In this interview between actor, activist and comedian Russell Brand and Henry Giroux and Brad Evans, there is a wide-ranging and robust discussion about the meaning and the rise of fascism in the United States, the necessity of the left to address it, what it takes to move from a demonstration to a movement, whether there is any room for spirituality in the discourse of resistance and what might be termed the failure of the left around the importance of education as a central feature of politics. Also discussed are the changing registers of violence, populism, the importance of popular culture as a site of resistance, and how the war on the imagination might be countered with a new understanding of a militant and educated notion of hope. While these are some of the central themes addressed in the dialogue, this spirited discussion touches upon a number of other issues, all the while attempting to rethink both the diverse forces at work in the current assault on democracy and the necessity for new forms of critique coupled with a language of possibility.
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We’ve borne witness to a chaotic first few months in Trump’s presidency.
Over the last months, each executive order has delivered shock and bewilderment — a core part of a strategy to make the right-wing turn feel inevitable and overwhelming. But, as organizer Sandra Avalos implored us to remember in Truthout last November, “Together, we are more powerful than Trump.”
Indeed, the Trump administration is pushing through executive orders, but — as we’ve reported at Truthout — many are in legal limbo and face court challenges from unions and civil rights groups. Efforts to quash anti-racist teaching and DEI programs are stalled by education faculty, staff, and students refusing to comply. And communities across the country are coming together to raise the alarm on ICE raids, inform neighbors of their civil rights, and protect each other in moving shows of solidarity.
It will be a long fight ahead. And as nonprofit movement media, Truthout plans to be there documenting and uplifting resistance.
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