Jonathan Raymond Quotes
I think Trump has made it really hard for people to read, period. He's made it hard for me anyway. Part of his evil is the way it constantly distracts us, constantly upends our horizon. To leave your computer for three hours now is to miss a year's worth of drama. This is programmatic and common to other autocratic regimes of our times.
Raymond, Jon. Interview by David Naimon. Between the Covers, Tin House, 2017.
This quotation shows us that Ancient historians knew well, that rulers and governments could intimidate contemporary historians and even after rulers died hatreds from previous periods also often distort history. The hatred and resentment of the American Southerners after the Civil War warped most history books in America and especially history text books for over 100 years before histories of the Civil War and Reconstruction could be written with more reasonable accuracy.
Accusing her of being a fellow traveler with Communist sympathies, Nixon called her "the Pink Lady" and said she was "pink right down to her underwear." See {627826} and {619498}. Douglas and her campaign thought the accusations were so absurd that at first they did not even bother to respond. Nixon repeated the them and stayed “on message” and by the time that Douglas, who had opposed communism all her life, was believed to be one or at least a “fellow traveler” by most Californians—and finally she responded with statements like this, but it was way too late to turn public perception around. She awarded Nixon the derogatory nickname “Tricky Dick” which the majority of the public used for him throughout his career--{600036}.
Prior to Germany Declaring War on the United States, there was a small but influential group of American Fascists who were great admirers of Hitler and Mussolini and the “reforms” they had made in Germany and Italy. They saw Germany’s invasion of other European nations as a good think to “reform” Europe. The opposed American support of England and U. S. entry into the war. Their influence waned after Pearl Harbor and Germany declaring war on the U. S. Many of them arose again after WWII ended but they no longer expressed admiration for Hitler and Mussolini—concentrating at that time on anti-communisim. This caused some difficulties for the majority of anti communists who were also anti fascists.
Jonathan Raymond is an American writer living in Portland, Oregon.
