Death of Democracy

 

Death of Democracy by Benjamin Carter Hett (2018) 280 pp

The subtitle tells the story -- Hitler's rise to power and the downfall of the Weimar Republic. Experiments in democracy seem rational, if not easy, until things get tough. One of the most egregious examples is Hitler’s rise to dictatorship in Germany. Professor Hett details the circumstances that bred German resentment of the Weimar Republic and enabled the rise of the Nazis. Hyperinflation, massive unemployment, famine and epidemics are all elements that can crush republics. Hett walks us methodically toward the precipice; deliberate dishonesty, public irrationality: anti-intellectualism, scapegoating, conspiracies, distrust, and greed. The Nazis called this confluence Gleichschaltung, or coordination. All the switches are flipped to the same circuit. Aside from the unspeakable horror of totalitarian regimes, the slow walk towards the acceptance of evil is the most disturbing.

The Memory Librarian

 The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae (2022) 321 pages

This could almost be called a short story collection, except the stories are loosely linked. There are five contributors listed on Goodreads that helped Janelle Monae put each part of the story on paper. I listened to the audiobook with the first part narrated by Janelle Monae and the rest narrated by Bahni Turpin. Fans of The Handmaids' Tale would probably enjoy this. The stories take place in a near-future totalitarian state. Even though there is less overt religious involvement in the regulations of public and private life, all the main characters are labeled "Dirty Computers." Janelle Monae's third album was titled Dirty Computer. I had seen their series of music videos that form an "emotion picture" for this album when it was released about five years ago. In this world, Dirty Computers have there memories erased to force conformity. This totalitarian state targets queer people of color. Concepts of Intersectionality are explored in each story. It is suggested, but not made completely clear, that each story advances in time and involves characters from the previous story living their re-invented life after their memory wipe. There is sci-fi tech controlled by the state for surveying the population and very little power left to the ordinary person. I don't read short stories very often. Just as you get invested in one, it is over. I wish the separate stories were more connected like chapters of a whole. I became a bit frustrated trying to guess how each connected to the previous one. And I wish there was more world building description that referenced the visual design of the music videos.

Parable of the Talents

Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler  448 pp.

Caution: Spoilers

This is the sequel to Parable of the Sower, the continuing story of Lauren Olamina and the refugees that escaped to northern California. Earthseed, the religion created by Lauren, believes the only way to save humanity is by moving to space. In the mean time they have created a village of Acorn where they are sustainably self-sufficient. Lauren discovers one of her brother Marcus survived the destruction of their Los Angeles home and he briefly lives at Acorn before leaving to make his own way in the world. However, the collapse of society and the election of a fanatical leader of the country has led to oppression and roving bands of members of "Christian America" attack and enslave people almost at random. When Acorn is attacked by one such group, many are killed, and the rest enslaved. The children, including Lauren's daughter are taken and given to adoptive parents who will raise them to be "good Christian Americans." Eventually Lauren and the others escape their captors and begin searching for their children. Unbeknownst to Lauren, her daughter ends up with Marcus who told her Lauren and the girl's father were dead. It is only many years later when mother and daughter are reunited. Earthseed is a continuing and growing movement and Lauren is a leader of it until her old age. This book is a hard read and I could only do small parts at a time because of the content. However, I think it is a book well worth reading.

On Tyranny

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century / Timothy Snyder, 126 pp.

Here's what happened.  On a Wednesday in November 2016, Timothy Snyder, the Housum Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, and author of the fantastic Black Earth, had a bad day.  In this he was not alone.

In the aftermath of this very bad day, Snyder took his acute historical acumen, much of which has been trained on totalitarian regimes from the 20th century, and came up with a list of recommendations for those of us who might be feeling a little worried about the current state of affairs:

Do not obey in advance.
Defend institutions. (like courts)
Beware the one-party state.
Take responsibility for the face of the world. (the physical and virtual presence of propaganda)
 & etc.

Although it feels like it was written in haste, it's still powerful, and it certainly makes sense.  I just wish it had made me feel better.