The Third Wave

The following information is courtesy of Wikipedia:

"The Third Wave was an experiment to demonstrate the appeal of fascism undertaken by history teacher Ron Jones with sophomore high school students attending his Contemporary History class as part of a study of Nazi Germany. The experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, during [the] first week of April 1967. Jones, unable to explain to his students how the German populace could claim ignorance of the extermination of the Jewish people, decided to show them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and convinced his students that the movement [was] to eliminate democracy. The fact that democracy emphasizes individuality was considered as a drawback of democracy, and Jones emphasized this main point of the movement in its motto: 'Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride'.

The experiment was not well documented. Of contemporary sources, the experiment is only mentioned in Cubberley High School student newspaper The Cubberley Catamount. It is only briefly mentioned in two issues, and one more issue of the paper has articles about this experiment, but without much detail. The most detailed account of the experiment is an essay written by Jones himself some six years afterwards. Several other articles about the experiment exist, but all of them were written after a considerable amount of time had passed."

The video you are about to see (shown in two parts) was created using clips from the 1981 TV special "The Wave", an actual Obama speech, recent City Year commercials, and other snippets. I was not involved in the making of this video, but I feel that it relays a powerful message. I understand that the comparison of Obama to Hitler may seem extreme and even absurd, but it is imperative that we consider what history has taught us.

Videos courtesy of YouTube user "LookUpHigher".

The following is an excerpt from part two of the video and, of the entire thing, it definitely hit me the hardest. Think about it:

"Now listen carefully. You thought you were so special. Better than everyone outside this room. You traded your freedom for the luxury of feeling superior. You accepted the group's will over your own conviction, no matter who you hurt. Oh you thought you were just going along for the ride, that you could walk away at any moment. Where were you heading? How far would you have gone? Take a look at your future. Yes, you would have all made good Nazis. You would have put on the uniform, turned your heads, and allowed your friends and neighbors to be persecuted and destroyed. Fascism isn't something those other people did. It's right here, in all of us. You ask, "How could the German people do nothing as millions of innocent human beings were murdered? How could they claim they weren't involved? What causes people to deny their own history?" Well if history repeats itself, you'll all want to deny what has happened to you in 'The Wave'. But if our experiment is successful, you will have learned that we are all responsible for our own actions. And that you must question what you do rather than blindly follow a leader. And that for the rest of your lives you will never allow a group's will to usurp your individual rights."