In “The Secret Commonwealth,” Pullman anticipates ICE’s bullying tactics.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Tag Archives: authoritarianism
To Counter Moral Collapse, Read Pratchett
Good young adult fiction like Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series can instill anti-authoritarian values in young people.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Shepherd’s Crown, Terry Pratchett, Tiffany Aching Comments closed
Darkness at Noon in Trump’s America
Koestler’s novel “Darkness at Noon” applies only too well to rightwing “intellectual” and fascist advocate Curtis Yarvin.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Arthur Koestler, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Curtis Yarvin, Darkness at Noon, Fascism, John Rogers, Joyce Carol Oates Comments closed
Hats Off, the Flag Is Passing By!
Old patriotic poems, which as teenagers we dismissed as cheesy, seem particularly urgent in the face of rising authoritarianism.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "The Flag Goes By", Henry Holcomb Bennett, Patriotism Comments closed
Orwell Foresaw the Dangers of AI
In “Prevention of Literature,” Orwell anticipates AI and how authoritarians will attempt to use it–and to ban or rewrite Literature.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged artificial intelligence, George Orwell, Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun, Prevention of Literature Comments closed
How to Live under Authoritarianism
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.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Envoy of Mr. Cogito", Greg Olear, Robert Haas, Zbigniew Herbert Comments closed
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