The comments for this film included "Franco was modestly evil compared to those men who lead the world in the middle of the 20th century". I contend there is no such thing as "modestly evil" and to say that there is is to denigrate the suffering of those who have confronted evil.
I could not agree with you more. That writer is either very young or very naive. If he had actually known veterans of the Spanish Civil War or Spaniards who were oppressed by Generalisimo Franco nad his Guardia Civil, he would not be writing such foolish notions. Comparing Franco to any elected leader of any country is absurdity itself. Comparing Franco to say Saddam Hussein might be appropriate.
The writer also suggests that only American Communists fought for the Spanish Republic. WRONG! Most memebers of the "Abraham Lincoln Brigade" were just Americans with a strong sense of justice. I knew several. This moron's comments degrade the record of those heroes just as some critics of today's struggle for justice in Iraq insults our heroes there.
I don't think its naive, to believe that there can be differing degrees of evil. Like Dante, creating multiple levels of hell. Or on the other end, varying degrees of good.
I don't know enough about Franco, or Tito to discuss who was worse. But I'd be willing to opine that Hitler is at the top. Very few people have murdered in 8 digits, and I hope it never happens again. Although an all out nuclear war, could reach 9, its beyond imagining.
Hitler is certainly clearly at the top as far was what we can document. Stalin, however, can give him a good run for the money. If we knew better all that Stalin did, he might beat Hitler in body count.
Still, that leaves us with a problem. I, for one, would not thank my lucky stars if I were crushed under the heel of Saddam Hussein or Pol Pot rather than Stalin or Hitler. While some evil people may be more "successful" (yuck, I hate to use that word in this context, I would be grateful for an alternative word) than others, I am not sure that rank order makes sense, either.
I don't think the world has enough nuclear weapons to kill a billion. There are fewer than 5,000 warheads globally, perhaps fewer than 3,000. Also, the average yield is down to about 125 kT. We have come a long way down from the 1980s.
The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.