A wise saying goes: "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it." However, perhaps the saying should go: "Those who neglect the past are condemned to repeat it."
World War 2 is commonplace in almost any US History class, and is a well known and well franchised war. It is rare that a person is unfamiliar with Hitler, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Normandy, or any number of WW2 rhetoric. And yet, it seems as if history is swinging steadily into similar circumstances as were seen at the beginning of that whole trouble.
Let's begin on a small scale, here in the United States. Recently, our conservative President George W. Bush found out who his replacement would be, and so did America. A young, up-and-coming (though he's already succeeded) senator from Illinois: Barack Obama. The significance of this election was enormous for many reasons, and historical for all those same. Obama is the first black president, and he is the "most powerful man in the world". He is an American Dream story, rising up to graduate first of his class from Harvard, and working with the people to start a movement that would inspire millions and bring hope to the entire world. He comes at a time when a world depression seems to be on the brink of occurring, when war in the middle east is tearing the US away from its allies, and at a time when Russia seems to be covertly trying to restart the Cold War. He comes at the most pivotal moment in history, it seems, when all of our fates linger in the mysterious balance.
Many seem to believe we have entered the end times. Others may believe Mayan "prophesies" that state the world will end as we know it in 2012 (to clarify, the "world as we know it" means the civilized human structure, built upon the current planet orientation. 2012 is most likely to mark a significant change in the planets orientation). Some, such as myself, believe we are on the brink of a major world conflict; World War 3. Several things have been pointing to this conclusion, but recently a very interesting revelation helped this conclusion come forth. It seems that Obama is bringing hope to America in a desperate economic crisis; or at least, at a time when a crisis is on the horizon. As Time magazine seems to indicate, and as some (again, including myself) have thought all along, Obama may be the next FDR. That brings us to the WW2 rhetoric.
Hitler was able to rise to power in pre-WW2 Germany because of economic depression and growing resentment against the major powers for the humiliation of Germany that followed the first World War. His dreams to destroy the Jews and establish a grand state of Arian superiority were allowed to grow and nearly come true, until he was stopped by a great alliance. Now, it seems that similar events are occurring as facilitated Hitler's rise. In Austria, conservative fascists are beginning to regain popularity because of a weakening government and an unstable world economy. A rising political figure in Austria is Heinz-Christian Strache, who seems to despise the Turks and the Africans in Austria, and who is heading the Freedom Party, a nationalist group that seems to idolize the Nazi manifesto. Concerning as this is, it is important to remember that Austria may not follow the path that Germany followed seventy years ago, and if it does, there is plenty of time to react before it flourishes into a new reason for conflict.
Altogether, with the changing political environments in many countries, and the coming of a "new" FDR, and the threat of a new Hitler, it seems that history is indeed prepared to repeat itself, leaving us all with the question of "when".
