In “Envoy of Mr. Cogito,” Zbigniew Herbert informs us how to respond to authoritarian rule. We may need his poem as we face another four years of Donald Trump.
Tag Archives: authoritarianism
How to Live under Authoritarianism
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Envoy of Mr. Cogito", Greg Olear, Robert Haas, Zbigniew Herbert Leave a comment
The GOP Has Learned to Love Big Brother
Many in the GOP who condemned January 6 when it happened now, like Winston Smith, love Big Brother.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 1984, Donald Trump, George Orwell, GOP, January 6 insurrection Comments closed
In a Dante-esque Prison of His Own Making
Trump’s suffering the the Manhattan courtroom is his own version of Dante’s Inferno.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Dante, Donald Trump, Fascism, Inferno, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Trump trials Comments closed
Beware Freeing an Authoritarian Gulliver
Dreams of a strongman freeing himself from Lilliputian ropes is a dangerous fantasy, Swift explains.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged autocracy vs. democracy, Donald Trump, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift Comments closed
Alexei Navalny as Harry Potter?
Some Russians saw Navalny, recently killed by Putin, as a Harry Potter “boy who lived.” That dream is gone but others live on.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "meeting after the savior gone", Alexi Navalny, Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, Lucille Clifton, Martin Luther King, Vladimir Putin Comments closed
Are You an Antigone or an Ismene?
In an essay calling Chinese activist Chow Hang Tung “the Antigone of Hong Kong,” Wendy Gan compares herself to Ismene.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged activism, Antigone, Chinese repression, Chow Hang Tung, Hong Kong, Oedipus in Colonus, political dissent, Power of the Powerless, Sophocles, Tiananmen Square, Vaclav Havel Comments closed
Nikki Haley, a Minor Character in 1984
Nikki Haley reminds one of Tom Parsons in “1984.” Also of one of T.S. Eliot’s hollow men.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Hollow Men", 1984, Donald Trump, George Orwell, Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Nikki Haley, T. S. Eliot Comments closed
The Left Wants to Cancel Orwell? Nope
MAGA fans of 1984 are now accusing leftists of canceling Orwell. Which is not true.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 1984, Donald Trump, Feminism, George Orwell, Sandra Newman Comments closed
GOP Intellectuals Want a “Red Caesar”
Rightwing intellectuals are now advocating “Red Caesarism.” Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” provides some insights.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, GOP, Jim Jordan, Julius Caesar, Liz Cheney, NeverTrumpers, William Shakespeare Comments closed
