The Bush=Hitler Meme as Fantasy Ideology

I hadn't been able to figure out why this Bush=Hitler thing is so popular with the left. Yes, WWII is always popular with analogy makers, but things seem to have gotten a little out of hand. Do Hollywood stars and university professors really think they are in just as much danger as their counterparts in Nazi Germany? Don't anti-war demonstrators realize that if Bush=Hitler, there would be no demonstration. At first, I thought to myself "Jeez, these people know nothing about Nazi Germany". Then I realized that historical accuracy wasn't the point. But what was the point?

I had a vague notion that for certain people, Bush=Hitler makes them feel important. Standing up against the raised eye-brows of middle America just isn't very daring. And let's face it. That's all most of these protestors are risking. But standing up against Hitler? Well, that's something else entirely.

It just so happens that Civilzation and Its Enemies by Lee Harris covers this psychological phenomena thoroughly. He calls it fantasy ideology. He recalls a conversation he had with a Vietnam war protester in the '60's. This protestor didn't care that the protests might actually be counterproductive to the anti-war cause. He wanted to protest because it was "good for his soul".

Its whole point was what it did for him. And what it did for him was to provide him with a fantasy - a fantasy, namely, of taking part in the revolutionary struggle of the oppressed against their oppressors....Thus, when he lay down in front of hapless commuters on bridges over the Potomac, he had ...no concern over whether they became angry at the protesters or not. They were there merely as props... in his private political psychodrama.

To such fantasists, other people are just props in their fantasy. Of course, Harris is pointing out that America is just a prop for the Islamofasicts. We can't convince them to stop attacking us by modifying our policies on Israel etc., because it's not about us. It's about their fantasy role as David. Our role is to shut up and stand still while they slay Goliath.

This is applicable to the Bush=Hitler crowd. Bush can liberate women from the nightmare of the Taliban, stop the psychotic rule of Hussein and sons, give record amounts of money to fight AIDS in Africa and it just doesn't matter. Because it's not about Bush. Its about feeling like you are part of something heroic, whether you are or not.

Update: The Gallery of "Bush=Hitler" Allusions.