The midterm elections are looming and things could go either way for the left. They’re tried everything but acting sane, and the “blue wave” still looks like a ripple. Why not one more Trump = Hitler warning, this time in the form of a NYT video op-ed from a Yale philosophy professor?
“… it’s easy to see parallels between Trump’s words and those of the most reviled fascists in history.” That is the tired thesis of Jason Stanley’s piece for NYT Opinion on Oct. 19. After giving his viewers severe deja vu by imploring them to ignore Trump’s policy and “reflect for a moment on his words … his rhetoric, if you will,” he proceeds with his argument.
"If you use history and philosophy as a guide, it's easy to see parallels between Trump's words and those of the most reviled fascists in history. That scares me and it should scare you too." — Jason Stanley, professor of philosophy, Yale pic.twitter.com/2OhmgbgSGO
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) October 19, 2018
Stanley cites an unholy trinity that binds Trump to unmentionable dictators. First, he says fascist leaders concoct a “mythic past” which consists of “lie[s] that [sound] great.” That eventually creates an “overwhelming sense of nostalgia for a past that is racially pure,” and Stanley believes Trump’s analog is promising to “Make America Great Again,” which is clearly a statement that only whites can assent to. – READ MORE