W.J. Astore Investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, physicist Richard Feynman reached a famous conclusion: “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.” The COVID-19 virus is not going to be fooled with lies. It’s not going to be fooled by a denial of medical science. You…
Over 80 years ago Sinclar Lewis wrote a book, It Can’t Happen Here. Doremus Jessup, the protagonist of Sinclair Lewis’s 1935 novel “It Can’t Happen Here,” sees something dark and terrible brewing in American politics — the potential for “a real fascist dictatorship” led by the up-and-coming populist candidate Berzelius Windrip. – Beverly Gage, New…
Chris Hedges (Courtesy of Truthdig) The increase in nihilistic violence such as school shootings and Friday’s lethal assault on a Planned Parenthood clinic, the frequent executions of poor people of color by police, and the rise of thuggish demagogues such as Donald Trump are symptoms of the collapse of our political and cultural institutions. These…
W.J. Astore A reader wrote to me this morning about Donald Trump and American fascism. Is Trump, with his anti-immigrant posturing and his generally bombastic demeanor, tapping into a “fascist spring” in America? The question seems unduly alarming as well as absurd. But let’s pause for a moment. I recently saw on TV the results…
By the Editors Dan White’s article on Admiral (retired) McRaven’s new job as Chancellor of the University of Texas system provides a warning that must be heeded. There is dangerous intent behind the appointment of military flag officers and national security operatives to leading public college and university leadership positions. The political elites, who usually…
By KokonutGrove As a student of American history and politics, in my lifetime I’ve witnessed a dangerous erosion of civil and personal liberties. Such an erosion is the hallmark of fascism. Back in the 1970s and ‘80s when my father was stationed in Berlin, he often discussed the totalitarian police state the East Germans created as…
b. traven What can I say after reading this article by Ann Jones on the horrific costs of war to our young troops? I do not belong in this century anymore. I do not recognize the time warp that has put me elsewhere. The country I grew up in [the USA of the 1920s and 1930s] was…
A recent article by John Pilger in the British Guardian speaks of a silent military coup that has effectively gained control of American policymaking. It features the following alarmist passage: In 2008, while his liberal devotees dried their eyes, Obama accepted the entire Pentagon of his predecessor, George Bush: its wars and war crimes. As the constitution is replaced…
The staff of The Contrary Perspective would like to plant the following seeds for your consideration. Seed 1. A respected former Republican Senator from New Hampshire, Gordon Humphrey, recently came out publicly in full support of Edward Snowden’s actions. Snowden issued a thoughtful response that showed that his understanding of the political and technical implications…
b. traven On a trip to Berlin my son and I spent some of our time looking into the crannies that elude most visitors. In Europe I have researched how some countries memorialize (if at all) their resistance to fascist occupation during World War II. The French Resistance Museum is a disgrace! It’s poorly lit,…
The Contrary Perspective 