
The 1960 Stanley Kramer classic film ‘ Inherit the Wind’ is a must see for everyone, especially our young middle and high school students. This film focused on the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial when a teacher was arrested for teaching evolution in Tennessee. Yet nearly 100 years later the story resonates over and over when we look at what is transpiring today. The Clarence Darrow character, portrayed by Spencer Tracy, was up against it while defending Scopes. In one of the multitude of tense scenes he is being stopped by the court to bring forth a suitable, intelligent defense. He is about to withdraw from the case and shouts angrily to the judge, as I paraphrase a bit here: ” Fanaticism and ignorance are forever busy and need feeding. And soon, with banners flying and with drums beating we’ll be marching backwards, backwards through that glorious age of the 16th century when bigots burned a man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!”
Look around you and see how in many ‘ Red States’ like my own here in Florida the powers that be orchestrate the banning of books ( even burning them at times) they deem unsuitable for libraries to offer. School boards are being ‘ taken over’ by extremist white Christians, many wearing MAGA hats and Trump shirts. In addition to the plan to go after any mention of LBGTQ topics in said books, this extends to their desire to only have their version of Christianity exhibited. Ironic how most of these same people bow and scrape for the current Zionist led Israeli government. Hypocrites in office label anyone who dares to criticize what Israel is doing in Gaza ( and the West Bank) as being anti-Semites, yet supported Mr. Trump after the 2017 Charlottesville ‘ Unite the Right’ march and riot. Trump mentioned, after the incident, that there were ‘ Very fine people on both sides’, even after the marchers were seen carrying torches and saying over and over ‘ Jews will not replace us’ and ‘ Blood and Soil’, right out of the Nazi storm trooper playbook.
Since 2017 there have been newer and more dangerous theories floating around the MAGA universe. Tucker Carlson, mouthpiece for years now on The White Replacement Theory, got millions of MAGA supporters on the bandwagon. This theory believes that non whites are being brought into our country to eventually replace white voters. Merged with this tripe are more reasons for white Americans to both fear and hate the undocumented AKA Illegal Aliens. Thus, #1 on the MAGA hit list becomes the ‘ Urgent need’ to close our southern border, NOT our northern one with Canada. Who cares if white folks filter in so long as we can keep the brown ones out? One neighbor, a normally nice lady, referred to the guys who were hired to do our roof work in 95 degree heat as ‘ Monkeys’. Where did she hear that one wonders?
It isn’t just the Christian evangelists who spout such nonsense. An acquaintance of mine from the YMCA, a retired attorney and lifelong Democrat, tells me he believes that the overwhelming majority of parishioners at his Catholic Church are MAGA supporters. All that seems to matter to those folks is abortion and gays proliferating our society. These folks are oblivious to anything troubling working stiffs or the terrible influence of super rich corporate America. The Republicans, through Trump and Vance, just play the ‘ Killing babies’ and ‘ Fentanyl carrying’ border crosser’ cards. In the Old West those two jokers would be standing on the back of a covered wagon pitching the newest snake oils to the suckers, saps and lollipops. God Bless America… before Feudalism and Fascism overwhelm us all!
Philip A Farruggio is a free lance columnist, host of a radio interview show and lifelong Anti War Activist. He is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, Class of ’74. He has a blog on the itstheempirestupid.com website produced by Chuck Gregory. You can find Philip’s work on many sites such as Countercurrents, Dissident Voice, Nation of Change and Muck Rack. Philip can be reached at [email protected]