This is your daily reminder that we are living in emergency times.
Shit’s not “about to” hit the fan — it already has, and it’s just not evenly distributed yet. As things accelerate, I’ve found myself shifting what I read. Less escapist sci-fi, more grounding in the moments before things cracked open — before the boots came down.
This week I borrowed Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell from the library. Felt like time to revisit what resistance looked like in the face of rising authoritarianism.
Anyone else making similar shifts in your reading? Got any titles that have helped you stay sharp, stay grounded, or just feel less alone? Drop 'em in the replies.
@franklinlopez
@lulu recently shares this one: The Language of the Third Reich by Victor Klemperer
https://archive.org/details/klemperer-victor-j-auth-language-of-the-third-reich-lti-lingua
@grim_elsewhere @franklinlopez
Thank you for signal boosting :)
@lulu @grim_elsewhere @franklinlopez
The 1940 Robert Heinlein story "If This Goes On...", from the book "Revolt in 2100", depicts a society in which a charismatic preacher, elected President in 2012, manages to turn the US into a theocratic dictatorship. Heinlein's depictions of romantic relationships are dated and somewhat clumsy, but the plot, set about 90 years later, shows how little freedom is left for the citizens, and what they eventually do about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22If_This_Goes_On%E2%80%94%22
@Anne_Delong @lulu @grim_elsewhere @franklinlopez
An earlier version of that theocratic government was also in the backstory of "For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs" his first written novel, only published posthumously.
The novel is in a later utopian society based on Social Credit economic theory.
@Anne_Delong @lulu @grim_elsewhere @franklinlopez
The novel suffers greatly from being a series of lectures about Social Credit Theory, how jealousy and sexual possessiveness are stupid, and how crime should be treated as a mental health issue. The plot and love story are rather secondary, if not tertiary.
@cptbutton @lulu @grim_elsewhere @franklinlopez
Yes, the first time I read it, as a teenager, those ideas were new and interesting to me, but I have to admit that when I read it again I skipped over some of that. I remember being impressed when the characters tried make the impoverished citizens doubt their leader by obsequiously praising his extreme wealth and lavish spending...