To the editor:

What one word would you use to describe how you feel about the current state of our federal government? How about “insecure?” Or perhaps “uneasy”?

If either of those words describes your feelings about what comes out of Washington these days, you are not alone. As one major change after another is forced upon us by regulatory agencies, the courts, and the president, we have become somewhat bewildered. Some of the basic rules that govern our relationship to our government are being changed. And as those rules change, our lives become more constricted. We have fewer options, less freedom. We wonder, what’s next?

History has something to tell us about that insecure “what’s next” feeling. History tells us that this is not a feeling to be ignored. That feeling is an inner alarm, warning us that something is wrong – something that we need to think about and fix before it is too late.

Many Germans had that feeling as Hitler and the National Socialist Party were taking control of their country. During the 1930s most Germans stood by and watched as members of Hitler’s party took control of all of the institutions of power. The Nazis invented lies, sold those lies to the public through allies in the media, supported their lies with Darwin’s theory of evolution, encoded them into law, and then used threats, intimidation, and the strong arm of government to force public compliance with their plans.

And the Nazis realized that in order to succeed in bending the public to their will, they had to silence anyone who dared to publicly contradict the party line. Most important, they had to prevent church leaders from publicly teaching that the Nazis’ official viewpoint was evil in the sight of God.

Many Germans didn’t realize what was happening. They felt insecure about it. They knew it was not right. But most Germans did nothing.

The parallels between 1930s Germany and modern America are quite strong. To an ever-increasing extent, the socialists in our country are seeking to dictate to the rest of America what our viewpoint will be. Whether it is on a university campus or in our privately owned business, we are not to publicly challenge the officially prescribed view (on evolution, abortion, homosexuality, public religious displays, etc.) If we support the party line or remain silent, we are considered “politically correct.” If we don’t – and especially if we base our beliefs on what God says in the Bible – then we are threatened, intimidated, sued, vilified, condemned as immoral, prosecuted, and hounded from the public square.

God and His truth and morality are being systematically removed from America’s laws and from our public life. We must not stand idly by and watch as so many Germans did. We must stand up against what we know to be evil, or we will finally be ruled by it.

Michael Thom

New Ulm