This idea of finding a communist under the bed seems me all nonsense. And the result of the whole thing is that Americans now are so timid about expressing themselves that we’ve practically given up democratic methods and free speech. … The result is that we act as one and even on controversial subjects we don’t find any debate in public life. And don’t dare.
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I’m going to argue today that even while we know post-truth politics is having a terrible effect on our political culture and our role as citizens, it’s curiously difficult to combat it because of a set of beliefs about what politics is, and about the Internet and the way it enables ordinary people to have a voice. And these beliefs intersect with a prevailing anti-intellectual anti-elitism which associates knowledge, discernment, and truth with snobbery and power.
The 20th century was created by idealism. Communism and fascism and Nazism are all based on idealized systems, what the world should be ideally, and how it isn’t what it should be, and therefore we’re entitled to change it radically and take control of it in order to do so.
One of the problems here, of course, is that there’s no “we.” Who’s we? I mean, humanity’s composed—the human species is composed—of billions of separate individuals with different goals, different plans, different values, and different ideals.
I may say this, that if the Republicans should take over the Senate, I happen to be the ranking member on the investigating committee. That means that McCarthy would become Chairman of the Senate Investigating Committee. And if he does, I’ll make you one promise. That Leavenworth won’t hold them, Mr. Huie.
You see, I’ve got a very strong feeling that most of our people in public life underestimate the intelligence of the American people. And they try to argue and tell people how to vote. I think you need merely give the people the facts, and then you can go home and don’t worry. They’ll vote right.
I don’t think we’ve had anybody quite like Donald Trump before, in terms of the politics of celebrity, which is what I think he’s really about. It’s not simply that he’s rich. We’ve had rich people in politics before. He’s not simply a businessman. We’ve had businessmen in politics before.
I think the interesting and most difficult challenge for Mrs. Clinton if she becomes President is how to bring America together.
One thing I can say is that I don’t think we know very much about Donald Trump, which is one of the things that’s scary about him but also one of the things that’s exciting about him.
One of the primary questions, or problems as I see it, is this “illusion” that sameness will bring safety. People start to thinking that if we are surrounded by similar people, like-minded people, if we have communities based on sameness, that will bring us safety. That’s an illusion. That’s not the case at all.