Life Repetition and Concerns about Bias

 Last summer, I read Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger. This summer, I decided to carry on reading the works of past Secretaries of State by listening to the audiobook format of Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright. It was the second to last book that she authored prior to her death in March 2022.

Somehow I'd never heard about her. When I'd picked up Diplomacy, I'd known about Kissinger, and was planning to read it because of the author's reputation. Here, I was just intrigued by the title. However, after finishing it, I'm incredibly impressed by her. Going from a refugee escaping Nazi occupation to the Secretary of State under Bill Clinton is quite the life trajectory, and set her up to be, in my opinion, uniquely positioned to comment about fascism. The book discusses the movement, and specific leaders, from the rise of the political ideology, through the second world war, and into the modern age. I don't feel like getting too into the work itself, since I still need to process it (but I do recommend it, both written and narrated since she was the one reading the audiobook).

There is one theme that arose and really made me think, though. It feels like humanity, for all it's progress, really can't move on from the past. At least when it comes to politics. Albright tries to make a point about fascism never being far, which is fair, but I carried something else away - politics, at least since the advent of media, has been all about division. Politicians seek to divide, provoke anger, and sow discord. Obviously this applies to the tyrants of the 20th century. But even Albright falls into this trap. For one, she states that Trump's famous phrase "Drain the Swamp" came from Mussolini saying 'drenare la palude'. The issue is that Politifact says that 

"Mussolini does not seem to have used the Italian version of Trump’s "drain the swamp" term. Indeed, the phrase’s origin appears to be as American as apple pie."  [Politifact]

There is a certain irony in calling out politicians for acting in a divisive manner or being disingenuous, and then doing the same. On the other hand, the book is fairly insightful. It's worth a read, but just keep in mind the bias. Just another thing to consider, even in my own writings.