When I was in high school I became a conservative. I would not become a "Republican" until the summer after graduation (I was a lazy kid), but I remember the time and place very well.I was at Colton High School and it was the first day of civics class. Mr. Gerrard, who was a brand new teacher, announced to the class that over the summer he'd written to President Ronald Reagan to tell him that he thought those adults who opposed him were wrong and that he at least admired the President and wholly approved of his work.
In response to his letter, President Reagan sent Mr. Gerrard an autographed photo, which he proudly pinned to the cork-board at the front of the classroom. He said he wasn't ashamed of his conservatism and he hoped we would all in time learn to respect his views.
Over the proceeding school year Mr. Gerrard made us watch the Republican and Democratic Presidential primary debates (at which point I knew that I could never be a Democrat) and "Inside the Third Reich" with Rutger Hauer and Derek Jacobi.
Today, 37 years later, I'm still a conservative, I'm still a Republican, and "Inside the Third Reich" is still one of my favorite films. It's the true story of how a decent, intelligent, conservative and highly educated man (Albert Speer) became one of the highest ranking officials in the Nazi regime and one of Adolph Hitler's closest friends. I watched the film again this afternoon (on VHS as it was never released on DVD) and I came to a startling conclusion: The only difference between Donald Trump and Adolph Hitler is the fact that Donald Trump is not (I believe) antisemitic.
The MAGA movement is not the Republican Party. Donald Trump is not a conservative. I'm the same person I was 37 years ago and my core beliefs have changed very little. I see what is happening to this country very clearly and the parallels to Nazi Germany are too striking to ignore. Conservatives try to do so at our own peril.
Heil Drumpft!