Someday Soon

by Nomad

Poisoning The Well: How Satire and Spoof Have Become The New Way of Spreading Disinformation

by Nomad

Another casualty of the 2016 presidential campaign, besides civility and sanity, has been the meaning of the word, satire. Today, satirical or fake news sites function as disinformation sources.  

 

When Every Day is April Fool's

Satire, sarcasm's helpful cousin, is a constructive form of mockery, "aimed at ridiculing those whom it is directed to." The dictionary tells us that its purpose is to "employ humor to instigate people towards positive change."

It's been around in one form or another since the earliest days of theater, back in ancient Greece. In fact, the first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power for their vanity and foolishness. 

Men who took themselves too seriously. Men whose ignorance begged to be called out. In other words, men very much like Donald Trump. 

Later, Roman satire became "a vehicle for biting, subversive social and personal criticism." The key word here is "subversive." It was never normally the propaganda tool of the ruling class, but a sharp stick to poke at the social elites and the people in power. 

There's a famous story from the historian Suetonius, about the Roman emperor Vespasian who enjoyed his court jester making satirical jokes about the pompous men of society. The emperor said "What about me? Make a joke at my expense."

The wit, picking up on Vespasian's perpetual grimace and furrowed brow, said, "Oh I will.. as soon as you finish relieving yourself."

In modern times, satire has been a very effective tool to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A kind of social commentary through ironic humor. 

Of all the things that this election has torn asunder, one thing that has had little coverage has been the death of satire. That's an odd thing too since there has been a rise in the number of news spoof sites.

Plutarch on the Men who Know Nothing of Decency

by Nomad

Why the Republican Party Must be Held Accountable for the Donald Trump Fiasco

by Nomad

If Donald Trump loses the election, as it appears likely, there's one thing we can be sure of: we are going to hear a lot of Republican excuse-making in the following weeks and months. And there will be blame thrown in every direction. 

Sadly, soul-searching isn't really a Republican virtue. Looking back and learning from mistakes just isn't something the Grand Old Party is very good at. But the question is: will the voters accept the inevitable excuses from the republican establishment or this catastrophe?

Tom Hayden- Radical Protest Marching into the Mainstream

by Nomad

Famed '60s anti-war activist Tom Hayden died on Sunday after a long illness. 

Once denounced as a traitor and a dangerous radical by his detractors, Hayden went on to serve in the California State Assembly and State Senate. For almost two decades, Hayden was a progressive voice on issues such as the environment, education and animal welfare. 

He once wrote about his days as a protester:

"I didn't want to go from beating to beating, jail to jail... There was an entire generation to arouse, primarily about civil rights but also about the larger issues."

Click here for his complete biography.