Barney Frank, the First Amendment and Dumb America: Songs About Nazism and Communism—and a Brief Explanation of the Difference Between the Two

Watching this circus, I was dumbfounded—on one hand it was hilarious; on the the other, depressing. Politics aside, how in the world could an adult—even if we assume she'd only attended the bare-minimum required years of public school—not know the basic differences between Nazism and Communism?

For anyone else who slept through history class and missed the parts where your teacher differentiated  between Nazism and Communism, here's a very basic recap of some pertinent details: Nazi Germany's financial philosophy was far from coherent, but if it was driven by anything, it was driven by social Darwinism. So, naturally, the Nazis hated Marxian socialism because it conflicted with the idea that only the fittest should survive. Plus, during World War II, the Soviet communists became bitter enemies of the Nazis after Hitler broke the non-aggression pact in 1941, opening an Eastern front in Europe. During several years of bloody clashes, the Nazis killed in the vicinity of 20 million Soviet civilians. As you might expect, after this, Hitler and the policies of Nazism were even less popular with the big-government commies than they'd been before the war.

What I'm trying to say, good buddy protester, is that—while Hitler and Stalin were both authoritarian leaders responsible for the deaths of millions; while both believed in "isms" and had awful 'staches—they are not interchangeable, and neither are Nazism and Communism. And, no, Hitler was not the World War II leader you were looking for. Trust me—at the next rally, go with an Obama-as-Stalin poster. Sure, you'll still get weird looks, but at least you'll be getting closer to your point—if not the same ballpark, at least moving toward the same sport. And if you do this, you won't be completely contradicting yourself from the get-go, and maybe Barney Frank won't say that "trying to have  a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining-room table."

Whether you agree with Frank's politics or not, you've got to admit he's on to something when—after being confronted by this painfully ignorant protester—he says, "It is a tribute to the first amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated." 

Damn straight.

Now, dedicated to our favorite anonymous town-hall protester, here's a playlist of songs loosely referencing either Nazism or Communism. We hope she'll be able to figure out which is which.

1. Serge Gainsbourg - "Nazi Rock"

2. Gogol Bordello - "Mussolini vs. Stalin" 

3. Wilco - "Impossible Germany"

4. Devo - "Cold War"

5. Mel Brooks and the cast of The Producers - "Springtime For Hitler"

6. Nazareth - "Party in the Kremlin"

7. The Dead Kennedys - "Nazi Punks F**k Off"

8. Bob Dylan - "Motorpsycho Nightmare" 

9. Faith No More - "Crack Hitler"

10. Over the Rhine - "Iron Curtain"

11. Kevin Devine - "Holland, 1945" (Neutral Milk Hotel Cover)

12. Lou Reed - "Berlin"

13. The Fall - "Who Makes the Nazis?"

14. Neutral Milk Hotel - "Communist Daughter"