Letter to the editor: Warnings from history

Something I never thought could happen in my lifetime: A man is elected leader of the country because he alone can produce prosperity and keep his countrymen safe. He announces that foreigners no longer will be welcome, and those already in the country would be deported or treated very badly.

Great masses of people loved their new leader, and when he held rallies, crowds of them came to cheer him on and hear him speak. When his term as leader was expiring, he convinced his followers that the opposing parties were evil and no longer could be depended upon to conduct a free and fair election or run the country. Therefore, he and his followers should forgo fraudulent elections and install him as permanent leader.

Americans in their 80s, like me, know the rest of this story. They also know that the man I’m describing was Adolf Hitler. Those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.

Lew Kemerer

New Stanton