Hitler's Youth

Some words the Nazi leaders used to convince the German people to follow them caught my attention. Over and over again, I heard do this for the flag and do that for the flag. Sometimes they said do this for the future of Germany. You are the future of Germany.

They never directly said do this for Hitler. I found that interesting. They were never directly told to do something because Hitler said so either, if I remember correctly. Hitler is their leader and certainly receives threats or faces hardships. Yet, I feel like Hitler was creating these perfect German robots to build and protect his strength, power, and dominance over the world. He certainly was not getting beaten to the point of needing a doctor's appointment by his friends.

Part 2.

While watching the video, I couldn't stop thinking about how similar marching band is compared to the Hitler's Youth Program. We wear uniforms, march together, play together, and do almost everything together. We have section leaders, field captains, equipment managers, uniform managers, and drum majors all filled by young high school students. We are even supposed to knock bystanders down, or at least to the side, if they attempt to run in between our ranks. We say we are ONE band ONE sound. We completely rid ourselves of individuality, but that's an important part of being a marching band. We cannot have band members slumping around in whatever they want and expect respect or a positive image. It's very disturbing to realize the similarities, to realize how close good and evil are. Just a slight tweak and something important to learn and act upon is dangerous. It is strange and very clever because marching band and other similar activities are considered great activities to learn important skills by employers and colleges.

Boy Scouts, Color Guard, ROTC groups, athletic teams.