15 Features of Authoritarianism

On January 24, 2017, Polish journalist and activist Martin Mycielsky published a piece on Twitter called “Year 1 Under Authoritarianism: What to Expect.” He did this warn Americans about what to expect during Trump’s first year in office, and to encourage us to fight back. (Interestingly, the document is still there, on Musk’s “X.”) Later … Read more

8 Fundamentals of Brainwashing

In 1961, psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton published Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism, which is a book on the psychology of brainwashing (which he called “thought reform”). Lifton’s research subjects included American servicemen who had been held captive during the Korean War, and Chinese people who had fled their homeland after having been indoctrinated … Read more

Are your beliefs true?

I want you to do a brief thought exercise. It consists of three questions. The purpose of a thought exercise is to help you see something that may be familiar from a different perspective. The three questions are about your beliefs – your personal convictions. For the purposes of this exercise, let’s include ALL types … Read more