Political Theatre category archive

Vua the Charlotte Observer, Georgia Institute of Technology professor Dina Khapaeva hears a rhyme. Here’s a bit from the parsing of the poesy:

As a scholar of historical memory , I have observed that references to the Russian Middle Ages are part of the Kremlin’s broader politics of using the medieval past to justify current agendas, something I have termed “political neomedievalism .”

Indeed, President Vladimir Putin’s government is actively prioritizing initiatives that use medieval Russia as a model for the country’s future.

_____________________

*Mark Twain.

Afterthought:

The truly sad thing about this is that we have a political party willing to allow Donald Trump to appoint incompetent boobs; kidnap, imprison, and deport innocent persons; loot the federal treasury; immerse himself and his favorites in emoluments; and start wars, so long as it means that that political party remains in power.

At the Psychology Today website, Pamela B. Rutledge argues that dis coarse discourse is starting resemble the dynamics of a failing marriage. She notes that

• Character attacks, not policy debates, are now the primary mode of political communication.
• Contempt in public discourse trains people to see opponents as “others” who are less worthy and less human.

Methinks her article is well worth a read.

My old professor of the Early Federal Period was fond of pointing that out.

Here’s an example.

Ring of Fire’s Josh G. explains how, in this New Gilded Age, right-wing monopolists are taking over and manipulating local broadcast news so as to advance their own political ends.

Me, I gave up on broadcast news years ago, when I realized I can read more in ten minutes that a news broadcast can tell me in 30.

Kimberley A. Johnson’s interview with the Knitting Cult Lady. From the description:

Born into the Children of God cult and trafficked as a child, Daniela escaped to the U.S. at 15, put herself through school to become a U.S. Army intelligence officer who deployed twice to Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division, and now studies Organizational Psychology at Harvard Extension School, researching group behavior, extremism, leadership demagoguery, and cults.

Methinks it sheds some light on dis coarse discourse, as one our two major political parties seems to have turned into a cult of poisonality.

(Yeah, I know the release date was a month ago. I’m behind on my podcasts.)

Michael in Norfolk finds a straw at which to grasp. A nugget:

Yet, the election in Hungary on this past Sunday demonstrated that even with a highly stacked deck against democracy, it is still possible to defeat would be authoritarians and dictators if politicians promote the right messages and are able to convince the larger population that voting can and will make a difference.