what they are supporting. 

I urge you not to let yourself be distracted. If there was ever a time to be alert and to care, this is the time. The things Trump is saying are not funny. They are not a laughing matter, and more importantly, they will not go away with the November elections. In this movie, Hitler says to those who would condemn him as a monster, that: “Then [they] have to condemn those who elected this monster. Were they all monsters? No, they were ordinary people.” Hitler was elected to power by playing off the economic and social fears of people who truly believed he could “Make Germany Great Again”.

Let me be the first to remind you that nothing can be great which is built on hatred. Turning away our neighbors does not serve to make our lives better, and a life that is fuller because of the suffering of another person is empty. 

“We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?” 

Now is the time to be bothered.