Nazis at the Gateway Arch

No, no, they are not really going to have it? In this day in age? Isn’t that like illegal or something? Holy cow,  the Nazis? They are still around?

Not only are the Nazis still around, but they held a rally on Saturday under the Gateway

Arch in St. Louis. Being a tour guide at the Arch has brought interesting experiences from the Obama rally of 500,000, to people from all over the globe, and rednecks from all over the state, to a Nazi rally. How many people get to go to work and watch the Nazis? Of course we were not allowed to call them the “Nazis” they were the “National Socialist Movement” and the Arch being a federal site we were very strictly informed that we cannot give our opinion to any guests or anyone while in uniform.

After I got over the initially shock of seeing several large swastikas and many Confederate flags (though being in Missouri you almost become immune to seeing the “rebel flag”) I began to take pride in America. The fact that we live in a nation that allows freedom of speech, even though I disagree with almost everything the “National Socialist Movement” stands for; they have just as much a right to express their opinions as the thousands of Obama supporters. In how many countries can you really do that? In how many countries can you get a permit to march (yes they actually marched in, but sadly no goose-stepping), hold a rally, and ensure you are protected by the government and speak against said government?

The desire to demand that they leave, to yell and scream, to just curl up and hide is great when hearing about a modern day Nazi movement. But I take heart in the fact that there were only 70 of them and about 150 protesters against the Nazis, and that we are all guaranteed the same rights. Watching the park ranger hats from 630 feet high bob around the marchers to ensure that no violence broke out kind of made me proud to be an American. I don’t feel that way very often but when I was trying to explain to a Chinese couple the first amendment I realized that we really do live in a great country, it just needs some fine-tuning.