IN A NUTSHELL Author's NoteFurther to Dr George Lueddeke’s latest commentary A Dangerous Moment for America and the World, here is a summary of publications that try to make sense of how we have reached this point, what is at stake and why this election is critical for ensuring our freedoms (democracy) vs enslavement under autocratic rule
By George Lueddeke PhD
Global Lead, International One Health for One Planet Education & Transdisciplinary Research Initiative (1 HOPE-TDR)
Independent advisor in Higher, Medical and One Health education / research
Southampton, United Kingdom
USA Election 2024
‘Take Time to Think – It is the Source of Power’
Striving Toward Freedom and Sustainability Across the World!
The steps that led to the rise of Nazi Germany are already in play in the US if Trump wins proposing “dismantling key agencies like the Departments of Education, Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the FBI, rolling back LGBTQ+ rights and climate protections…banning abortion as healthcare and implementing the largest deportation effort in US history.”
It is entirely possible that Project 2025 could be the beginning of a new “dark age” in America and other global regions “with disregard and disrespect for international law .” Laws and policies enacting Project 2025 could lead to scientific and cultural stagnation reminding us of the fall of Rome more than 1500 years ago (476 -1000 ce) – including the periods following major wars such as World War 1, World War 2 and the “unforgivable” Russia-Ukraine War….
The proverb “There is none so blind as those who cannot see” has taken on a more ominous meaning as we reflect on the voting patterns in the US. Thinking that leader integrity, competence, self-awareness, compassion and respect count for so little and that votes can be bought raises fundamental questions about societal values across many nations that have embraced far-right extremism.
But, as stated in a previous commentary, “Anyone who believes that living in a dictatorship or a neo-fascist state is better than living in a democracy should take a close look at life in North Korea today — along with recalling life under Nazi Germany. The recent article, “North Koreans face lives devoid of hope, UN rights chief says,” is a wake-up call for us all and clearly demonstrates that freedom of choice in all aspects of life is far better than enslavement!”
With the latter observations in mind, here are a few additional publications that could shed more light on where we are today and may be tomorrow unless we change tack on 5 November.
- ‘How the social structures of Nazi Germany created a bystander society’
- ‘Law and Justice in the Third Reich’
- Opinion: Trump and Putin need each other”
- “NASA chief calls for investigation into report that Musk and Putin have spoken regularly
- Planet Earth: Averting a Point of No Return
- Conservative judge endorses Harris and slams Trump as threat to democracy
“Will Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on 27 October resemble a fascist one from 1939?”
“On February 20, 1939, a Nazi rally took place at Madison Square Garden, organized by the German American Bund. More than 20,000 people attended, and Fritz Julius Kuhn was a featured speaker. The Bund billed the event, which took place two days before George Washington’s Birthday, as a pro-“Americanism” rally; the stage at the event featured a huge Washington portrait with swastikas on each side. Approximately 100,000 anti-Nazi counter-protesters gathered outside, attempting to break through lines of police officers guarding the rally on three occasions. The Bund rapidly declined in the aftermath of the rally, with Kuhn being imprisoned for embezzlement by the end of the year.” Will history repeat itself?
What research on ‘abusers of power’ tells us
UCL social scientist Dr Brian Klaas, after ten years of interviewing “despots, corrupt kingpins, crooked chief executives, power-hungry generals, cult leaders, abusive managers, bloodthirsty rebel leaders,” concluded that abuse of power comes down to three “big problems”:
- “power is magnetic to corruptible people…especially true for people with a particular destructive psychological cocktail known as the dark triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy”;
- “people who enjoy elevated power” tend to “eat impulsively and have sexual affairs, to violate the rules of the road, to lie and cheat …and to communicate in rude, profane and disrespectful ways”;
- “we give power to the wrong people for the wrong reasons …seduced by charlatans and strongmen, with roots in the ancient past of our species” as “our brains haven’t evolved much since the Stone Age” while our “societies have changed radically” and “our brains haven’t caught up.”
Speaking “as a mother,” the celebrated singer Beyoncé cut through all the political wrangling at the moment at the presidential campaign rally for Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a few days ago.
Her key messages on what truly matters today must not be forgotten by those voting in the 5 November US election nor the world:
caring “deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided” and “growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations.”
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FULL SPEECH
Michelle Obama rallies for Harris in Michigan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtQqGOOLh8o
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By George Lueddeke on PEAH A Dangerous Moment for America and the World Re-Orientation to Sustain Life on Earth Betting on SDGs in a Disequal World Holistic Systemic Change to Care for All Life on Earth Earth Future: Time for a Global ‘Reset’! Reflections on Transforming Higher Education for the 21st Century: PART 3 The international One Health for One Planet Education Initiative (1 HOPE) and the ‘Ecological University’ Reflections on Transforming Higher Education for the 21st Century: PART 2 Development of a Global ‘All Life’ Narrative Reflections on Transforming Higher Education for the 21st Century: PART 1 The One Health & Wellbeing Concept Planet Earth: Averting ‘A Point Of No Return’? Tackling the Root Causes of Climate Change. If Not Now, WHEN? Commentary on ‘More for The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) – Impakter’ Rebuilding Trust and Compassion in a Covid-19 World The University in the early Decades of the Third Millennium: Saving the World from itself? The World at Risk: Covid-19, Global Sustainability and 1 HOPE Postscript – The World at Risk: Covid-19, Global Sustainability and 1 HOPE On this theme, see also FOCUS ON: Universities in the Early Decades of the Third Millennium: Saving the World from Itself? INTERVIEW – ‘Survival: One Health, One Planet, One Future’ – Routledge, 1st edition, 2019