What a remarkable piece, thank you. Devastating. Imagine the agony our fellow humans have endured, that we scarcely know about. I can't believe people proudly call themselves Marxists or Socialists. It's so bizarre. Thank you for your great work.
Tragically similar to what we're experiencing today -- on a subtler volume, yes, but with the same globalist-control intent over thoughts and emotions.
Yup, an' I sure hope some'a them rough decades are behind us already cuz ta think they're yet to come (i.e. for most folks ta come ta their senses) is cold comfort...too much harm kin be done meantimes too-- So here's hopin' our shoutin' ta them rafters (with honor!) is heard sooner ruther than later an' folks take off the green goggles (NEW green goggles too!) an' see Oz fer what it is, includin' all the puppet meister charlatans behind the curtains.
May 25, 2023·edited May 25, 2023Liked by Barry Brownstein
Hard ta believe we're all seein' this is the Who-in-the-Heck-You-Knighted States've Amerika... A cautionary tale--in the makin'! Talkin' in their sleep?! geeze-Louise that's skerry. Problem is "kids" (college-aged ones too) don't KNOW this his'try. They have no idear. I used ta be stunned when an' ol' friend from college named his dog Mao--I mean WHY? But then 'fore our fambly high-tailed it outta New Yawk (the sittee) it was NOT unusual ta see fool-hipsters wearin' Mao n' Che t-shirts (an' stores that'd sell those soul-crushin' mugs...on MUGS!). Might be that Substack is the Last Stand in this Western cuz I'm seein' the censor-ship sail from coast ta coast here. Meanwhile, 'been fascinated learnin' 'bout a staunch anti-communist Irving Kristol an' his then-unpopular "take" on how allowin' "red thought" to flourish in the name of free speech was not (as we kin see clearly now!) such a boffo idear. Turns yer brain in a knot in the land where the 1st Amendment is supposed ta be sacred... (And yup, Joe McCarthy was a horror but Kristol gives one cause ta pause...) Mebbe ya kin opine on Kristol (likely too complex fer a quick comment) but it seems he was prescient. Then again, when I hear the appelation "neocon" I just 'bout cringe (Vicky Noooooland an' others unsavory) but perhaps it meant sumthin' different back in the day... Anyway, so appreciate this egg-cellent reminder on how close we're comin' to open the mis-fortune cookie none've us here want...
Excellent article Barry...Sadly, Maoism is dominate in Canada and soon will become in the USA unless the silent majority wake-up. BTW , I saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert in San Diego in 2019 when he was 80. I grew up with his rock-folk music in the early 70’s. RIP!
Wow! Mao's China was worse than I'd realized. The parallels with contemporary America are undeniable, but unlike China there is a strong and growing backlash in America, at least to some of the sickest manifestations of the cutting edge would-be totalitarians, if not so much to the always-dangerous looking to government to solve every problem. I think, for example, that every record set by men pretending to be women in sports will be expunged and those titles returned to real women, within the next few years. It may take longer to let go of the obsession that 13% of math professors (etc. for every profession) must be black, and that attaining that goal is more important than considering trivial things like skill, competence, and the like. Still, I see more and more people finding the nerve to stand up in the face of the screaming that is certain to result from the "woke" crowd and their friends.
Thanks for sharing this reminder of how bad it can get if we don't take individual responsibility for resisting.
As an independent, I see what you're talking about, but not on the left. Who is in the Mao repression business now? Objectively, the Republican party: book banning, draconian abortion bans which 2/3 of the nation disagrees with, travel bans for pregnant women, throwing Democratic members out of state houses, outrageous racist voter suppression, blatant racist gerrymandering, the creation of the oligarch state, a decrease in human rights, and last (in this list) but certainly not least, forcing on its citizens a culture of guns and death that 85% of the public abhors. And I won't even go into the trash talking culture Trump has ushered in, that has also become part of our daily discourse. Not to mention all the lives that were ruined because they became red meat for the MAGA mob. Oh yeah, and can't forget the new phenom of right wing political violence. Remember January 6 and etc? Going over this list, it is reasonable to ask, what is the end game here?
In light of all of this, you're really going to compare the Democrats to Chairman Mao? Yes, it was time to correct some of the most ridiculous political correctness and even rein in some of the more virulent ideas of the left, and it seems you've pushed back and made gains. But it was never enough, or maybe even the point. Fiscal responsibility? Trump ran up the deficit more than any president in history. Law and order? Red cities and states have the highest crime rates in the country. Instead I've watched in horror over the last years as the Republican party has slipped ever deeper into the muddy waters of Christian Nationalist fascism, a kind of sloppy Mao's Handmaid's Tale where the entire culture is bent to the twisted hypocritical religious dictates that are determined by a few predominately old and white, and all rich, men.
But these things happen, I know. Everything, including systems, evolve and cycle, often ending up very far, or indeed opposite, from where they started. This is true of the Republican party, started as a platform for Abraham Lincoln with the lofty and idealist vision of emancipating slavery evolving into the party of slavery and corruption. Look at Clarence Thomas, for example, a black man owned, bought and paid for, by a white man in American today. And Republicans secretly applaud it. At least, not one has come out against it. Look at Trump's blatant corruption which Republicans all defend. And they can't even expel a indicted fraud from their midst. Tell me what that says to you.
You may think I gloat over this but you would be wrong. My heart breaks over this. But more than that, it frightens me a lot. We need a healthy Republican party to make our democracy work. At least the Democrats have not been lawless; Jim Jordan refused Congressional subpoenas issued by Democrats but Democrats have honored subpoenas issued by Jim Jordan. We need integrity in both parties and all I see from Republicans is cowardice and corruption. So pile on if you want, friends. What would make me feel better as a citizen and voter in this country is to see a real 'come to Jesus' meeting with the Republicans. The party is sick right now. It needs a healing.
What a remarkable piece, thank you. Devastating. Imagine the agony our fellow humans have endured, that we scarcely know about. I can't believe people proudly call themselves Marxists or Socialists. It's so bizarre. Thank you for your great work.
Tragically similar to what we're experiencing today -- on a subtler volume, yes, but with the same globalist-control intent over thoughts and emotions.
Yup, an' I sure hope some'a them rough decades are behind us already cuz ta think they're yet to come (i.e. for most folks ta come ta their senses) is cold comfort...too much harm kin be done meantimes too-- So here's hopin' our shoutin' ta them rafters (with honor!) is heard sooner ruther than later an' folks take off the green goggles (NEW green goggles too!) an' see Oz fer what it is, includin' all the puppet meister charlatans behind the curtains.
Hard ta believe we're all seein' this is the Who-in-the-Heck-You-Knighted States've Amerika... A cautionary tale--in the makin'! Talkin' in their sleep?! geeze-Louise that's skerry. Problem is "kids" (college-aged ones too) don't KNOW this his'try. They have no idear. I used ta be stunned when an' ol' friend from college named his dog Mao--I mean WHY? But then 'fore our fambly high-tailed it outta New Yawk (the sittee) it was NOT unusual ta see fool-hipsters wearin' Mao n' Che t-shirts (an' stores that'd sell those soul-crushin' mugs...on MUGS!). Might be that Substack is the Last Stand in this Western cuz I'm seein' the censor-ship sail from coast ta coast here. Meanwhile, 'been fascinated learnin' 'bout a staunch anti-communist Irving Kristol an' his then-unpopular "take" on how allowin' "red thought" to flourish in the name of free speech was not (as we kin see clearly now!) such a boffo idear. Turns yer brain in a knot in the land where the 1st Amendment is supposed ta be sacred... (And yup, Joe McCarthy was a horror but Kristol gives one cause ta pause...) Mebbe ya kin opine on Kristol (likely too complex fer a quick comment) but it seems he was prescient. Then again, when I hear the appelation "neocon" I just 'bout cringe (Vicky Noooooland an' others unsavory) but perhaps it meant sumthin' different back in the day... Anyway, so appreciate this egg-cellent reminder on how close we're comin' to open the mis-fortune cookie none've us here want...
Excellent article Barry...Sadly, Maoism is dominate in Canada and soon will become in the USA unless the silent majority wake-up. BTW , I saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert in San Diego in 2019 when he was 80. I grew up with his rock-folk music in the early 70’s. RIP!
Wow! Mao's China was worse than I'd realized. The parallels with contemporary America are undeniable, but unlike China there is a strong and growing backlash in America, at least to some of the sickest manifestations of the cutting edge would-be totalitarians, if not so much to the always-dangerous looking to government to solve every problem. I think, for example, that every record set by men pretending to be women in sports will be expunged and those titles returned to real women, within the next few years. It may take longer to let go of the obsession that 13% of math professors (etc. for every profession) must be black, and that attaining that goal is more important than considering trivial things like skill, competence, and the like. Still, I see more and more people finding the nerve to stand up in the face of the screaming that is certain to result from the "woke" crowd and their friends.
Thanks for sharing this reminder of how bad it can get if we don't take individual responsibility for resisting.
So sad.
As an independent, I see what you're talking about, but not on the left. Who is in the Mao repression business now? Objectively, the Republican party: book banning, draconian abortion bans which 2/3 of the nation disagrees with, travel bans for pregnant women, throwing Democratic members out of state houses, outrageous racist voter suppression, blatant racist gerrymandering, the creation of the oligarch state, a decrease in human rights, and last (in this list) but certainly not least, forcing on its citizens a culture of guns and death that 85% of the public abhors. And I won't even go into the trash talking culture Trump has ushered in, that has also become part of our daily discourse. Not to mention all the lives that were ruined because they became red meat for the MAGA mob. Oh yeah, and can't forget the new phenom of right wing political violence. Remember January 6 and etc? Going over this list, it is reasonable to ask, what is the end game here?
In light of all of this, you're really going to compare the Democrats to Chairman Mao? Yes, it was time to correct some of the most ridiculous political correctness and even rein in some of the more virulent ideas of the left, and it seems you've pushed back and made gains. But it was never enough, or maybe even the point. Fiscal responsibility? Trump ran up the deficit more than any president in history. Law and order? Red cities and states have the highest crime rates in the country. Instead I've watched in horror over the last years as the Republican party has slipped ever deeper into the muddy waters of Christian Nationalist fascism, a kind of sloppy Mao's Handmaid's Tale where the entire culture is bent to the twisted hypocritical religious dictates that are determined by a few predominately old and white, and all rich, men.
But these things happen, I know. Everything, including systems, evolve and cycle, often ending up very far, or indeed opposite, from where they started. This is true of the Republican party, started as a platform for Abraham Lincoln with the lofty and idealist vision of emancipating slavery evolving into the party of slavery and corruption. Look at Clarence Thomas, for example, a black man owned, bought and paid for, by a white man in American today. And Republicans secretly applaud it. At least, not one has come out against it. Look at Trump's blatant corruption which Republicans all defend. And they can't even expel a indicted fraud from their midst. Tell me what that says to you.
You may think I gloat over this but you would be wrong. My heart breaks over this. But more than that, it frightens me a lot. We need a healthy Republican party to make our democracy work. At least the Democrats have not been lawless; Jim Jordan refused Congressional subpoenas issued by Democrats but Democrats have honored subpoenas issued by Jim Jordan. We need integrity in both parties and all I see from Republicans is cowardice and corruption. So pile on if you want, friends. What would make me feel better as a citizen and voter in this country is to see a real 'come to Jesus' meeting with the Republicans. The party is sick right now. It needs a healing.