The Religious Right entered politics as a racist force to preserve school segregation. That is not a matter of opinion, but an assiduously documented fact of history. In my new essay for the Progressive magazine, I write about the Religious Right, and review Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right, the new book by historian of American religion, Randall Balmer.
Read the essay at the Progressive.
I interviewed Christian Picciolini, a fascinating and inspiring anti-hate leader. A former neo-Nazi, Picciolini now dedicates his life to battling white supremacy, helping young men in hate groups disengage and reform, and advocating for the full promise of multiracial democracy in the United States. His books, White American Youth and Breaking Hate, are essential for understanding the danger of white supremacy, and how it manifests as a formidable threat against the future of American democracy.
Go to Salon, to read our timely and insightful discussion about racism, the threat to democracy, and how leading right wing figures and Republican officials now sound frighteningly like the neo-Nazis of the 1990s.
I have a new essay in CounterPunch. It covers the “American Fool” factor in US foreign policy. American ignorance, avarice, and hubris have cost millions of people their lives. The latest results are on display in Afghanistan, as a 20 year war of criminality and stupidity comes to an inevitable end.
Read at CounterPunch.
I have a new essay in the Progressive about the Democratic infrastructure package. To make the case for its passage, I draw heavily on John F. Wasik’s excellent new book, Lincolnomics: How President Lincoln Constructed the Great American Economy. Robust investments in public goods and services created the economic engine of the United States, and made a large middle class possible – not the so called “miracle of the free market.”
Read it at the Progressive.
I had the great thrill and honor of talking with journalist extraordinaire, Tavis Smiley, about my book, I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters. Smiley endorsed I Am Somebody, calling it a “wonderfully written book that profoundly makes its case.” Listen to our conversation in the archives of KBLA, Smiley’s new radio station in Los Angeles.
It was my pleasure to, once again, interview one of America’s greatest novelists – the prolific and brilliant, James Lee Burke. At 84, he has authored an outstanding new novel, Another Kind of Eden. We discussed the new book, along with many related sociopolitical issues, including organized labor, the corporate destruction of “traditional America,” and the plot to dumb down America. Read our conversation at CrimeReads.
I recently sat for a brief interview with the morning news program on WGN TV in Chicago. We discussed I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters.
The new Son Volt record, Electro Melodier, is the best collection of political songs in many years. I had the pleasure of exchanging emails with Jay Farrar, songwriter and singer for the band, in July. I’ve written an essay on Son Volt, and the importance of protest music, for the July 30th weekend edition of CounterPunch.
I have a new essay at CrimeReads about Sean Penn’s screenwriting and directorial debut, “The Indian Runner” – a profound and deeply moving film that Penn based on the Bruce Springsteen song, “Highway Patrolman.”
“The Indian Runner” powerfully applies to America’s current crises, as it deftly and bravely explores the violence in American history and the American psyche. Read my essay to get the full story behind the movie, and my own interpretation.
On July 13th, I participated in a press conference with the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago, addressing the Republican assault on voting rights and democracy. Chinta Strausberg, a reporter with the Chicago Crusader, interviewed me for her story:
“…Asked his opinion about the Republicans using Trump’s ‘big lie’ to pass hundreds of bills in 17 states that restrict access to voting for Black and brown people, Masciotra said, ‘If you study the history of any fascist regime in the history of the world or any autocracy, they are following that playbook.’
‘It’s happened recently in Hungary, in Poland where right-wing governments use lies, various forms of racism and hatred to demolish democratic norms, institutions and rights and take control with an authoritarian agenda,’ explained Masciotra.
‘What the Republicans are doing right now threatens the very foundation of the U.S., and our lives in his country.’
‘Reverend Jackson risked his life in the form of civil rights leadership. My grandfather risked his life as a veteran of WW II, and all of that is on the line right now. We all need to wake up and get involved with organizations, like the Rainbow PUSH, to stop this destruction of our way of life, of our Bill of Rights of our democratic system.'”
Read the full story at the Chicago Crusader.
