“When Fascism came into power, most people were unprepared, both theoretically and practically. They were unable to believe that man could exhibit such propensities for evil, such lust for power, such disregard for the rights of the weak, or such yearning for submission. Only a few had been aware of the rumbling of the volcano preceding the outbreak.”
Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom, 1941
"There are so many ways of escaping from that which one fears, and not the least of these is hatred.”
Philip Kerr, Berlin Noir, 1993
“This great masquerade of evil has played havoc with all our ethical concepts. For evil to appear disguised as light, compassion, historical necessity or even social justice is quite bewildering to anyone brought up on our traditional ethical concepts, while for the Christian who bases his life on the Word, it merely confirms the fundamental wickedness of evil."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, posthumous 1951
"For these are a rebellious people, deceitful children,
unwilling to listen to the commandments of the Lord.
They say to their seers,‘Do not see!’
and to the prophets,‘Say nothing of what is right!
Tell us only things that please us,
prophesy illusions."
Isaiah 30:8-10
"When you legitimize yourself entirely by inventing enemies, the truth ceases to matter, normal restraints of civilization and decency cease to matter, the checks and balances of normal politics cease to matter. The dangers of fascist politics come from the particular way in which it dehumanizes segments of the population. It limits the capacity for empathy among other citizens, leading to the justification of inhumane treatment, from repression of freedom, mass imprisonment, and expulsion to, in extreme cases, mass extermination."
Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works
"Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege."
Thomas Clement Douglas, Canadian legislator
"Behind the concrete, the visible events, behind all the objective, logical considerations, we find that which goes beyond the merely rational: the struggle against evil, against the servants of the antichrist. Everywhere and always demonic powers lurk in the dark, waiting for the moment when man is weak; when he yields to the forces of evil, he separates himself from the powers of a higher order; after voluntarily taking the first step, he is driven on and on to the next and to the next, at a furiously accelerating rate."
Die Weiße Rose, Fourth Leaflet, Munich, 1942
“Each day we are becoming a creature of splendid glory, or one of unthinkable horror.”
C. S. Lewis
Stocks were chopping around most of the day, and the cash market went into the close just about unchanged.
After a few stinkers disclosed their financial results after hours the futures turned into the red.
Gold and silver edge a bit lower, as the Dollar chopped sideways to slightly higher.
A good amount of physical gold has left the Hong Kong Comex warehouses over the past two days.
I have sometimes noticed that they bulk up the physical inventories before a major raid on the price of gold in the West, to allow for the buying that comes with the lowered price.
Freedom and justice are under assault by the moneyed interests, as in their willfulness they are often inclined to do.
It is hard to see how easily our 'thought leaders' ignore atrocities and crimes and genocide, as long as we approve of those who are committing them, or are at least being rewarded for our silence.
History will not absolve us.
We are wrapped in a world of our own illusions.
Judgement is coming.
Have a pleasant evening.
