There is a discourse in which images of an intimidating master and commander come to dominate in what Hannah Arendt once called “the ruin of our categories of thought and standards of judgement.” Of course, there are many factors currently contributing to this production of intolerance, racism, and the diminishment of individual and collective agency. The forces promoting a deep-seated culture of authoritarianism run deep in American society and have been smoldering forever.
Such factors extend from the current authority of celebrity culture, a growing anti-intellectualism in American society, and the dumbing down of curricula in schools to the transformation of the mainstream media into a stupefying mix of commercial propaganda and entertainment. The latter is particularly crucial as the collapse of journalistic standards that could inform the onslaught of information finds counterpart in a government wedded to state secrecy and the aggressive prosecution of whistle-blowers, the corruption of political language, and the disregard for truth, all of which have contributed to a growing culture of political and civic illiteracy. The deficits in knowledge and value that produce such detrimental forms of ignorance not only crush the ethical imagination, critical modes of social interaction, and political dissent, but also destroy those public spaces that promote thoughtfulness, thinking and open dialogue, and serve as “guardian of truths as facts,” as Arendt once put it. Independent thinking, imagination, and memory always pose threats to authoritarian control, but in the United States these are not simply dangerous, but also in short supply. A consumer, market-driven culture is synonymous with a formative culture of passivity, illiteracy, and numbness, especially when buying, selling, and self-interest are what define the parameters of leadership, agency, and citizenship. ~ America at War with Itself
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