Category Archives: Books

The best Defense is our Mind

Authoritarianism, Books, Critical thinking, Death of Democracy, Death of Truth, Fascism, Tyranny and Fascism

 

When the capacity to think is destroyed, as it seems to have done in the United States, we must realize we have entered very dangerous waters filled with dangerous predators and we have no defenses. For example, in the wars of Yugoslavia people were driven by demagogues to attack their former friends and neighbours for the vital goal of ethnic cleansing. Sort of what Trump has done by claiming that illegal immigrants have poisoned the blood of the country.  We must always remember, as Carol Off makes clear in her book At a Loss for Words, that

 

“words are freighted with ideas. They carry meaning but also hide it. They inspire great acts of kindness and incite people to kill. We live in a moment…where we need to pay very close attention to the language around us—and the language we use—because it holds the secrets of what might be coming.”

 

 

We must always remember as Voltaire told us, “If someone can make you believe an absurdity, he can make you commit an atrocity.” If Trump can make you believe that the 2020 election was stolen against all the amazing amount of evidence to the contrary, he probably would be able to persuade you to attack immigrants with your bare hands. That is what might be coming.

 

Similarly, when Trump persuaded his followers that the rioters on January 6th were engaged in a love in, we must understand that his oratory was important. His words were important. As Carol Off explained,

 

“The January 6 insurrection provoked by the oratory of Donald Trump demonstrated the connection between words and actions and revealed the darkest qualities of this threat: that the language that Trump and his supporters shared is coded. Everyone in the crowd knew what the outgoing president meant when he told the mob that they needed to “save America” and “fight like hell,” just like …that Serbian politician meant when he said that Christians and Muslims could no longer share the same space. What we saw in Bosnia during the war, in the UK during Brexit, and in the United States during Trump’s speeches is the power of demagogues to speak to people in the language of fear, uncertainty, and anger using rhetoric to break down our trust in our governments, our societies, and each other. Our only defence is language that’s clear, rational and unambiguous.”[2]

 

I would summarize these thoughts as follows: our only defence is our ability to think critically. If we lose that we are sunk.

 

We can’t Speak anymore

Books, Critical thinking, Decline of the west, Extremism, Hate

 

I did not realize it but Carol Off the former host of CBC’s long running talk show As it Happens on his radio network, and the author of a very good book, At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage, has a lot of wise things to say about words. Words and our inability to use them properly. In this respect she follows in the path of that great English writer George Orwell. Of course, Off has experience as she was employed by the CBC for many years to talk to people around the world 5 days a week. She knows how to have conversations from personal experience, not just book-learning.

 

Off points out that in our current age, which she calls, not without justification, ‘The Age of Rage,’ it has become very difficult to hold rational conversations.  People don’t want to talk anymore. They want to yell instead. She believes the reason for that is that our lives have been taken over to a significant extent by extremists.  It often seems like only the extremists get to speak. Only extremists have platforms. The rest of us have to suck socks.  Off put it this way:

 

…we have become incapable of talking to each other. The language we once shared has been co-opted by extremists and we’re reduced to barking and snapping. It’s not just that we dispute what path to take; we no longer agree on the meaning of the words that define our destination. I’m not saying we should be of one collective mind about anything, but surely, we need the vocabulary to coherently disagree, to negotiate our way to some rational understanding, with reasonable  people on all sides. Without an embrace of a shared and logical discourse, we can’t even agree on the facts. Without facts we can’t hope to conclude what is true, and without truth we lose trust. This is not a good position to be in as the planet burns.

 

In the current era, much of the power of words has been unleashed by the power of algorithms that encourage rage, fear and hate because they attract engagement on the internet and multiply its power. Masters of harnessing such language include people like Donald Trump. He knows that by turning  people such as immigrants and Muslims and foreigners into objects of hatred people will pay attention to him. That is how demagogues take power. They are able to persuade ordinary people that they need a strongman, like Hitler, Mussolini, or Trump to control the rabble and bring them peace. Lately this is what is happening on the streets of Minneapolis. Recently, on PBS broadcasting who are working hard to listen to all points of view, they interviewed an intelligent right-wing commentator who really believed that Donald Trump was a moderating voice in Minneapolis bringing peace to quell the rabble.

Words are dynamite in the age of rage. And dynamite is dangerous.

 

 

At a Loss for Words

Books, Critical thinking, Extremism, Hate

There is a book I want to recommend. It was written by Carol Off who was for many years, the host of CBC radio’s As it Happens. I listened to it many times but never thought of her as an author. My bad. She is an excellent writer.

 

By now it is clear to everyone that we are living in an age of hate and political rage. Really, it is an age of extremism. Carol Off in her book At a Loss for Words: Converstaon in an Age of Rage,  nailed the problem on the head:

 

“The political rage that has engulfed us is exhausting, rendering us almost incapable of rational conversations. But that’s the intent of those who are fuelling it.”

In many ways it really is a book about extremism–one of the plagues of the modern world. Some say, the plague.

When we are consumed by rage truth becomes impossible. We are, as they say, blinded by rage, and that is exactly the problem. We lost the capacity to think. We only feel and what we mainly feel is rage. This is what the age of anger and rage is all about. Destroying our ability to think.

 

There is ample evidence in the language they use, that Americans and Canadians have lost the capacity to think. Here are some examples Carol offered up in her book:

 

“White men claim they are not privileged but persecuted. Politicians are devils, and some people disparagingly regard government—the system with which we organize our societies—as hell on earth.  One side insists liberals are really communists and the other argues that all conservatives are fascists. Teacher and librarians are alarmed to find themselves redefined as “groomers,” not to be trusted with children. “Feminist” is often hurled as an insult. After decades of struggling for dignity, queer is once again demonized. Words like antisemitism and genocide are used to shout down debate concerning Israel. Policies supporting social justice are branded as the cynical workings of the “deep state.”  And the climate crisis is vilified as a conspiracy to destroy our jobs and way of life.”

 

In her wonderful book, Off recognized that she could not possibly cover all cases of dead thought, so she selected some key words that she believed were hijacked, weaponized, or semantically bleached. She devoted a chapter to each of the following: Freedom. Democracy. Truth. Woke. Choice. Taxes.  An interesting list with some surprises, at least to me. But I assure you each chapter is interesting and worth the read.

Prosperity Ever Depression Never: Steinbach in the 1930s

Books, History

 

I write today to enthusiastically recommend a fine work of history written by a friend of mine, Ralph Friesen. The book is called Prosperity Ever Depression Never: Steinbach in the 1930s. It is a brilliant analysis of the town of Steinbach, which is introduced to us by one of its peculiar aspects, a road that travels at an angle from the North West to South East. Ralph analyses the town and its people by looking at each lot along that big wide road. I found that strange device for story-telling often helped me to orientate myself and thus understand whom he was talking about based on their location.

Ralph is a subtle and skilled story teller who constantly sneaks up on the reader without bombast, malice or ideological thunder. Yet there was something of interest on every page.  Ralph tells stories of common folk and captains of industry, teachers and athletes, professionals and local historians, and many more all with keen and subtle language. He tells us of the good times and dark times.

There are shocking stories of Steinbach businessmen that included Nazi sympathizers and stories of Mennonites who wanted to be separate from “the world” and others who wanted to take advantage of the world in order to prosper. There were staunch ministers and rebels too. He mentions in passing, the uncomfortable fact that

 “there was no understanding or even curiosity about the fact that the land had been part of traditional Ojibway and Métis migratory territory, and since Indigenous Peoples had little participation in the capitalist economy, they were looked down upon.”

 

Ralph does not hide the warts on the fine faces of Steinbachers. He tells stories of generosity and faith, and yet admits there was also abuse of women by unsavoury men.

He compares Steinbach with other communities without bragging. For example,

“Other towns, especially those populated by Anglo-Canadians, often built stores or houses of well-to-do citizens with red-brick, an investment in the appearance of permanence. But the post office was the only brick building in Steinbach, almost as if Mennonites had been hedging their bets on their tenure in Canada.”

He told of Henry Reimer of the famous family that created a store “just like Eatons,” but where the man in charge “was a philosopher” who “would just as soon visit as sell.”

I cannot avoid talking about his story of my amazing grandmother, Anna Siemens Neufeld, who came to Canada with her husband and 5 young children. Sadly, her husband died within a couple of years after their arrival, leaving her with 5 young children, few skills, and little or no social assistance I always wondered how she could survive. Well, she became a seamstress making dresses for the wealthy women in town, and sadly, sometimes those women pleaded a shortage of funds and refused to pay. This forced her to send two of her young sons, including my father and uncle to try to collect legitimate debts from rich women while feeling like beggars.

This probably was not unusual, for Ralph mentions that during that time 22 households were headed by single mothers. I found that a shocking fact.

Steinbach was “a God-soaked Community,” in which, “with the exception of the Schoenwieser, each of the Mennonite subdenominations held the view that their interpretation of the faith was superior to the others.”  At the same time many thought their religion was also superior to that of surrounding Catholics and Ukrainians among others. “Yet”, as Ralph says, “self-interest had not flown out the window. The Mennonites all did business with one another and with their non-Mennonite neighbours and with Anglo-Canadian and Jewish wholesalers and buyers in Winnipeg.” After all, business is business.

The book also describes how people survived the Depression through an informal barter system coupled with large gardens, that of course only worked during short growing seasons. At the same time, while the townspeople were often justifiably proud of how they coped during tough times, it was also true that government relief measures, like construction of the highway to Piney, also helped the community.  Individualism is important but so is community.

In summary, I cannot commend this book too strongly. The last chapter, a careful summing up, is alone worth much more than the modest price of the book. Ralph shows how the churches helped support those in need, as in fact did generous businessmen. He also shows how the town had very competent business people but also commendable community co-operative efforts. The people of Steinbach managed to navigate between the “the World” and “the Kingdom of God.”

Steinbach has always been proud of its economic and religious success. Ralph concludes,

“Commerce itself, while accepted as necessary insofar as it supported the agrarian way of life which denoted a humble faith, was also suspect because it so easily could lead to attachment to material things and to thinking of oneself as superior to one’s poorer neighbour. Conservative elements were also suspicious of theology of American fundamentalism, with its emphasis on salvation achieved through prideful individual declarations of belief in a personal Saviour, as contrasted with salvation as a process occurring in a community setting, in relationship with one’s neighbours.”

I almost forgot to mention the incredible array of interesting photographs.  This is history from a master story teller.

After reading this book, one can’t help but appreciate the wonder of Steinbach and its people in the 1930s. Wonder with challenges.  This really is a magnificent book. Everyone should read it.

 

How Fascism Works

American Fascism, Books, Death of Truth, Political Violence, Right-wing Extremism, Tyranny and Fascism

 

Philosopher Jason Stanley argued  in his excellent book How Fascism Works, that in essence “fascist politics dehumanizes minority groups.” It does that even if the state is not fascist. I have called this the philosophy of the bully. Pick on the vulnerable. In the recent election in the US the Republicans have made this a major part of their platform.  Pick on the immigrants and the trans kids in particular. Easy targets for bullies. The shocking thing is how many Americans love this.

 

What fascist policies do, according to Stanley is amplify the divisions in society. It takes advantage of them. For example, in Nazi German the Nazis intensified the beliefs that were already pretty common that German society had been undermined and sold out by Jews and their supporters, even though the percentage of Jews was very small. According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia:

“According to the census of June 16, 1933, the Jewish population of Germany, including the Saar region (which at that time was still under the administration of the League of Nations), was approximately 505,000 people out of a total population of 67 million, or somewhat less than 0.75 percent. That number represented a reduction from the estimated 523,000 Jews living in Germany in January 1933; the decrease was due in part to emigration following the Nazi takeover in January. (An estimated 37,000 Jews emigrated from Germany during 1933.)’

 

This was really a very small percentage of the people and it was absurd and immoral to lay the blame for Germany’s decline on such small numbers, just as it is absurd and immoral to blame Trans-gender people and their sympathizers for poisoning the United States as so many Conservatives have been claiming.

 

What fascists do is turn the hated group (the others) into an enemy—i.e. “them.”  Then the world is turned into one of “Us” versus “Them.” And, of course, they [or them] can be dehumanized into something non-human, which makes them ripe for targeting. This is what Jason Stanley said about fascist politics:

“The most telling symptom of fascist politics is division. It aims to separate a population into an “us” and a “them.”  Many kinds of political movements involve such a division; for example, Communist politics involves describing the very specific way that fascist politics distinguishes “us” from “them,” appealing to ethnic, religious, or racial distinctions, and using this division to shape ideology and, ultimately policy. Every mechanism of fascist politics works to create or solidify this distinction.’

 

 

And of course, the most extreme manner of “Us’ vs “them” is to dehumanize them. Since it is the most extreme version of this, it can lead to the most extreme consequences—such as placing them into concentration camps and killing them.  That is why it is so disturbing to see Donald Trump and millions of his supporters start this awful process. Once the process is begun it is not clear how we can stop it or how far it can go. Germany demonstrated it can go very far indeed.

 

Often fascist politicians justify their abhorrent ideas by appealing to a common belief in a mythic past—a golden age where things were great.  For example, Donald Trump says he wants to bring America back to greatness whatever that means. But clearly it was some time in the past where things were great. At least for some—i.e. the privileged. It might be a time when men were men and women were women. Or the whites were in ascendance without any fear that they would be replaced. Again, whatever that means.

What it really means is that it justifies pummelling the others to make things better for those doing the pummelling.

 

To me it really seems that this is where America is headed.  And Canada, as usual, is not that far behind.

 

 

The Grand Inquisitor and Faith without End

Books, Classic Books, Religious Quest in the Modern Age

 

In the novel The Brothers Karamazov there is a very interesting story about the Grand Inquisitor. That was the head of the Inquisition. The story is part of Ivan Karmazov’s religious quest. This is a deeply religious story that challenges much of what we think about God and religion. It is a must read.

Ivan tells the story of the 16th century for in those days, “it was usual to bring  heavenly powers down to earth” and people “staged plays in which the Virgin, angels, saints, Christ, and even God Himself were brought out onto the stage.”

Ivan’s story is one of those stories and it is brought down to life like that. He brings God to life. As an example, Ivan mentions a story where the Virgin Mary, “the Mother of God visits hell.” Can you imagine how such a story would have disturbed people in the 16th century?  Ivan’s story was as disturbing as that.

In hell Mary sees sinners being tortured and her guide, the Archangel Michael, tells her God has forgotten about these sinners. The sinners are floating on lake of fire and try to swim out of hell to no avail. “The Holy Virgin kneels before the throne of God and beseeches Him to forgive all those she has seen in hell everyone of them without exception.” We must imagine this.  The Mother of God, who in the 16th century was worshipped nearly as much as God himself, falls on her knees to beg for God to forgive these poor sinners. They actually argue about it.  Have they not suffered enough already?  How long must they suffer? After all, 15 centuries have passed since men tortured his son on the cross. After all, 15 centuries earlier Jesus had promised he would return quickly, even going so far as to suggest that some of the people who heard him speak would still be around.

In the end, the Mother of Jesus wins a concession from God. We might think it a pretty minor concession.  God agrees that for one day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday each year all torture should cease. Yet the sinners are overjoyed at this brief reprieve. Yet humans have waited for 15 centuries without losing faith. And they still have the “same love” for God.

People prayed to Him every day but for 15 centuries God appeared to some lucky few, but he did nothing to relieve the torture of sinners. This was a mighty stern God. And yet the people loved Him and continued their faith in Him.

This reminds me of a dog who continues to love his master even if his master constantly beats him.  Dogs show undying devotion. So do some people.

The Great Rebellion

Books, Classic Books, Rebel, religion, Religious Quest in the Modern Age

 

One of the great themes in the novel The Brothers Karamazov is the problem of evil. In other words, is the fact that evil exists in the world proof that God does not exist. If God is all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful, as most believe, how could God allow evil to exist? Sice evil exists, it is argued, God cannot exist.

 

In the novel, Ivan Karamazov says “I’m not properly equipped to deal with matters that are not of this world.” In other words, he cannot fathom how this world makes sense and finds no solace in saying it is mysterious and will all make sense when we are in the world that follows. To him that is no answer to the problem of evil. It is not good enough to say we will learn in the next world why evil was necessary. Yet, amazingly, he accepts that it makes sense, even though it does not appear that way. This is hard to untangle. As Ivan tells his brother, Alyosha,

“I would advise you too Alyosha never to worry about these matters, least of all whether He exists or not. All such problems are quite unsuitable for a mind created to conceive only three dimensions. And so not only do I readily accept God, but I also accept his wisdom and his purpose, of which we really know absolutely nothing, the divine order of things, the meaning of life, and the eternal harmony into which we are all to be refused.”

 

Even though we don’t know these things we must accept them. Ivan says, “I believe in his Word.”  In other words, he has faith. I think that is what he means. What else could he mean?  Yet, there is something he does not accept.  As Ivan says,

“I do not accept this God-made world, although I know that it exists. I absolutely refuse to admit its existence. I want you to understand that it is not God that I refuse to accept, but the world that he has created.—what I do not accept and cannot accept is the God-created world.”

 

What Ivan cannot accept is a world in which children suffer. How could a loving God create such a world?  And if it is necessary for a child to suffer—even just one child—Ivan cannot accept that. Yet Ivan, despite that,  amazingly has faith. Or at least that is what I call it. Dostoevsky does not use that word. He uses a different word, “trust.” That might be a better word. As Ivan says,

“…let me make it clear that, like a babe, I trust that the wounds will heal, and the scars will vanish, that the sorry and ridiculous spectacle of man’s disagreements and clashes will disappear like a pitiful mirage, like the sordid invention of a puny,  microscopic, Euclidian, human brain, and that in the end, in the universal finale, at the moment universal harmony is achieved, something so magnificent will take place that it will satisfy every human heart, allay all indignation, pay for all human crimes, for all the blood shed by men, and justify everything that has happened to men.  Well that day may come to pass—but I personally still do not accept this world. I refuse to accept it!”

 

That is the great rebellion of Ivan Karamazov. Nothing can make him accept a world in which a child must spend an entire night freezing in a shed at night until he dies.  Nothing can justify that in Ivan’s eyes. Even if it is a miracle. This is the magnificent rebellion of Ivan Karamazov. The only rebellion that compares to it is the rebellion of Huck Finn who will go to hell rather than give up his friend Jim. These, I think are the two most astounding rebellions in all of English literature and they are what makes this novel and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the two greatest novels ever! Both novels embody magnificent rebellions against what they find on their religious quest.

The Problem of Evil: Tortured Children

Books, Classic Books, religion, Religious Quest in the Modern Age

 

One of the greatest problems in the history of religious thought is the problem of evil.  In its simplest form it goes like this: How can God exist if evil exists? If evil exists that means there is no God. Dostoevsky deals with that problem in The Brothers Karamazov in a remarkable way.

In a lengthy discussion with his highly religious brother Alyosha ,  Ivan Karamazov—the man of reason—considers the problem through a number of case in which parents torture their young children. These adults “have a passion for inflicting pain on children.” These people are kind and gentle to adults, but enjoy torturing children. Ivan says,

 “They even love the children because of the tortures they inflict upon them. What excites them is the utter helplessness of the little creatures. The angelic trustfulness of the child who has nowhere to turn for help—yes that’s what sets the vicious blood of the torturer afire.”

What could be more evil than such a parent? How is this possible? It seems incomprehensible. No, it is incomprehensible. But Ivan has collected stories of this phenomenon. He even claims “many people have this trait.”

Ivan described the actions of the little girl’s parents this way in horrible detail:

“…these refined parent parents subjected their five-year-old girl to all kinds of torture. They beat her, kicked her, flogged her, for no reason that they themselves knew of. The child’s whole body was covered with bruises. Eventually they devised a new refinement. Under the pretext that the child dirtied her bed (as though a five-year-old deep in angelic sleep could be punished for that), they forced her to eat excrement, smearing it all over her face. And it was the mother who did it! And then that woman would lock her little daughter up in the outhouse until morning, and she did so even on the coldest nights, when it was freezing. Just imagine the woman being able to sleep with the child’s cries coming from that infamous outhouse! Imagine the little creature unable to understand what is happening to her, beating her sore little chest with her tiny fist, weeping hot, unresentful, meek tears and begging ‘gentle Jesus’ to help her and all this happening in that icy, dark stinking place! Do you understand this nonsensical thing, my dear friend, my brother you novice who is so eager to spend his life in service  of God? Tell me, do you understand the purpose of that absurdity? Who needs it and why was it created? They say that man could not do without it on earth, for otherwise he would not be able to learn the difference between good and evil. But I say I’d rather not know about their damned good and evil than pay such a terrible price for it.  I feel that all universal knowledge is not worth that child’s tears  when she was begging ‘gentle Jesus’ to help her! I’m not even talking about the suffering of adults: they at least have eaten their apple of knowledge, so the hell with them. But its different when it comes to children.”

 

I feel that Dostoevsky has put the problem of evil as strongly as it could be put. What in this world could possible make those tears of that freezing child worth it? Ivan suggests nothing could. Do you disagree? Who could possibly disagree. How could a loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful God permit that to happen? Even truth is not worth it. Even freedom is not worth it? The entire world is not worth it.

Ivan also says there is no way out. He says no remote future harmony is good enough either to justify it.

 Ivan asked his angelic brother Alyosha what he thought of this mystery.  His answer, “I want to suffer too.” Is that an answer? It is not a rational answer as far as I can see. Yet, compassion, fellow feeling is the only possible response that makes any sense. It can’t possibly justify what happened.  But no logic can provide a satisfactory answer. No reason can provide an answer. It would only be what Ivan calls “Euclidian gibberish.” What faith could provide a justification? What retribution could provide a solution? Personally, I see no way out.