Thank you for such a thoughtful response, Carey. I’ve been a closet writer for years, exploring the questions that haunt me the most. Those that have been particularly bothersome include: Why do people idly stand by and allow injustice? How can a society fall under the spell of a madman? Why do people fail to speak out?
These questions have caused me to turn over hundreds of books from centuries ago to modern times about crowd psychology, popular delusions, propaganda, the life cycle of empires, how democracies fall and how despots rise to power. I’d read enough to be truly alarmed when Trump came on the scene and a cult of personality developed around him. Sadly, his rise to power was predictable given what we know about history.
I had hoped those who had been fooled the first time would be wiser the 2nd time around, and I suppose it’s true for some who joined anti-Trump Republican movements (Lincoln Group, RVAT, etc.), but the fact that Trump gained more supporters despite all we know (some of us, at least) about him is particularly troubling.
Like you said, freedom isn’t free. Your reference to this made me think of the following quote by Noam Chomsky. I can’t remember if I read it in one of his books or heard it from one of his talks, but I wrote it down because it affected me so.
“For those who stubbornly seek freedom, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the system of 'brainwashing under freedom' to which we are subjected and which all too often we serve as willing or unwitting instruments.”
It takes a lot of work to stay ahead of the forces working to take away our freedom. It takes courage by those who are brave enough to speak out. I’m thankful I’ve found Medium and writers like you who understand this and are trying to do their part to shine a light on the truth. I’m inspired by your willingness and the willingness of others here to speak out. And my little posts will likely be inconsequential, but I feel compelled to do something. And so, like you, I write.
