There is only one thing that i like about wartime: it makes people think. Intellectuals are focused on developing theories to explain contemporary situations, how people react, how science operates, etc. Engaged individuals are reading vociforously, trying to redevelop their shattered notion of the meaning of life. And thanks to technology, everyone is trying to inform one another.

On today’s reading list:

America, Europe and their relationship to power is the topic of a fascinating article about the emerging cultural gap due to a divergent view of power and control in post nuclear modernity

When Democracy Failed: The Warnings of History – a great detailed comparison of the US and Germany through the lens of Hitler’s actions. My favorite is the definition of fascism:

“fas-cism (fbsh’iz’em) n. A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.”

When can we declare ourselves a fascist nation? Or must we rely on outside forces to do it for us?