Her genius would link the politics of the day with older thought, culminating in the 1951 publication of The Origins of Totalitarianism. Totalitarianism, said Arendt, was something new, something beyond old concepts of autocracy and dictatorship, because it was “total,” its reach extending to the all-encompassing remanufacture of truth.
Shutters, it seems, have important social functions in Italy. When our neighbors throw open theirs, and gaze out, it’s an invitation to a conversation.
“Muledays” was a sweet, if low key, affair at the County Fairgrounds. We all stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance together at the beginning, then watched kids do the “Boot Scramble” race.
For a Republican Congress member or Senator, the effect is paralyzing. It’s fear, fear that goes far beyond just worries about losing an election, fear of reputation destroyed, fear of lost – forever – allies and friends, fear of lies wrongly asserting criminal acts (mortgage fraud, anyone?).
Among the people I know and with whom I talk, there is a consensus. That consensus is that we face one big problem: Trump. What he is doing is terrible, perhaps irretrievably so. But I have a bit different take on things than most of my liberal friends.
