Sunday Reflection: It Can't Happen Here

“Why are you so afraid of the word ‘Fascism,’ Doremus? Just a word—just a word! And might not be so bad, with all the lazy bums we got panhandling relief nowadays, and living on my income tax and yours—not so worse to have a real Strong Man, like Hitler or Mussolini—like Napoleon or Bismarck in the good old days—and have ‘em really run the country and make it efficient and prosperous again. ‘Nother words, have a doctor who won’t take any back-chat, but really boss the patient and make him get well whether he likes it or not!” -- A passage from Sinclair Lewis' 1935 novel "It Can't Happen Here," a prescient look at how America could be seduced by a populist fascist leader. The parallels with the previous administration are striking and ominous, especially after the January 6 attempted coup / insurrection by a violent mob of right-wing Trump cultists. Lewis, whose birthday was today, was the author of such noted works as "Main Street," "Babbitt," "Elmer Gantry," "Arrowsmith," and many other classic works. He was honored in 1930 by becoming the first American recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.