To the editor,

The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building (German parliament) in Berlin, Germany on Feb. 27, 1933. The Nazis stated that a young Dutch council communist had been caught at the scene of the fire, and he was arrested for the crime.

The accused was an unemployed bricklayer who had recently arrived in Germany. The Nazis stated that the accused had declared that he had started the fire, and he was tried and sentenced to death.

Four communist leaders were also arrested. The fire was used as evidence by the Nazi party that communists were plotting against the German government. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.

Adolf Hitler, who had been sworn in as Chancellor of Germany on Jan. 30, 1933, urged President Paul von Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree to suspend civil liberties and pursue a "ruthless confrontation" with the Communist Party of Germany. After passing the decree, the government instituted mass arrests of communists, including all of the Communist Party parliamentary delegates.

With their bitter rival communists gone and their seats empty, the Nazi Party went from being a plurality party to the majority, thus enabling Hitler to consolidate his power.

This story brings to mind a famous phrase most of us have heard: "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." The quote is most likely from George Santayana, and in its original form it read, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana was a philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist.

I believe that President Trump, a phrase which is difficult for me to swallow, is searching for his Reichstag fire. I am not so clever as to be the first one to make the analogy.

I was having difficulty trying to compose a cogent summary of what makes me most uncomfortable about this president, and I find this comparison to the Reichstag Fire compelling.

The 9/11 attacks were the G.W. Bush administration's Reichstag fire. I don't know what Trump's Reichstag fire will be, but a president who is offended at crowd-size estimates and a departmentstore business decision won't lack for one.

Among the many fears I have is that he will get us into another war as a result of his posturing and self-promotion. We should all note that North Korea recently executed a missile test. They continue their quest for the technology that will allow them to create an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the US. I think this will be the biggest challenge of the Trump administration, if it lasts, and I hope it doesn't.

Quoting from commenters to Paul Krugman's opinion page on Feb. 10 in the New York Times (When the Fire Comes): "What we need is a game plan so that we don't succumb to the inevitable moment of fear that comes after a major terrorist attack."

George W. Bush and Hitler both created a closed system. They distracted us by giving us an enemy, and they silenced their detractors very effectively. Never forget that Hitler conquered the German people before he started to attack his neighbors, and the President and his lackeys are stoking the fires of extremism with their anti-Muslim zealotry, which is causing a recruitment boon for ISIS, and which will inevitably result in additional attacks against the United States. Voila! Reichstag fire redux.

We all need to educate ourselves about what is truly happening. I am not a lawyer or constitutional scholar, but something smells rotten in the Trump administration. To name just a few of Trump's faux pas that bother me personally, there are the following: the criticism of the judiciary, with specific names of judges mentioned; allowing the disposal of strip mining waste into waterways; removal of restrictions on the release of methane gas from natural gas production � methane is a roughly 30 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2;

White House staff promoting a private business (Kelly Ann Conway).

I love my country. I consider myself an American and a Patriot above all else. The freedom we have for self-determination is unbelievable, and I have greatly benefited from it.

Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch recently stated: "We should call evil by its name. My brother didn't give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home." Hatch was referring to the recent Trump statements regarding the recent white nationalist protests Charlottesville, Virginia, in which Trump seemed to support white supremacy and other reprehensible ideas.

My dad was a WWII veteran and an American Legion commander. As a small child I used to march with him in the Memorial Day parades, place American flags on the graves of veterans, and hand out paper poppies like I see in Millbury today. These are all wonderful memories.

Let's not let Trump destroy our country. He degrades the Office of the President and the memory of all those who fought to make it great.

I welcome a healthy discussion and replies.

James Murray

Millbury