Democracy over fascism, Harris's closing argument, get out the vote
Democracy over fascism, Harris's closing argument, get out the vote
Wrapping up the week for November 3, 2024
In this last full week before Election Day, we paid close attention to Kamala Harris’s closing arguments – and heard in her address at the Ellipse the kind of case for democracy that we’d hoped for, one that centered the everyday concerns of Americans and focused not on abstractions but on freedom as a precondition for a better life, without the restrictions the right could and would impose.
We also talked to humanist chaplain Greg M. Epstein about reforming the religion of tech and to scholar and lawyer Omer Aziz about the American roots of fascism and how to work for a democratic future. And we featured a couple of guest posts: Historian Robert McElvaine explored the reactionary machismo at the heart of the MAGA movement, and writer and filmmaker Brian Montopoli wrote about finding hope in the collective action of phone banking in the final days of the race.
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Historian Robert McElvaine wrote about the hypermasculine overcompensation at the heart of the MAGA movement, and how to defuse it by building a small-d democracy that enables everyone to reach as high as they want — and doesn’t let anyone fall.
Trump’s fixations on penis size and “scoring” with numerous women are among the many symptoms indicating that he is afflicted with a psychological disorder that is not listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders but should be. It is essential to understanding the nature of Trump’s madness . . . and much of the worst in human history. I call it Acute Masculine Insecurity Disorder (AMID). Despicable self-aggrandizement is one of the symptoms with which a man affected by this disorder most frequently presents. And it is the principal energy source for the current growth of fascism.
In his new book, humanist chaplain Greg M. Epstein takes on the most important new religion of the 21st century: tech. We talked with him about why it needs a reformation and how that might turn technology to the service of humanity rather than capital.
There is a kind of politics that maybe stands the best chance of feeling sustainable for people, feeling regenerative and restorative for people because politics is hard work. It's not an accident that you see across the political spectrum a lot of religious and spiritual communities engaging in politics with some real success because when you combine political work towards whatever it is that you believe with a feeling of mission and call and a feeling that life and the world has meaning and that there's a possibility for a higher meaning, a higher purpose, and also with the idea that you can have rituals that bring people together and make them feel more connected to one another, make them feel more alike than they are different, make them feel more supportive of one another than they are autonomous automatons — that's the kind of politics that tends to succeed.
In advance of Kamala Harris’s closing arguments at the Ellipse, we looked back at what political scientist Daniel Ziblatt had told us earlier in the year about how critical it is to connect any abstract defense of democracy to the realities of lived experience.
Democrats haven’t been able to make the case for democratic reform because they haven’t been able to address the more immediate problems people face. To do that, they need to link the case for democracy to the way people can succeed in the economy, to the way they can exercise reproductive freedom, to their ability to care for kids or parents.That’s what Ziblatt calls the bank shot to save democracy. And that’s the kind of shot Kamala Harris needs to put up tonight.
Following the speech, and looking to the work ahead before the election, we reflected on how Harris had begun a rebranding of the Democratic party around quality of life issues – and how guaranteeing freedom was a critical factor in the ability to build and succeed.
We are all so exhausted by fascist threat mitigation that we forget all the awesome stuff we could be doing instead. So her section on building houses also served as a reminder that building in general, creating, dreaming, can again become our focus when he is finally gone from our lives.
We talked to Canadian lawyer, writer, and foreign policy expert Omer Aziz about his research into the American roots of fascism, why it maintains such sway over young men – and what can be done to recapture their imaginations and build a society that rejects the far-right story.
Defeating fascism this time around won’t be like World War II. There’s no military answer here; if anything, violence will only beget more violence. It’s an idea and movement that must be defeated, and that means presenting a better alternative. To flip your question, what is the optimistic and inspiring story of democracy? Where is the championing of the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Making those fundamental arguments about America as a land of opportunity will break the hold the fascists have over telling a good story.
In these final few days before the close of the 2024 elections, writer and documentarian Brian Montopoli was feeling powerless, but found hope in doing a volunteer shift phone-banking for the Harris-Walz campaign. He tells us about the power he found in collective action.
But you should consider doing what you can in these final days, and not just because it will almost certainly make you feel better. It’s undeniable that none of us can sway this election on our own. But that does not mean we are powerless. (Follow this link to find high-priority volunteer opportunities.) Every drop in the ocean makes a difference. Jump in.
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