@JaniceOCG Find Lucid, a newsletter by @ruthbenghiat on Substack & let’s get clear on what’s happening to U.S. democracy. Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat is live, Thurs., Feb. 10 at 8 pm ET, w/ “If America Fails?” on TWN, for chat on race & ethnicity in @HandmaidsOnHulu & relationship to current challenges to democracy.
I love the name of Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s newsletter and video blog – Lucid – and her commitment to helping Americans get clear about what’s happening to our democracy. She could take her knowledge of history and authoritarianism and pursue more esoteric goals – but realizes our species rises or falls together, and is using her expertise to push us toward life.
We have some choices to make, folks.
Will we choose governance patterns that have benefitted a few, but led to mass death and destruction for the many in previous eras; or will we allow the needs, desires and voices of the majority to rule the world – and preserve life?
The few? The many?
Whether we are clear or not about the role we play in choosing humanity’s direction, it is truly up to us. Democracy is not easy. It requires us to wake up, smell the coffee, and get busy figuring out the best ways to use our energies. Democracy demands we make difficult choices on complicated matters about which we may hold no expertise. The lure of the autocratic leader, who pats us on the head and tells us everything will be all right, is great. Yet history shows us what he means by that reassuring touch—everything will be all right for the few. For the many, not so much.
The few? The many?
So, let’s get clear. Let’s get lucid. Let’s write a new story for humanity – one that protects Mother Earth and all the life she sustains. — LMO
WATCH Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of Italian and History, New York University | Arts & Sciences– LIVE – Thursday, February 10, 2022, 8 pm ET, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube channel, when she joins “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny,” in discussion on Race & Ethnicity evoked by The Handmaid’s Tale and modern American culture.
Fridays – “Weekly Q&A/live chat 1-2 pm ET. Focus is ‘the global right, its political, financial, and media enablers, links with America, and much more.’” — Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Strongmen: Mussolini To The Present | W.W. Norton, 2020
“Ruth Ben-Ghiat is the expert on the ‘strongman’ playbook employed by authoritarian demagogues from Mussolini to Putin—enabling her to predict with uncanny accuracy the recent experience in America. In Strongmen, she lays bare the blueprint these leaders have followed over the past 100 years, and empowers us to recognize, resist, and prevent their disastrous rule in the future…” — The Publisher
“Any society can be susceptible to strongman figures if it’s the right time,” says Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, is a historian, educator and commentator “on fascism, authoritarian leaders, and propaganda — and the threats these present to democracies. As author or editor of [seven] books, with over 100 op-eds and essays in CNN, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post, she brings historical perspective to her analyses of current events. Her insight into the authoritarian playbook has made her an expert source for television, radio, podcasts, and online events around the globe,” according to her website. Her most recent publication in Strongmen: Mussolini To The Present (2020).
Dr. Ben-Ghiat also maintains a blog on Substack – Lucid – where she writes and chats about current threats to democracy in America and abroad, and interviews other prominent voices in this arena. She is a historical consultant for film and television productions; a big fan of electronic music; and a yoga practitioner. “Ruth Ben-Ghiat… specializes in male menace. What interests her is the manufactured drama of world-historical strongmen—their mannerisms, speech patterns, stagecraft, and mythomania,” wrote Jon Blitzer of The New Yorker. Follow her Twitter feed @ruthbenghiat. — If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny
CONTACT US “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny” for access to the Zoom chatroom—L. Michelle Odom, Senior Producer
LMOdom@OurCommonGround.com or TWN@TruthWorksNetwork.com
Watch Thursdays, 8 pm ET, January 13 to April 7, 2022, on the TruthWorks Network YouTube Channel. All Are Welcome!
SUBSCRIBE to Lucid | Newsletter & Video Chats | by Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat
If America Fails? 
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