What do you hope leaders will learn from your personal story growing up in Nazi Germany
Wolfgang Mack: I want to convey what an ordinary person sees and feels when subjected to oppression and loss of personal freedom. I want to show them what living under a dictatorship does to people in their everyday lives, and how they have to learn to cope with daily threats to their personal liberty and the livelihood of their families. I also want to show how easily a legitimately elected leader can become a dictator when the people do not stop him when he shows the first signs of wanting more power than we want them to have.
How easy is it for people to blindly follow their leaders-and why is this dangerous?
WM: This depends largely on the ability (or willingness) of people to distinguish between a “normal” politician and a demagogue. Once people fall for the seductive powers of demagoguery, they will become blind followers surrendering their own critical judgement. Once stirred into a frenzy by the demagogue’s oratory they will be ready to do just about everything he demands from them. Then the path to losing liberty is opened.
What is current view of our political system and the strong divide in our country’s political opinions and beliefs?
WM: When I make observations about our country’s present trends in national leadership, I do not see them through the lens of parties or ideological groups, I see them as a matter of whether our elected representatives are doing their jobs properly, according to their oath of office which obliges them to “support and defend the Constitution…bearing true faith to it.” I believe that regardless of party affiliation, all Americans basically have the best interests of our country at heart.
What challenges do you believe our country faces with our current leaders in the White House and Congress, and how can we solve them?
WM: First and foremost, we need to re-instill a sense of honesty in the discourse between leadership and citizens. The barrage of lies and half-truth of the past years have undermined any sense of what is true and what is not. Truth from our leaders is the prerequisite of building trust without which orderly government is impossible.
What is your advice to anyone who feels as if their voice is not being heard by the elected government leaders?
WM: Make sure you vote and that all the people around you also do. Then pick up the phone or email your elected representatives and tell them what you think – they do need to hear from you. Guard your citizens voting rights, it’s easier than we think to slide into dictatorship and very difficult to get out from under it.
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