I have already seen comments from Trump voters, calling the hearings a carnival sideshow. It really goes to show the power of propaganda on the human mind. They dwell in the land of unreality and post-truth. So thoroughly have they been convinced of the authoritarian movement by Trump, that they are 100% sure of their position. Any tendering of the truth to them is met with denial and anger. It's like telling a child that Santa Claus is not real, after many years of their believing him to exist. The Trumpers will shoot the messenger so to speak. You are lying to me and I will bring vengeance upon you. They will accuse the truth tellers of being traitors or being delusional... anything to deny that they have been duped by a sociopathic buffoon. The Backfire Effect prevents them from accepting the truth, which is a mostly conservative phenomenon. This could be why fascism is a far right phenomenon.
No minds will be changed by the televised Jan6 hearings …. but to paraphrase as Rep Swalwell so pithily reflected on the Uvalde massacre: you are either for the killers or the children …. you are either for the killers or democracy
With all the crap and craziness going on in the world, its tempting on such a nice day to want to escape from the news and the happenings of government. But if we want to keep our Democracy and protect it from demagogues who believe that keeping power at all costs is worth storming the Capitol in an attempt to seize power, we will pay attention to what historians like Ruth Ben-Ghiat have been telling us. I read her book, Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present where she describes how Fascists take over a Democracy. If you read the book, you'll get insights from reading about would be "Strong Men" who are actually weak, but dangerous including: Vladimir Putin, Benito Mussolini, Muammar Gaddafi, Adolph Hitler, and Donald Trump. You can also read her prescient and insightful articles noted in this article. I'd rather skip the January 6 Hearings that begin tonight and enjoy the sunshine, but without a functioning Democracy, all the sunshine in the world won't keep us warm. Carlin and I will be watching tonight. Will you?
Thank you, Ms. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, for your awesome advocacy and truthful voice against the forces of autocracy, hate, and oppression! The world needs you!
As always, Ruth, thank you for your endless work on all of our behalves. I followed the links at the end of this post and, having read the interview with Malcolm Nance, I find that I am still in mystery about why I haven't read much commentary about the November 2020 changes at the Department of Defense, etc that Trump put in place. At the time, I thought that they were suspicious but could only wonder at why they were made so late in the administration. Post-insurrection, it seemed to me that the inexperience, cumbersome chain of command and reluctance to act were intentional and served a purpose. Any insight or clarity about this would be greatly appreciated.
For months now one question has been troubling me and I so far haven't seen it addressed. "Why?" Why was it so important to Trump to stay in power? Even to the point of toppling democracy. Yes, there are the obvious - money, power, ego, etc. for Trump and his cronies. One thing keeps mulling around in my head - that just maybe, during the many private meetings between Trump and Putin, Putin was able to convince Trump that he, too, could become an American oligarch, reigning in as much American wealth that he wanted and maintaining control over the country and staying in power for as long as he wanted, then transfer it all to his children. It has always been obvious how much Trump revered the rich and powerful, regardless of how they acquired their wealth. But perhaps, Putin's real intention was to control Oligarch Trump and therefore, America too? Finally ending democracy in the U.S. and then around the world making Putin the most powerful of all.
Ruth, I read all your prior essays and interviews. Great stuff! The last with the reporter from the Guardian, in which he conveyed his concern about delay in prosecuting those attempting, in your words, "autocratic capture," reminded me of your earlier piece in which Attorney General Garland was criticized, for not being aggressive enough. The New York AG's decision to abandon the prosecution of Trump still troubles me, but I understand another AG may take it up. For the good of America, I hope all the prosecutions of Trump proceed apace.
Thanks for posting Ruth. For me politics now in the U.S. is a propaganda war. One political party no longer has a coherent governing philosophy or set of policy prescriptions. It no loner believes in the rule of law or basic democratic principles. The Republican party is no longer a conservative party in any sense of the word. There are some principled courageous people left over from what was the Republican party, who still believe in our founding democratic principles like Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney etc. credit them for history. But now the Republicans have clearly become a autocratic party headed by an authoritarian leader cult.
So as I watch the hearings, I bear in mind the deeply polarized partisan political landscape we live in and the great media divides that drive and control how we interpret information. So, in the battle for political power, Its less about truth than about where one resides within what media universe. From this point of view, I am not sure how may minds will actually be changed. However, I do think the hearings serve a very important function in our democracy at this critical time because it reaffirms the rule of law and accountability not only for the public record but for history as well.
Bottom line: Trump, his aids and congress people in government committed conspiracy and sedition to over throw the government of the United States of America.
I have already seen comments from Trump voters, calling the hearings a carnival sideshow. It really goes to show the power of propaganda on the human mind. They dwell in the land of unreality and post-truth. So thoroughly have they been convinced of the authoritarian movement by Trump, that they are 100% sure of their position. Any tendering of the truth to them is met with denial and anger. It's like telling a child that Santa Claus is not real, after many years of their believing him to exist. The Trumpers will shoot the messenger so to speak. You are lying to me and I will bring vengeance upon you. They will accuse the truth tellers of being traitors or being delusional... anything to deny that they have been duped by a sociopathic buffoon. The Backfire Effect prevents them from accepting the truth, which is a mostly conservative phenomenon. This could be why fascism is a far right phenomenon.
No minds will be changed by the televised Jan6 hearings …. but to paraphrase as Rep Swalwell so pithily reflected on the Uvalde massacre: you are either for the killers or the children …. you are either for the killers or democracy
With all the crap and craziness going on in the world, its tempting on such a nice day to want to escape from the news and the happenings of government. But if we want to keep our Democracy and protect it from demagogues who believe that keeping power at all costs is worth storming the Capitol in an attempt to seize power, we will pay attention to what historians like Ruth Ben-Ghiat have been telling us. I read her book, Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present where she describes how Fascists take over a Democracy. If you read the book, you'll get insights from reading about would be "Strong Men" who are actually weak, but dangerous including: Vladimir Putin, Benito Mussolini, Muammar Gaddafi, Adolph Hitler, and Donald Trump. You can also read her prescient and insightful articles noted in this article. I'd rather skip the January 6 Hearings that begin tonight and enjoy the sunshine, but without a functioning Democracy, all the sunshine in the world won't keep us warm. Carlin and I will be watching tonight. Will you?
Thank you, Ms. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, for your awesome advocacy and truthful voice against the forces of autocracy, hate, and oppression! The world needs you!
As always, Ruth, thank you for your endless work on all of our behalves. I followed the links at the end of this post and, having read the interview with Malcolm Nance, I find that I am still in mystery about why I haven't read much commentary about the November 2020 changes at the Department of Defense, etc that Trump put in place. At the time, I thought that they were suspicious but could only wonder at why they were made so late in the administration. Post-insurrection, it seemed to me that the inexperience, cumbersome chain of command and reluctance to act were intentional and served a purpose. Any insight or clarity about this would be greatly appreciated.
For months now one question has been troubling me and I so far haven't seen it addressed. "Why?" Why was it so important to Trump to stay in power? Even to the point of toppling democracy. Yes, there are the obvious - money, power, ego, etc. for Trump and his cronies. One thing keeps mulling around in my head - that just maybe, during the many private meetings between Trump and Putin, Putin was able to convince Trump that he, too, could become an American oligarch, reigning in as much American wealth that he wanted and maintaining control over the country and staying in power for as long as he wanted, then transfer it all to his children. It has always been obvious how much Trump revered the rich and powerful, regardless of how they acquired their wealth. But perhaps, Putin's real intention was to control Oligarch Trump and therefore, America too? Finally ending democracy in the U.S. and then around the world making Putin the most powerful of all.
Ruth, I read all your prior essays and interviews. Great stuff! The last with the reporter from the Guardian, in which he conveyed his concern about delay in prosecuting those attempting, in your words, "autocratic capture," reminded me of your earlier piece in which Attorney General Garland was criticized, for not being aggressive enough. The New York AG's decision to abandon the prosecution of Trump still troubles me, but I understand another AG may take it up. For the good of America, I hope all the prosecutions of Trump proceed apace.
I use 'Reptilian propa' or 'Republigun propa' to save a few characters on the twitter.
Thanks for posting Ruth. For me politics now in the U.S. is a propaganda war. One political party no longer has a coherent governing philosophy or set of policy prescriptions. It no loner believes in the rule of law or basic democratic principles. The Republican party is no longer a conservative party in any sense of the word. There are some principled courageous people left over from what was the Republican party, who still believe in our founding democratic principles like Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney etc. credit them for history. But now the Republicans have clearly become a autocratic party headed by an authoritarian leader cult.
So as I watch the hearings, I bear in mind the deeply polarized partisan political landscape we live in and the great media divides that drive and control how we interpret information. So, in the battle for political power, Its less about truth than about where one resides within what media universe. From this point of view, I am not sure how may minds will actually be changed. However, I do think the hearings serve a very important function in our democracy at this critical time because it reaffirms the rule of law and accountability not only for the public record but for history as well.
Bottom line: Trump, his aids and congress people in government committed conspiracy and sedition to over throw the government of the United States of America.