In a world of complex threats and challenges, the Department of Defense has decided to tackle one of the gravest: a quintessential piece of American literature.
When we live in a diverse country (at least 85% of Americans are in the DEI tent: individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, disabilities, religions, and cultures) and have an administration that is anti-diversity, Houston, we have a problem. The latest MAGA slur "DEI hire" is both absurd, and ironic. Who might these 15% percent of the "non DEI" hires be? Smh.
They are disgusting. I had black female bosses for many decades. They were all strong, funny, supportive, smart and extremely competent. When Harris came along, I prayed people wouldn't go there with the misogynoir, but it started on day one, amping up to a level that was goddamned frightening. It makes me sick that all the slime that was circulating on the right was never fully acknowledged here, or on 99.9% of media sites. It is essential to admit racism is happening. It is mandatory to fucking confront it, or else it becomes tacit consent. We will never get over what we do not confront.
Sounds like a very satisfying conclusion! That's why I wanted Harris to win so badly...to have somebody to represent the women of our nation and world. We're so much better than men, and yet here they are, trying to pervert the narrative of strong women....AGAIN.
This was beautiful. I think those we prepare to send to war especially also need education in beauty, in hope, in the reach of human beings through trial-and few voice those things as well as Maya Angelou.
Bill, thank you for this note about the censorship at the Naval Academy. As a Boat School grad who double majored in History and English, a retired naval officer, and a current federal employee, the news of book banning at the Academy struck me hard. I wrote the piece below in response to that after making a late-night Facebook post and then waking up in the morning to post again. My post is here:
I initially thought the damage was limited to DEI texts lacking in scholarly merit, but when I saw the list a couple of days ago, I was stunned. I first encountered Maya Angelou while a midshipman at the Academy, and that someone would classify her work as DEI is sadly no longer beyond belief, though I wish it still was.
The culture of fear, the erasing of history, and the hypocrisy of the administration are steps along the road to making our Republic more like North Korea or any Stalinist regime than the nation the Naval Academy's midshipmen are sworn to serve. The fact that this administration says it admires individual "merit," yet tosses out the most famous and well-regarded work of a revered American poet is as consistently hypocritical as telling us that we need to look beyond race, gender, and ethnicity while deporting over 200 men, most of whom have no criminal record, to an El Salvadorian gulag under the fiction that all these men are members of Tren de Aragua when in fact they are guilty of nothing more than the misfortune of being born Venezuelan.
*Given the spirit of John Paul Jones infuses the Naval Academy (he is laid to rest in a crypt below the chapel) I thought it fitting to share his words, which I have always found inspiring, uplifting, and so spot on in capturing the need to fight for the cause of liberty. These words of his are definitely needed now more than almost any other point in our history:
" Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me."
Removing "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" from the Nimitz library isn't only an attack on real diversity, equity and inclusion, though it is certainly that. It is removing the powerful voice of a strong and beautifully articulate Black woman, recounting her experience of her life, thereby affirming the reality of such lives of struggle which have been lived by so many Black Americans. She writes with an authenticity that resonates for nearly every reader, and a phony like Vance finds that intolerable, and feels compelled to eliminate her.
And i'm thinking "those lesbian women from San Francisco" very likely can outrun, out-shoot and certainly out-think Fox's frat boy, making them an asset to the military, while he's merely an ass... who should maybe watch his back.
In the Quick Hits I'd modify the statement about getting back migrants shipped out of the country to:
"After all, what’s to stop the administration from grabbing ANYONE, shipping them off without any habeas petition, and then saying: Well, can’t do anything about that now?"
As a former midshipman, I would just like to point out that midshipmen are adults. They can make judgements about what they want to read, don't want to read, need to read, should read, etc. As a midshipman, I read good stuff, awful stuff, pointless stuff, things I still reflect upon. That's the whole point of the experience.
I heard some bozo the other day -- I think it was on CNN -- saying the only thing those attending a service academy should read is Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sun Tzu. Great. Good suggestions. Well worth one's time. But consider that Alfred Thayer Mahan read a lot more than his own stuff. (And I kind of doubt he read Sun Tzu because no one did back in the 1880's.) He was a genuine scholar, a true student of history, a well-read man. Those who actually read him see his views change over time as he refined his arguments and positions. Most successful senior military leaders -- and people in general -- do that. One of the reasons he and others did what they did was they worried that the naval services were losing their professionalism, becoming hidebound and technocratic, more like Hegseth wants it. He was a philosopher, a thinker, a person who questioned the status quo and tried to define what the navy was for and what it ought to be.
I don't know if Maya Angelou belongs in the Nimitz Library, but I know it's not hurting anyone or anything by being there and it might just help a little, so, Pete Hegseth, I'm pretty sure you've got better things to do than cull books out of the Naval Academy library. Get back to work, shipmate. There's more to naval science than how many pushups you can do.
Students in my classes who studied Maya Angelou's autobiography told me it was their favorite reading of the semester. It was one of the works I had to hold back tears as we read passages out loud.
Hope I'm not being pedantic, but I've always loved the poem from which she selects the line as the title for her autobiographical novel. The poem is "Sympathy," by Paul Laurence Dunbar. It is a short, beautiful lyric that, I assure you, the time you spend reading it (if you haven't already) will be well worth it.
Whenever I hear someone talk about the evils of DEI, I'm reminded of the oft-quoted, and misquoted, line about people who were born on 3rd base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.
I've worked in healthcare for 50 years, primarily as an RN but in other capacities as well. And I learned early on that people who didn't look like me, or who had other live experiences, often had different perspectives on health and health care, not to mention barriers I would never personally experience. As nursing became less white and female, it became apparent that having a diverse population of nurses helped all of us to better care for a diverse population of patients. As research expanded to look at groups other than white men, it became apparent that health equity required us to address the health disparities among the different populations we served. And inclusion? Well, since we always seem to be facing a nursing shortage, it behooves us to make sure that any competent professional nurse feel welcomed, or as the ANA says: "...heard, seen,and valued." https://www.nursingworld.org/content-hub/resources/workplace/DEIB-Commitment-Statement/
Which brings me back to the 3rd base quote. I get the sense that the folks who are oh so righteous about eliminating anything that sounds like DEI most definitely think they hit a triple. They got where they are because they are so meritorious. (NOT) They have no concept of what it might be like to be born into poverty, or have brown or black skin, etc. DEI is not about hiring an unqualified minority instead of a qualified white male. It's about expanding the pool of applicants so that those who are not part of the majority are at least given a chance. And the perspective they bring to the table is often as important as where they got their degree, or whom they know.
But DEI is more than about who you hire. As a college professor, the few DEI sessions I attended were not burdensome -- they were enlightening. They gave me insights I never would have had on my own. They helped me better understand the experiences of my colleagues, as well as the patients I cared for. They taught me to think beyond my own white, middle class experiences and really consider the experiences of others, whether they were my students or patients. And they never made me feel guilty -- in fact, they reminded me of how fortunate I was and how as a nurse and professor, I could affect change and make a difference. And isn't that why people go into nursing and education in the first place?
As someone who served n the US Army in a Combat Arm (Artillery) I would have hated to have Hesgarth as a commanding officer. His stupid macho swaggering is exactly what you see in combat leaders who get their men killed in their lust for glory.
Think Maximillian Schell in "Cross Of Iron" as a good example.
And is it just me or is he trying to send a message that only WHites are really welcome in the US Military?
I agree. It was the quiet guys who didn't lose their heads over trivial stuff that inspired the most trust. The loudmouths and the dolts, no way. When things go to shit, the last guy you want in charge is a guy who can't control himself.
The message I get from Hegseth's book removal is a belief that the American military is so china-doll fragile, members will be dangerously distracted from their mission if they read about the abusive childhood of an actual Black woman who went on to overcome the considerable odds against her. Not a vote of confidence in our "warriors" (God, I hate that stupid term). But then, look at Hegseth. A sick parody of manhood. A weak man-child with no principles or character.
Can some one point out what is wrong with DEI? Seriously, what is the problem? I keep hearing of the depredations of DEI from people with the Bulwark but never anything specific.
This is second hand, since it is recounting the experience of a friend, but it may give you a glimpse on how DEI training can be taken too far. Of course it happened in Berkeley, which is famous for taking things too far. The training my friend was required to attend, as an employee of UCB, was run by a Black woman with an extremely authoritarian approach, verbally pounding on her White captive audience and angrily refuting anyone who questioned her. Coming away after several hours of this abusive put-down and verbal lashing, my friend, who was already supportive of DEI and willing to do self-examination, wondered what she or anyone in her group learned that was useful in any way. Being subjected to unmitigated anger and demeaning, manipulative "exercises" hadn't deepened her understanding , but left her sad and confused, guilty and alienated.
DEI language superseded the earlier use of Affirmative Action and is seen in some ways as a euphemism for it, especially in California where AA has been banned in public education and employment since 1996 (Prop 209, reaffirmed in 2020 Prop 16). Yet, it is widely thought that public agencies, supported by academics and public thinkers, have invested a great deal into circumventing 209 opaquely as means to accomplish AA. It has, in some respects gotten out of hand -- job announcements at the California Community Colleges clearly bear language which amounts to a political litmus for hiring. In any case, over the last 15 years DEI grew into a cottage industry in California and elsewhere, with an expansion of programs and services, the hiring of new Administrators and staff, and an increased visibility in decision making for recruitment, promotion, tenure, admissions, student discipline etc. It also has had an impact on curricula, the growth and development of departments, and on disciplinary definition itself. Here in California, at the K12 level, it has led to an ethnic studies requirement, the introduction to which can supply you with some interesting reading. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/esmcpreface.pdf
Removing books, IMO, is tantamount to burning them. I grieve that you have not read Why the Caged Bird Sings. I guess if you look at the list, down at 47 you'd see a book by Robert P. Jones - I'm blanking on whether it is White Too Long or The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy both of which deal with the long history of settler colonialism in the US and its political and social reach. The entire list is quite remarkable, and maybe you'd take some time to read the entire list. The reality is, IMO, the only reason there has been an effort to INCREASE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is because there is a tendency in this nation, and there always has been, to turn a blind eye to the many ways a majority goes on its way without thinking about the situations of so many others. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been an attempt (not always well thought through, granted but still a "work in progress") to support the opportunities of each and every person who lives in the United States as equal in terms of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I don't know but the term "Imago DEI" comes to my mind, probably because I am a clergyperson. For years there were no women clergy in my denomination or in other denominations either for that matter. Somewhere along the way however there was the recognition that the female is a human being, and has the capabilities of any human being, even a male human being. I thought, if you happen to read any remarks from your readers and supporters, you might be interested in this poem by Maya Angelou that is central to an award winning short documentary which you can view on You Tube. Here is my question: What are these right wing authoritarians afraid of anyway? They are so weak they cannot face the reality of our nation's deeply complicated, if inspiring history, in spite of its own worst tendencies. The only reason we've even had an effort at DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION is because the People have been more powerful than the people in power. That is still true today.
More than anything they fear complexity. The rigid, right wing mind, cannot handle it. They have a mechanistic mindset and think society functions thusly. Just look at how they attempt to rope in voting, for example, where only one method can possibly fit all conditions. Wilhelm Reich's "Listen Little Man" is a good easy intro to who they are; and Susan Sontag's essay "Fascinating Fascism" rolls out a good picture of some aesthetic corollaries.
When we live in a diverse country (at least 85% of Americans are in the DEI tent: individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, disabilities, religions, and cultures) and have an administration that is anti-diversity, Houston, we have a problem. The latest MAGA slur "DEI hire" is both absurd, and ironic. Who might these 15% percent of the "non DEI" hires be? Smh.
They are disgusting. I had black female bosses for many decades. They were all strong, funny, supportive, smart and extremely competent. When Harris came along, I prayed people wouldn't go there with the misogynoir, but it started on day one, amping up to a level that was goddamned frightening. It makes me sick that all the slime that was circulating on the right was never fully acknowledged here, or on 99.9% of media sites. It is essential to admit racism is happening. It is mandatory to fucking confront it, or else it becomes tacit consent. We will never get over what we do not confront.
Sounds like a very satisfying conclusion! That's why I wanted Harris to win so badly...to have somebody to represent the women of our nation and world. We're so much better than men, and yet here they are, trying to pervert the narrative of strong women....AGAIN.
This was beautiful. I think those we prepare to send to war especially also need education in beauty, in hope, in the reach of human beings through trial-and few voice those things as well as Maya Angelou.
Bill, thank you for this note about the censorship at the Naval Academy. As a Boat School grad who double majored in History and English, a retired naval officer, and a current federal employee, the news of book banning at the Academy struck me hard. I wrote the piece below in response to that after making a late-night Facebook post and then waking up in the morning to post again. My post is here:
We Must Keep the Torch Burning*
https://gregflo.substack.com/p/we-must-keep-the-torch-burning?utm_source=substack&utm_content=feed%3Arecommended%3Acopy_link
I initially thought the damage was limited to DEI texts lacking in scholarly merit, but when I saw the list a couple of days ago, I was stunned. I first encountered Maya Angelou while a midshipman at the Academy, and that someone would classify her work as DEI is sadly no longer beyond belief, though I wish it still was.
The culture of fear, the erasing of history, and the hypocrisy of the administration are steps along the road to making our Republic more like North Korea or any Stalinist regime than the nation the Naval Academy's midshipmen are sworn to serve. The fact that this administration says it admires individual "merit," yet tosses out the most famous and well-regarded work of a revered American poet is as consistently hypocritical as telling us that we need to look beyond race, gender, and ethnicity while deporting over 200 men, most of whom have no criminal record, to an El Salvadorian gulag under the fiction that all these men are members of Tren de Aragua when in fact they are guilty of nothing more than the misfortune of being born Venezuelan.
*Given the spirit of John Paul Jones infuses the Naval Academy (he is laid to rest in a crypt below the chapel) I thought it fitting to share his words, which I have always found inspiring, uplifting, and so spot on in capturing the need to fight for the cause of liberty. These words of his are definitely needed now more than almost any other point in our history:
" Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me."
Removing "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" from the Nimitz library isn't only an attack on real diversity, equity and inclusion, though it is certainly that. It is removing the powerful voice of a strong and beautifully articulate Black woman, recounting her experience of her life, thereby affirming the reality of such lives of struggle which have been lived by so many Black Americans. She writes with an authenticity that resonates for nearly every reader, and a phony like Vance finds that intolerable, and feels compelled to eliminate her.
And i'm thinking "those lesbian women from San Francisco" very likely can outrun, out-shoot and certainly out-think Fox's frat boy, making them an asset to the military, while he's merely an ass... who should maybe watch his back.
In the Quick Hits I'd modify the statement about getting back migrants shipped out of the country to:
"After all, what’s to stop the administration from grabbing ANYONE, shipping them off without any habeas petition, and then saying: Well, can’t do anything about that now?"
As a former midshipman, I would just like to point out that midshipmen are adults. They can make judgements about what they want to read, don't want to read, need to read, should read, etc. As a midshipman, I read good stuff, awful stuff, pointless stuff, things I still reflect upon. That's the whole point of the experience.
I heard some bozo the other day -- I think it was on CNN -- saying the only thing those attending a service academy should read is Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sun Tzu. Great. Good suggestions. Well worth one's time. But consider that Alfred Thayer Mahan read a lot more than his own stuff. (And I kind of doubt he read Sun Tzu because no one did back in the 1880's.) He was a genuine scholar, a true student of history, a well-read man. Those who actually read him see his views change over time as he refined his arguments and positions. Most successful senior military leaders -- and people in general -- do that. One of the reasons he and others did what they did was they worried that the naval services were losing their professionalism, becoming hidebound and technocratic, more like Hegseth wants it. He was a philosopher, a thinker, a person who questioned the status quo and tried to define what the navy was for and what it ought to be.
I don't know if Maya Angelou belongs in the Nimitz Library, but I know it's not hurting anyone or anything by being there and it might just help a little, so, Pete Hegseth, I'm pretty sure you've got better things to do than cull books out of the Naval Academy library. Get back to work, shipmate. There's more to naval science than how many pushups you can do.
31 Dem Senators have come out for due process and in advocacy for Mr. Garcia's return to Maryland. https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/elsalvador-maryland-man-mistakenly-deported/
Rrmoving books from the Nimitz Libraby. What an insult to a great naval leader.
Students in my classes who studied Maya Angelou's autobiography told me it was their favorite reading of the semester. It was one of the works I had to hold back tears as we read passages out loud.
Hope I'm not being pedantic, but I've always loved the poem from which she selects the line as the title for her autobiographical novel. The poem is "Sympathy," by Paul Laurence Dunbar. It is a short, beautiful lyric that, I assure you, the time you spend reading it (if you haven't already) will be well worth it.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46459/sympathy-56d22658afbc0
Dunbar's biography is also fascinating, though painful, too. I wonder if he's already being removed from our libraries as well.
Thank you for the link to Dunbar's poem. I hadn't known of it or read it before. It gives added meaning to Angelou's title.
Mr. Kristol, your article, The Purging of Maya Angelou, was a beautiful and touching read.
I love his heart for literature!
Whenever I hear someone talk about the evils of DEI, I'm reminded of the oft-quoted, and misquoted, line about people who were born on 3rd base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.
I've worked in healthcare for 50 years, primarily as an RN but in other capacities as well. And I learned early on that people who didn't look like me, or who had other live experiences, often had different perspectives on health and health care, not to mention barriers I would never personally experience. As nursing became less white and female, it became apparent that having a diverse population of nurses helped all of us to better care for a diverse population of patients. As research expanded to look at groups other than white men, it became apparent that health equity required us to address the health disparities among the different populations we served. And inclusion? Well, since we always seem to be facing a nursing shortage, it behooves us to make sure that any competent professional nurse feel welcomed, or as the ANA says: "...heard, seen,and valued." https://www.nursingworld.org/content-hub/resources/workplace/DEIB-Commitment-Statement/
Which brings me back to the 3rd base quote. I get the sense that the folks who are oh so righteous about eliminating anything that sounds like DEI most definitely think they hit a triple. They got where they are because they are so meritorious. (NOT) They have no concept of what it might be like to be born into poverty, or have brown or black skin, etc. DEI is not about hiring an unqualified minority instead of a qualified white male. It's about expanding the pool of applicants so that those who are not part of the majority are at least given a chance. And the perspective they bring to the table is often as important as where they got their degree, or whom they know.
But DEI is more than about who you hire. As a college professor, the few DEI sessions I attended were not burdensome -- they were enlightening. They gave me insights I never would have had on my own. They helped me better understand the experiences of my colleagues, as well as the patients I cared for. They taught me to think beyond my own white, middle class experiences and really consider the experiences of others, whether they were my students or patients. And they never made me feel guilty -- in fact, they reminded me of how fortunate I was and how as a nurse and professor, I could affect change and make a difference. And isn't that why people go into nursing and education in the first place?
As someone who served n the US Army in a Combat Arm (Artillery) I would have hated to have Hesgarth as a commanding officer. His stupid macho swaggering is exactly what you see in combat leaders who get their men killed in their lust for glory.
Think Maximillian Schell in "Cross Of Iron" as a good example.
And is it just me or is he trying to send a message that only WHites are really welcome in the US Military?
I agree. It was the quiet guys who didn't lose their heads over trivial stuff that inspired the most trust. The loudmouths and the dolts, no way. When things go to shit, the last guy you want in charge is a guy who can't control himself.
Yes, because they assume whites will fire on black and brown protestors
Going to be a lot of white protestors also......
The message I get from Hegseth's book removal is a belief that the American military is so china-doll fragile, members will be dangerously distracted from their mission if they read about the abusive childhood of an actual Black woman who went on to overcome the considerable odds against her. Not a vote of confidence in our "warriors" (God, I hate that stupid term). But then, look at Hegseth. A sick parody of manhood. A weak man-child with no principles or character.
Can some one point out what is wrong with DEI? Seriously, what is the problem? I keep hearing of the depredations of DEI from people with the Bulwark but never anything specific.
This is second hand, since it is recounting the experience of a friend, but it may give you a glimpse on how DEI training can be taken too far. Of course it happened in Berkeley, which is famous for taking things too far. The training my friend was required to attend, as an employee of UCB, was run by a Black woman with an extremely authoritarian approach, verbally pounding on her White captive audience and angrily refuting anyone who questioned her. Coming away after several hours of this abusive put-down and verbal lashing, my friend, who was already supportive of DEI and willing to do self-examination, wondered what she or anyone in her group learned that was useful in any way. Being subjected to unmitigated anger and demeaning, manipulative "exercises" hadn't deepened her understanding , but left her sad and confused, guilty and alienated.
DEI language superseded the earlier use of Affirmative Action and is seen in some ways as a euphemism for it, especially in California where AA has been banned in public education and employment since 1996 (Prop 209, reaffirmed in 2020 Prop 16). Yet, it is widely thought that public agencies, supported by academics and public thinkers, have invested a great deal into circumventing 209 opaquely as means to accomplish AA. It has, in some respects gotten out of hand -- job announcements at the California Community Colleges clearly bear language which amounts to a political litmus for hiring. In any case, over the last 15 years DEI grew into a cottage industry in California and elsewhere, with an expansion of programs and services, the hiring of new Administrators and staff, and an increased visibility in decision making for recruitment, promotion, tenure, admissions, student discipline etc. It also has had an impact on curricula, the growth and development of departments, and on disciplinary definition itself. Here in California, at the K12 level, it has led to an ethnic studies requirement, the introduction to which can supply you with some interesting reading. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/esmcpreface.pdf
Well stated.
BTW here is the link to the Naval Academy Library and a 19 NINETEEN page document with all the books listed. Holy Cow! Talk about FEAR.
https://media.defense.gov/2025/Apr/04/2003683009/-1/-1/0/250404-LIST%20OF%20REMOVED%20BOOKS%20FROM%20NIMITZ%20LIBRARY.PDF
Fear it is. Surprised they did not issue an order to burn them. Perhaps they did, but did not risk telling anyone.
I hope not. Something like that cannot stay hidden forever. I was hoping the Midshipmen, some of them, might rescue the books and safeguard them.
Removing books, IMO, is tantamount to burning them. I grieve that you have not read Why the Caged Bird Sings. I guess if you look at the list, down at 47 you'd see a book by Robert P. Jones - I'm blanking on whether it is White Too Long or The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy both of which deal with the long history of settler colonialism in the US and its political and social reach. The entire list is quite remarkable, and maybe you'd take some time to read the entire list. The reality is, IMO, the only reason there has been an effort to INCREASE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, is because there is a tendency in this nation, and there always has been, to turn a blind eye to the many ways a majority goes on its way without thinking about the situations of so many others. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been an attempt (not always well thought through, granted but still a "work in progress") to support the opportunities of each and every person who lives in the United States as equal in terms of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. I don't know but the term "Imago DEI" comes to my mind, probably because I am a clergyperson. For years there were no women clergy in my denomination or in other denominations either for that matter. Somewhere along the way however there was the recognition that the female is a human being, and has the capabilities of any human being, even a male human being. I thought, if you happen to read any remarks from your readers and supporters, you might be interested in this poem by Maya Angelou that is central to an award winning short documentary which you can view on You Tube. Here is my question: What are these right wing authoritarians afraid of anyway? They are so weak they cannot face the reality of our nation's deeply complicated, if inspiring history, in spite of its own worst tendencies. The only reason we've even had an effort at DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION is because the People have been more powerful than the people in power. That is still true today.
https://youtu.be/fthuqMaPe0Y?si=PpcmB3mI8CrGJtj6
More than anything they fear complexity. The rigid, right wing mind, cannot handle it. They have a mechanistic mindset and think society functions thusly. Just look at how they attempt to rope in voting, for example, where only one method can possibly fit all conditions. Wilhelm Reich's "Listen Little Man" is a good easy intro to who they are; and Susan Sontag's essay "Fascinating Fascism" rolls out a good picture of some aesthetic corollaries.