Book review - It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

 From Gemini AI on 08/10/25

Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel, It Can't Happen Here, offers a powerful and enduring message about the fragility of democracy and the dangers of political complacency. While written in a specific historical context—the rise of fascism in Europe and the political climate of the Great Depression in America—the book's themes have proven to be remarkably prescient and relevant to contemporary society.

Here are some of the key benefits of reading It Can't Happen Here:

• A Warning About the Rise of Authoritarianism: The novel serves as a chilling cautionary tale about how a charismatic demagogue can exploit economic hardship, social unrest, and nationalistic fervor to gain power. The fictional president, Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, is a populist leader who promises a return to "traditional" values and prosperity, all while consolidating power, dismantling democratic institutions, and creating a paramilitary force to enforce his will. This provides a clear illustration of how fascism can take root even in an established democracy.

• Exploration of Political Communication and Propaganda: Lewis, a Nobel laureate, was keenly aware of the power of mass media. The protagonist, a small-town newspaper editor named Doremus Jessup, witnesses firsthand how a demagogue can manipulate the media to spread propaganda and control public opinion. The novel highlights the crucial role of a free press and the dangers of media censorship, a theme that remains highly relevant in the age of social media and misinformation.

• The Importance of Individual Resistance: Through the eyes of Doremus Jessup, the novel emphasizes the necessity of individual courage and resistance in the face of tyranny. Jessup's journey from a complacent liberal to a member of an underground resistance movement demonstrates that citizens cannot be silent bystanders when their rights and freedoms are under threat. The book suggests that even small acts of defiance are vital in a struggle against oppression.

• A Call for Vigilance and Critical Thinking: The title itself—It Can't Happen Here—is an ironic statement that challenges the reader's own sense of security. The novel forces a confrontation with the idea that democracy is not an unshakeable given, but a fragile system that requires constant vigilance. It encourages readers to be critical of political rhetoric, to recognize the warning signs of authoritarianism, and to actively participate in their democracy.

Historical and Social Commentary: By reading It Can't Happen Here, readers gain insight into the political and social anxieties of the 1930s. The novel reflects on the appeal of figures like Louisiana politician Huey Long (who inspired the character of Windrip) and the fear of European fascism spreading to the United States. It also explores how economic desperation can make a population more susceptible to radical promises and demagoguery.

My comment - It has happened here in the US in 2025. The US government has transitioned from a democracy to an autocracy. The question for democracy lovers is not how to prevent autocracy, but how to minimize and eliminate it and restore democratic processes. There are many avenues of correction. Perhaps the most important is to get money out of political campaigns.

The first death knell of democracy was when the Supreme Court opined in Citizens United that a corporation is a person and money is free speech so corporations can contribute unlimited amounts of money to pollical campaigns thereby buying politicians. This single ruling gives immense power to oligarchs to control the political processes.

The second death knell is making the criminal justice system for sale to lawyers who can sue and drag out adjudication processes until they bankrupt opposing parties in legal proceedings. The person with the most money wins.

The third death knell was the rise to "alternative facts" promulgated by social media and unaccountable journalists who promote propaganda and disinformation to obtain political power persuading critical illiterate people to support them.

The fourth death knell was the use of fear of the other to promote a savior idolizing dynamic where people's insecurities are enhanced so they will acquiesce to giving up their power and agency to a charismatic leader who promises security and comfort.

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis and 1984 by George Orwell are highly recommended to people interested in exploring the dynamics of our current society.

Themes from The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024

 

The themes that have emerged for me from The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024  are:

1. The earth is getting warmer and having negative consequences for the ecological balances which we humans have become accustomed to.
2. This climate warming is having negative consequences up to and ending in death for many living things.
3. A small group of under-supported scientists are studying what's happening and their findings are largely ignored or dismissed by the decision makers except in a few instances.
4. Science journalism is one way of informing and educating people about what is happening to them which is outside their level of awareness because the changes are insidious except when they culminate in catastrophic weather events.

Some observers have noted that because of these four things social anxiety and tension has risen contributing to political polarization and the rise of autocracies exemplified by the "strong man" leader who promises to "fix everything" and make people safe and more secure. This political solution is delusional because it doesn't address the underlying problem which is human caused climate change.

What will help? A correct diagnosis of the problem causing the rise in anxiety and plans that are effective in addressing the creation and maintenance of the problem. This requires cooperation, collaboration, and joint efforts around the planet. Isolation and nationalism will not help, but only maintain and increase the problem. There needs to be a shift from the emphasis on private wealth and profit to a sharing and creation of health giving commons. This is a huge shift in values especially in the richest country in the world, the US. What will bring this shift in values in the US population? The worsening of circumstances until people have to find a better way to live if they are to survive. And then a transformation into cooperative, collaborative, mutually satisfying democratic processes.

PS - The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024 is the August 2024 selected read of the Allnonfiction Book Discussion Group. If you are interested in joining the Allnonfiction Book Discussion Group you can find more about it here.

Extractive cf. regenerative fuels

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, the marine biologist and activist, now living in down east Maine, offered the commencement address at my college, Middlebury, in the spring of 2023, and a week later Time magazine reprinted her address in full—a wise choice, I think, as it lays out a serious case for a certain kind of hope. “To address the climate crisis, the all-encompassing challenge that will touch whatever life and work you will go on to, requires that we not just change or adapt, but that we transform society, from extractive to regenerative,” she said. “This is a monumental task. And it requires that we focus not on endless analysis of the problem, but on summoning an expansive sense of possibility, on harnessing our imaginations and our creativity.” 

McKibben, Bill; Green, Jaime. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024: A Thought-Provoking Anthology with Award-Winning Environmental Insights (p. xxiv). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

Words matter. What we call things matters. Vocabulary becomes expert jargon unique to a specialized discourse. Things can’t be managed if they can’t be named so naming things accurately, validly, meaningful has a tremendous power. So choose your words carefully.

In discussing our choice of fuel to meet our energy needs, Ayana, Elizabeth Johnson suggests that we categorize those fuels into two categories: extractive and regenerative. Extractive fuels would be coal, oil, gas, peat. Regenerative would be wind, solar, hydro.

Extractive fuels contribute CO2 to the atmosphere and contribute to climate warming. Regenerative fuels don’t. 

1. In this age of climate change endangering the health and well being of living things on the planet which should humans use?

2. What kinds of policies would contribute to the transformation of the Earth’s societies from extractive to regenerative fuels? 

3. Which political parties in the US favors which types of fuels? Which kind do you favor and support?

Hottest day on record on July 22, 2024 on planet Earth

In 2023 it got hotter on this earth than it’s gotten in at least 125,000 years, roughly the same time as the first evidence of humans etching symbols onto bone. As 2024 began, the researchers were predicting that this year could quite possibly break last year’s record.

McKibben, Bill; Green, Jaime. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024: A Thought-Provoking Anthology with Award-Winning Environmental Insights (p. xviii). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

From Gemini AI on 08/04/25:

Yes, the heat record set in 2023 was beaten in 2024. 2024 was confirmed by multiple climate agencies, including NASA and NOAA, to be the warmest year on record. This makes 2024 the first calendar year to have a global average temperature of more than 1.5∘C above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold established by the Paris Agreement.

Key 2024 Heat Records

• Global Average Temperature: The average global temperature in 2024 was approximately 1.29∘C (2.32∘F) above the 20th-century average. This surpassed the previous record set in 2023 by about 0.10∘C (0.18∘F).

• Consecutive Record-Breaking Months: The period from June 2023 to August 2024 saw an unprecedented streak of 15 consecutive months of monthly temperature records.

• Hottest Day Ever Recorded: On July 22, 2024, the world experienced its hottest day on record, with the global average temperature reaching 17.16∘C (62.9∘F).

• Regional and Ocean Heat: Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America all had their warmest years on record. Additionally, the upper ocean heat content—the amount of heat stored in the top 2,000 meters of the ocean—was the highest ever recorded.

How do you think humans will adapt to the consequences of these record setting hot records? How have you been affected where you live? Why don't these facts get more news coverage? The implications of this climate warming are hugely significant.

Vulture cf. predatory venture capitalism and science.

 As of 2019, Alden was running over a hundred newspapers, and they’d cut two of every three jobs. It’s a model known as “vulture capitalism,” though a former Chicago Tribune reporter who’d seen Alden’s impact firsthand told Coppins the name didn’t quite fit. “A vulture doesn’t hold a wounded animal’s head underwater. This is predatory.”

McKibben, Bill; Green, Jaime. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024: A Thought-Provoking Anthology with Award-Winning Environmental Insights (p. xi). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

Jamie Green bemoans the fact that science journalism is being cut from periodicals and science writers are being laid off. Given this change in the media business Jaimie encourages people to support science periodicals. I asked in a previous post whether anyone on the list subscribed to any science periodicals?

I subscribe to three: Science News, Scientific American, and Nautilus.

The Republican policies are driving scientists out of the Federal government and have cut grants to Universities and colleges leading to scientists leaving the US for other countries where they can find employment and support for their research. Autocracies are anti-scientific because expert knowledge and skill undermines their power unless the experts can be controlled by the politicians. It’s not only the predatory venture capitalists who are a threat to science and accurate science reporting but the autocratic politicians as well. Trump’s answer to the Covid-19 was that it would just go away in the Spring with nicer weather and people could drink bleach.

The person is not the problem, the problem is the problem.

The most important thing I learned in my MSW program at SUNY Albany 1970-1972 was from Dr. Maureen Didier who repeatedly told us "You have to take the client where they're at, not where you think they should be, where they ought to be, where they must be, you have to take the client where they're at."  I always laugh when I share this nugget of wisdom because it was 53 years ago now when she taught me this. Her wisdom has stood me in such good stead both professionally and personally.

Another important moral platitude is "love the sinner, hate the sin." In Narrative Therapy this way of perceiving the situation is called "externalization." The problem is externalized from the person. The platitude about externalization is "the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem" so what's the problem? We give people identifying names, based on the problem that has invaded their life, like "alcoholic" and "diabetic" and "schizophrenia" and "depressive" and "borderline". It is usually much more accurate  to say things like "the person for whom alcohol is creating problems," etc. This small reframe can facilitate an "externalized conversation" which is much more helpful and productive in figuring out ways to manage the problem.

The problem we are facing as a society might be stated as "how is autocracy undermining democratic processes and contributing to increased inequality and injustice?" If you have another word for "autocracy" labeling the problem what might it be? Once we have agreement on what to call this thing that is negatively impacting us we have a better chance of minimizing or eliminating its impact on us.

The Republican America - Cuts at the VA

 NOTES/COMMENTS about this article:

1). According to the VA’s workforce dashboards, since the Trump administration took office in January the VA has recorded a net loss of thousands of health care positions, the only net loss in the last five years. 

2). The losses include, among others:

        *** 688 physicians, 

        *** 1,882 registered nurses, 

        *** 365 licensed practical nurses, 

        *** 316 nurse assistants,

        *** 511 social workers, 

        *** 201 psychologists 

        *** 766 medical support assistants. 

3). In June 2025 alone, VA health system staffing fell by 2,096. 

4). Department-wide job announcements have plummeted by 30 percent and applications by 44 percent since last year, while new employee onboarding has sunk by 52 percent. 

5). These figures paint a stark picture of an agency diminishing its capacity to provide direct health care, while pretending that its  services remain unchanged.

6). The 2024 “Red Team” assessment by independent experts issued a dire warning: The swelling volume of private-sector referrals has created an “existential crisis” for VA health care. 

7). Excessive utilization of private providers threatens to close VA units and facilities nationwide, destabilizing the direct care system and undermining its long-term sustainability.

Peace,

            Doug Stephenson, LCSW, BCD

            Gainesville, Florida

For more click here.

Secular Americans more politically engaged than evangelicals

 

For more click here 

Gratitude for governmental service

There are many things a person can learn from reading Who Is Government? Edited by Michael Lewis. The government is often described in disparaging terms such as the “bureaucracy”, the “deep state”, and the “swamp.” In an effort to privatize the commons the Republican Party has constantly advocated for less government since the time of Ronald Reagn who declared in his inaugural address in January 1981 that government was not a solution but a problem. And yet Americans are very dependent on governmental services at all levels from the Federal, to the State, to the county, to the local.

Who Is Government? goes beyond the typical headlines and political drama to showcase the crucial work performed by dedicated civil servants. It illustrates how government functions, often quietly and effectively, in areas like mine safety, cybersecurity, veteran affairs, and scientific research. By providing concrete examples of essential public services, it helps readers understand the vital role government plays in their daily lives, from protecting national security to ensuring public health and safety.

What are some of the important government services that have contributed most significantly to your quality of life that you are most grateful for? Will you say thank you to a public servant today to recognize and acknowledge their service? Just as it has become common for us to thank military veterans by saying “Thank you for your service”, shouldn’t we be saying that to all our public employees who strive to make our society more effective, efficient, and satisfying?

Better government service from merit based civil servants or political appointees?

What if there was a person who was running for president who said that on their first day they were going to fire 50,000 government employees? Is that a good idea?

Lewis, Michael. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (p. 208). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

We actually had a spoil system in the 19th century. We had a president that was assassinated by a disgruntled job seeker, President Garfield. And that assassination led to the reform of our government and a movement away from the spoils system to a merit-based professional civil service. And unfortunately, well, for 130 some odd years, that model of our government that we seek out those with merit, experts that can actually do the business of government on behalf of the public in a better way, that’s now been challenged for the first time. And we have former president Trump—I will say the name—who has proposed, and frankly, tried in his first term to implement a process of changing that civil service, upending it and converting it into a political process. So we already have 4,000 political appointees in every administration. That’s many, many, many multiples more than any other democracy in the world. And this would create tens of thousands, if not more, political appointees rather than, again, the selection of people on the basis of their merit and their ability to best serve the public.”

Lewis, Michael. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (p. 210). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Do we as Americans get better governmental services from a merit based civil service system or a spoil system made up of political appointees?

DACA recipients to lose ACA health coverage in August 2025.

The change is nationwide. As of mid-July, about 538,000 people in the DACA program across the U.S. are ineligible to enroll in any state-based insurance marketplace and are unable to access premium subsidies or cost-sharing assistance. (Public News Service 07/29/25)

For more click here.

The consumer price index

The chapter about the CPI (Consumer Price Index) in Who Is Government? edited by Michael Lewis,  was interesting and helped me understand what we read and hear about all the time.

I had a general idea of what the CPI means but John Lanchester's explanation of it in the chapter, The Number, made it much more understandable,. As he points out the CPI is an imperfect indicator but gives us a rough idea of how the economy is functioning. Most Americans though have no idea about this concept and its use. 

The economy under Biden was doing great, one of the best in the world, but people focused, supposedly, on the "price of eggs" if you believe the pundits, and elected Trump who has trashed the economy with his tariff nonsense. We are in for some very dark days in the coming couple of years due to his and his administration's incompetence.

So the CPI is only as good as our understanding of it and the use we make of it.

Autocrats destroy government agencies to take their power and authority for themselves without their knowledge and expertise.

We never ask: Why am I spending another minute of my life reading about and yapping about Donald Trump when I know nothing about the 2 million or so federal employees and their possibly lifesaving work that the president is intent on eliminating?

Lewis, Michael. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (p. 6). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

We have been told that DOGE’s gutting of federal agencies was about saving money, and learn today, July 4, 2025, that with the signing of the “one big beautiful bill” the US debt will rise by trillions of dollars and that Elon Musk opposed the bill saying that it would add to the debt whatever if anything his cuts while at DOGE saved and much more. So while services provided by the US Federal government will be crippled and the American people and people around the world will suffer, what was the point of DOGE firing all these federal workers?

It was the accumulation of power by the autocrats who wanted to undermine and sabotage the authority that comes from knowledge, skill, and competence of the federal workforce who work for the good of the American people and the world.

So what have we lost in firing people with knowledge, skill, competence, and the values of public service? That’s what Lewis and his colleagues wanted to learn.

What have you noticed already about the loss of governmental services since the federal workers have been terminated? How has your life and the lives of your loved ones and community been affected?
Science and public health will cease to exist as we know it.

It isn’t just providing healthcare that is impacted—the science that leads to these healthcare measures is being destroyed too. OBBBA is slashing funding for basic science research, even more than the cuts that have already taken place in the last 6 months. These institutions are already woefully underfunded, and these cuts will effectively destroy scientific research infrastructure in the US.

The National Institutes of Health is losing 40% of their budget.

The CDC is losing roughly 50% of their budget.

The National Science Foundation is losing $7 billion in funding.

That means over 1,600 research grants, primarily at public universities, will be gone. 75% of early-career science fellowships will be gone. Even more layoffs at public research labs. That’s years of work lost, overnight.

No support for vaccine infrastructure, food safety, epidemic and pandemic preparedness, maternal health. Preventive services research.

The magnitude of damage will be exponentially worse than the NIH indirect cost caps, which I wrote about earlier this year: (From Immunologic by Dr. Andrea Love, accessed on 07/04/25)

How to regain our democracy

How do we stop our slide from democracy to autocracy?

If you would like a return to democratic practices I am wondering what practices you would like to see created, restored, maintained?

Timothy Snyder in his book, On Tyranny mentions 20 practices people can engage in to maintain and further develop our democracy the first of which is "Do not obey in advance." Trump and his minions have vowed "retribution" during their 2024 campaign and we have seen major institutions from media companies to universities to businesses capitulate  hoping to placate the bully. Appeasement doesn't work as history has taught us. So people run scared and hide out, take a low profile, capitulate, obsequiously flatter, etc.

Passive resistance and non violent protests do work as Gandhi and King, Jr. demonstrated. Boycotts and strikes do work. Jesus allowed the Romans to crucify Him and he laughed in their faces saying, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." We're still talking about it 2,000 yrs. later. Who would have thunk it?

David Markham

https://www.markhamsslownews.com/

National Archives and Records Administration important bedrock of democracy.

Over the past nine decades, the National Archives and Records Administration has stretched its scope beyond its founding rationale of protecting its holdings to its current stated mission to “drive openness, cultivate public participation, and strengthen our nation’s democracy through equitable public access to high-value government records.”

Lewis, Michael. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (pp. 155-156). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

In 1981 Ronald Reagan in his inaugural address said, “Government is not the solution. Government is the problem.” This statement laying the groundwork for the public attitude toward their government has led to an antipathy of what we hold in common, and an advocacy for privatization which has destroyed our democracy and led to the MAGA movement and the rise of autocracy in the U.S.


The destruction of public institutions and a distrust of the media has led to a concentration of power in the few who are free to sow disinformation and lack of respect for truth because they operate with “alternative facts.” One bastion left for accurate information hopefully is the National Archives and Records Administration weakened when Donald Trump made off with many of the presidential records to Mara Lago in 2021 precipitating a federal case by a special prosecutor which got dropped.

A democracy thrives on accurate information and an autocracy flourishes on disinformation and revised history. Most Americans know little and care little for the NARA, but truth and honesty is the basis of trust and assure a coherent society.

To what extent do you support the mission and vision of the NARA?

Privatization of the commons

In the past 10 years, this work has returned more than $12 billion to victims of crime and to the U.S. Treasury. If he worked anywhere else, Koopman would probably be celebrated. But he’s employed by the Internal Revenue Service, the arm of government that even its commissioner, Danny Werfel, describes as “iconically unpopular.”

Lewis, Michael. Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service (p. 132). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Is there anyone besides me who likes paying his taxes? Taxes provide the resources for our governments to provide the services which we Americans need and want in common. This common well being is what holds our democracy together and promotes the quality of life for all. The opposite of this common pooling of resources for the common good is privatization which is the basis for capitalism which shifts society’s resources to the select wealthy few for personal benefit.

As a society what do we value more: the common good or personal aggrandizement? Most Americans admire and aspire to personal aggrandizement and therein lies the sickness of American society.