All Quiet on the Capitol Hill Steps

Exposed to a steady stream of propaganda stoking fears of evil outside forces, young men are convinced they can overcome their victimhood only through combat. A military force is formed with the goal of seizing the enemy’s capital as well as proving the superiority of its authoritarian culture over weaker rivals. The January 6th insurrection? No, it’s German soldiers at the outset of WW I. History is so depressing.

It’s time to take another look at All Quiet on the Western Front, or in the original German, Western Nicht Nues (“No news from the West”). If you haven’t already seen the somewhat flawed Netflix version, or gone back to really reading the original novel that you skimmed through in high school, it is worth the effort. An added bonus: the book sheds light on the mindset and delusions … of the all-American January 6 insurrectionists.

Propaganda then and now. In World War I, the multi-armed spider was Britain. George Soros plays a similar role these days.

What’s striking about both the obscenely young German soldiers in All Quiet and, based on reading transcripts and watching videos, the J6 defendants is their astonishing innocence and self-righteousness. In the novel, the protagonist Paul Bruner and his high school classmates — who all volunteered — really believed the war propaganda and the nobility of their mission. The one notable counterpoint is the older and wiser Katzinsky or Kat.