Walt Whitman called for people to “resist much, obey little.” Good advice for those living under an authoritarian government.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Emerson: Let Freedom Be Your King
Emerson’s “Boston Hymn,” written during the Civil War, imagines God telling America to make freedom its king and to free the slaves.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged “Boston Hymn", Civil War, Freedom, Isaiah, Jesu, MAGA Christians, racism, Ralph Waldo Emerson Comments closed
These Are Times That Try Our Souls
“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine wrote, and his poem “Liberty Tree” backs up these sentiments. Happy July 4th.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged “Liberty Tree”, American Revolution, Fascism, Thomas Paine Comments closed
Looking to Pollyanna for Help
Are Trump-opposing optimists being Pollyannish or do we need more Pollyannas? A look at Porter’s 1913 classic.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged “Look on the Bright Side of Life", Candide, Eleanor H. Porter, Fascism, Monty Python, Pollyanna, Robert Hubbell, Simon Rosenberg, Voltaire Comments closed
Yeats Had Fascism’s Number
Poets in the 1920s and 1930s understood their fascists, including Yeats in this poem.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Second Coming", “Leaders of the People", Donald Trump, Fascism, W. B. Yeats Comments closed
Rightwing Justices as the Dursleys
Think of the rightwing SCOTUS justices as Vernon and Petunia Dursley—with Trump as their spoiled kid
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged birthright citizenship, Donald Trump, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, rightwing justices, SCOTUS Comments closed
The Deep Truth of the Christian Story
I describe an exciting article in which two academics argue that the greatest proof of the Christian story lies not in historical testimony but in the power of the story itself.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged atonement, Christ story, Christianity, Dante, incarnation, Joshua Rasmussen, Paradiso, Robin Collins Comments closed
What to Make of Fascist Authors
In which I explore a Lit Hub article arguing that authors and fascists have things in common, which explains why certain authors have turned to the dark side.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Ed Simon, Eduard Limonov, Emily Bronte, Fascism, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Leo Tolstoy, Merchant of Venice, Tempoe of the Golden Pavilion, War and Peace, William Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights, Yukio Mishima Comments closed