Author's note: in case the title doesn't make it obvious enough, this post will contain some language that may be considered slightly uncouth. I defend my choice of language only by noting that angry times call for angry words, so buckle up for a disjointed ramble that verges on the vulgar.
In the 1930s, an authoritarian asshole named Adolf Hitler took the Charlie Chaplin moustache and an ancient symbol seen around the world from American petroglyphs to Hindu art, and he turned them into symbols of his hate-fueled racist despotic regime sold to the public as if they were symbols of strength and unity. Then he went on to murder millions and wage a massive war.
His best buddy (and later worst enemy) Joseph Stalin, who at least had a better moustache, was also an authoritarian asshole who murdered millions and destroyed the economy of a massive nation. He sold his version of a fundamentally flawed economic system and nationalism as though it were virtue by imprisoning or killing any who would not submit and obey his arbitrary dictates.
FDR was also an authoritarian asshole who sold his predation as if it were virtue. After all, it isn't just Europeans who are susceptible to this kind of behavior. He was just on the side that won, and had better posthumous PR. He also propagandized his plunder as if it were benevolence while creating concentration camps and seeking opportunity for wars that would lead to the deaths of strangers in order to make himself "great."
Authoritarian assholes are not restricted to the "left" or the "right." They are not a thing of the past, either. During the 2016 United States Presidential campaign, an old frog meme and an old McDonald's character re-emerged as symbols appropriated by authoritarian assholes as symbols to support their desire for a hate-fueled racist despotic regime, and these assholes also resorted to mobs of hooligans out to make their empty statements. In opposition, other authoritarian assholes who wanted to impose their own dictatorial desires used their own mobs of angry idiots as well as they advocated their own brand of bullshit. Violence ensued. And the response by the authoritarian assholes in power was more authoritarianism.
We have all seen technological innovations corrupted for evil intentions. Aircraft were used to drop bombs on innocent civilians. Early computer technology was monopolized by governments for launching missiles. Media has been used for propaganda. Our internet connection is used as a surveillance apparatus. Even more perversely, government officials often claim credit for technology, or at least the advances their actions encourage. The implication is that we need authoritarian assholes and their murderous despotism to encourage development. Nothing could be further from the truth, but truth is irrelevant to such authoritarians. Evil cannot create. Evil can only coerce, steal, corrupt, and destroy. This is hardly a new or original observation. For example, J.R.R. Tolkien used the theme of corruption versus creation throughout The Silmarillion, and the corrupting influence of the One Ring is arguably the main antagonist in *The Lord of the Rings." Even the Bible's Genesis account of Eden is a tale of evil attacking perfection by means of corruption and deception.
The worst part, though, is that we all have an inclination toward being authoritarian assholes ourselves. We are all far quicker to perceive trespasses against ourselves than to realize we are advocating trespass against others. "There oughtta be a law," we say. We disregard the natural rights of others because of their skin color, or where they were born, or who they worship, or what they want to consume, or whether they own inanimate objects we don't like, or any number of other petty things that cloud our reason and empathy. We need to always strive to be self-aware, and most especially so when we start to feel self-righteous, because that is the fuel for the fire of the authoritarian asshole in yourself.