A high school in New York state is upset two senior chose quotes from Hitler's Mein Kampf for their senior quotes. Supposedly the high school's administration is even considering whether or not these students should be punished. Let me say unequivocally that they should not be.
First and foremost these students have a right to free speech and if a school publication solicits these students' personal maxims, it has no right to punish them for their choice.
The first maxim mentioned in the article, "Strength lies not in defense, but in attack", is nothing more than a rephrasing of "the best defense is a good offense". Hitler said it? So what? This is a problem with too many debates today. Someone of dubious character (or in this case, no character at all) is sympathetic to a similar position so now it's automatically disqualified from any serious consideration. Time and time again, one will find that the saying "strength lies not in defense, but in attack" has historical validity.
The second quote, "The great masses of people...will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one", is historically true as well. Witness the masses that suffered under the lies of socialism and communism throughout the twentieth century and continue to suffer under the regimes of the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and North Korea.
The origin of the quotations do not diminish their accuracy, no matter how evil the source.
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