What do all dictators have in common?
Watch our Truth in Two and find out (2 min vid + text).
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Pictures: Josh Collingwood, Kathy McIntosh, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
My friend, Terry McIntosh is a very well-read historian. When he and I talk, there is always a stack of a dozen different history books next to him that he is reading all at once. One of our consistent discussion points is the problem of authoritarianism in its various forms. One day he explained what happens to extremist groups which seem to be on opposite sides of a controversy. “Take any glass.” Terry began, “Place your index fingers on either side of the glass, showing opposite positions.” I was intrigued, Terry continued, “It doesn’t matter if we are talking about fascism or communism, far-right or far-left politics. Your group may be on the opposite side of the glass, but as your group becomes more extreme, whether to the right or left, eventually your fingers meet at the same place.” Terry concluded with a simple statement, “As all perspectives become more extreme, they lead to the same place, authoritarianism.”
You see, authoritarian leaders want control. Influencing media, manipulating government agencies, or establishing laws designed to limit opposing views are ways authoritarian leaders’ rule. There is an easy four-step test to see if some leader wants control.
(1) The leader is always telling you how bad another group is.
(2) The so-called “bad” group is always marked by negative terms like “far-right,” “conspiracy theorists,” or “controversial.”
(3) The “bad” person or group is always telling “lies” or promoting “misinformation.”
(4) Finally, the authoritarian leader tells you more restrictions are needed to stop the opposing viewpoint.
All authoritarian, totalitarian leaders end up in the same place: limiting information, restricting freedoms, jailing enemies, and covering their own wrongdoing. From a Hebraic-Christian perspective, it is sin that produces extremes, and everyone, every group, is susceptible, no matter what side of the glass you’re on. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.