The Banality of Evil all Over Again

During Adolph Eichmann’s trial in 1961 for crimes against humanity, one of the most chilling moments came when one of the prosecutors was questioning how Eichmann managed to live with the things he’d done. The first part of Eichmann’s answer was standard for anyone who has been charged with such crimes, citing the fact that he was just following orders. But Eichmann went on to add that he would have had a harder time living with himself if he had not followed orders. To me, the most heartless part of this response was that it came years after these crimes had been committed, so he had all that time to reflect on his behavior, and was still so completely indoctrinated into the ideology of his party that he was apparently able to live with a clear conscience.

If nothing else, the Holocaust provided us with a frightening example of how the human mind is capable of manufacturing perfectly reasonable justifications for the most horrific of crimes. And as time passes, it has also provided us with many sad examples of how humans actually don’t learn from the past. History does repeat itself, as we have seen in so many different countries where genocide is carried out unchecked.

We also know from historians that the model for Hitler’s approach to the extermination of millions of people came directly from the United States of America, and the way they dealt with the ‘Indian problem.’ So maybe it’s not surprising that things seem to be coming full circle, as our current administration, led by a man who is clearly a sociopath, marches forward with actions and policies and executive orders that result in the deaths of thousands of Americans, and does so without the slightest hint of accountability, much less any attempt to even pretend to be sympathetic.

I’ve seen dozens of heartbreaking photos from the flood in Texas, not only of young children, mostly girls from Camp Mystic, but also of heroic family members who saved their loved ones only to get sucked into the current themselves. The numbers keep rising, and of course one of the most tragic parts of this story is what we’ve learned about the people who would have been in charge of providing the warnings and instigating an evacuation. These people were among those whose positions that were eliminated during the great Elon Musk purge. But anyone who expects Trump or anyone associated with him to acknowledge their role in this tragedy is going to be waiting for a very long time. Trump has still managed to avoid making a visit to the site, and I’m sure for many of the people who are fighting the good fight down there, it’s probably something of a relief to not have to contend with his pathetic attempts at pretending to have a heart.

A reporter asked Trump a couple of days ago how long those poor people in cages in Florida are expected to be held there, and Trump went on one to explain how much he loves Florida, and how he has a little ‘cottage’ there, so he’s not sure how long he’s planning to stay, because you know he has a job in Washington now. Trying to figure out whether he’s dodging the question or whether he’s simply lost his mind has become an exercise in futility, but the saddest part of the whole scenario now is how the people around him, the Eichmanns of our current political system, have tucked their humanity away somewhere and are simply following orders, because they know how difficult life would be for them if they actually showed some backbone.

And probably the most frightening part about it is how they hide their fear behind a mask of smug superiority. Which is very reminiscent of those guys in the brown uniforms a few decades ago.

Hannah Arendt was ostracized by many of her peers for writing an article pointing out that many Jewish people worked with the Nazis in order to save their own lives. She called this willingness to set aside a person’s conscience in order to save themselves ‘The Banality of Evil, and of course in the long run she proved to be right to call these people out. Because evil requires a large segment of the population to be quiet and look the other way.