Amid discussions of whether America has become authoritarian, the lingua franca of Neo-Nazis has crept into our discourse.
David Masciotra
David Masciotra, a contributing writer to the Washington Monthly, is the author of several books, including Exurbia Now: The Battleground of American Democracy and I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters. His Substack is Absurdia Now.
Posted inPolitics
The Myth of the Establishment Democrat
Establishment is used as a description and even a slur, but it’s really just misleading.
Posted inLaw and Justice
Bryan Stevenson: “Ignorance Makes You Vulnerable”
The criminal justice advocate and civil rights leader on his work, the war on accurate American history, and grace for those consumed by hate.
Posted inBooks
When America’s Culture Wars Were Fought in Art Galleries
Late 20th-century battles over artists like Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano set the stage for the transgressive Age of Trump.
Posted inPolitics
Antisemitism—Left, Right, and Growing
Criticism of Israel and its conduct is fair game. Conspiratorial delusions about Zionism are not.
Posted inGovernment
“The Library is One of the Best Libertarian Arguments for Limited Government”
John Chrastka of EveryLibrary, which fights for library budgets and against book bans, discusses libraries, their central role in our society, censorship—and those drag-queen story hours.
Posted inLaw and Justice
“ICE Is Too Bloated, Politicized, and Corrupt to Continue”
Mike Lofgren, the author, budget expert, and Monthly contributing writer, explains why a new Congress couldn’t simply fix Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Posted inFeatured
“Repeat After Me: ‘I Am Somebody’”
Jesse Jackson was furious over injustice. He was also full of hope. His funeral was a reminder that the two were never meant to be separated.
Posted inPolitics
“Executive Orders Are Not Laws. . .They Can Be Undone Quite Easily”
Channyn Lynne Parker, the CEO of Equality Illinois, on threats to civil rights, Chicago’s presidential wannabees, JB Pritzker and Rahm Emanuel, plus why you don’t start a fire if you’re sitting farthest from the exit.
Posted inPolitics
Remembering Jesse Jackson’s Poetic Synthesis
I wrote a book about him, and we became friends. The cynics didn’t understand how he fused moral simplicity and political profundity.
