<
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-09-17/election-authoritarianism-fascism-mussolini-donald-trump-kamala-harris>
"In 1941, as Allied bombs fell on Italy and Benito Mussolini plunged his
country further into war, the young Italian filmmaker Alberto Lattuada
explained how 20 years of fascist rule had led to catastrophe.
“The absence of love brought many tragedies that might have been averted,”
Lattuada wrote. “Instead of the golden rain of love, a black cloak of
indifference fell upon the people. And so people have lost the eyes of love and
can no longer see clearly. … Here are the origins of the disintegration of all
values and the destruction and sterilization of conscience: It is a long chain
that is anchored at the devil’s feet.”
Love seems scarce again today as autocracy spreads across the globe, and our
vision is veiled by the fog of disinformation and the heat of enmity.
Authoritarian leaders seek to break bonds of solidarity among those they
govern, replacing them with intimidation and hostility. Former President Trump,
who aspires to join their ranks, has followed a similar playbook to make
America’s emotional and social climate propitious for autocracy.
But love remains a potent anti-authoritarian force. In Turkey, Poland and
elsewhere, democratic activists and politicians have turned back tyranny by
making love a central part of their strategies. Along with joy and optimism,
hallmarks of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, love can sustain an
American pro-democracy movement too.
Love is an act as well as a feeling, as bell hooks observed. It galvanizes us
to stand up for our rights and advocate for a politics of equity, justice,
transparency and solidarity. Love supports resistance to autocracy in places
where freedom has been lost, and it can help endangered democracies like ours
reverse course."
Via
What Could Go Right? A Century of Facial Repair
https://theprogressnetwork.org/face-transplant-advances/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
