1935 Book Ties Into Current Happenings?

[Bahl_Rohg]

If you can find it used somewhere, I would highly recommend, "It Can't Happen Here", which was published in 1935 by Sinclair Lewis. Reading it over this past election year, I was astonished by how a book written almost 70 years ago rings so true today. What is most astounding is how the character of 'Buzz' Windrip so much resembles that of George W. Bush.

Here is the copy from the back cover of the edition that I have:

"The angry workers ... the anxious middle class ... the jittery rich ... the discontented military Senator 'Buzz' Windrip brought them all together with his combination of hot rhetoric, warm folksiness, and cold calculation.

"The badly split Left and the wavering liberals were helpless to stop his drive for the Presidency. And once in the White House he swiftly set in motion his program to save the country from itself.

"It really didn't take much to kill democracy in America."

Sinclair Lewis, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1936).

PS: They even make a reference to "Liberty Cabbage" in reference to Germany, which brings to mind the "Freedom Fries" in reference to France that was made before the Iraq invasion:

"Remember out war hysteria, when we called sauerkraut 'Liberty cabbage' and somebody actually proposed calling German measles 'Liberty measles'? And wartime censorship of honest papers? Bad as Russia! ... "

[KFelidae]

There were also Liberty Hounds that went in place of the squat little weinerdogs. Go figure.

Yeah. Ain't it always a kick in the face that, even though somebody's recognized all the signs years ago, even put out a peice of classic literature, and still, the ignorant masses still don't wake up? Heck, I'm suprised we haven't given the Young Marines great big red-and-white flags to wave and arm-bands to wear.

One could also point out the similarities to 1984, where the government spies on everyday citizens, and finds a new scapegoat every month to keep the public's attention focused away from any wrongdoing. And yet no one thinks it odd that we do very similar things.

I just hope thst I don't become an outline on a wall someplace because Curious Geroge hits the wrong button and sends us all into a nuclear (pronounced noo-cue-lur thanks to Bushie!) war... *innocent face*


-KF