To the Editor:
Fredrich Nietzsche’s criticism of a newly united Germany in the mid-19th Century was the country’s obsession to extol an idealized historical past to gird Germany’s political and societal foundations. Germany’s application of a revamped Aryan history, with its myths and apocryphal claims, slowly but inalterably turned more obsessively chauvinistic, exclusive, and, as we all know, eventually turned absolutely dark through time.

I agree with Nietzsche: Depending on the past to model the present is an anemic, impotent way of escaping who we are as a people, and what needs to be addressed, politically and culturally, to accommodate a changing society and its sustainable future.

Trump’s fascist leanings about making America great again is nothing but a copy of Germany’s zealous and unfounded approach to reinvent a past that was, ultimately, oppressive and divisive. Political malice to present untruths as “alternative facts,” using televised spectacle and media platforms to twist views and boil unwarranted dissent is what the January attack on democracy is all about.

And the assault on the average person goes on: Women’s bodies and personal rights, the killing of unarmed minorities, urban decay, racism, violence, voter oppression and our dying planet go on mostly unchecked.

Evidence of our pop-culture need to escape the crises of our times is also supported by our choices of “entertainment.” Murder shows, vices, daytime court programs, fantasy gaming, victimology, vicariously viewing celebrities and the rich, sports conglomerates, cannabis stores, etc., all support a retreat from the reality of our present. In fact, no less than 20 television shows from decades ago have been rebooted or are in the making so we can scurry back to the trance of the past.

It may sound simplistic — but the only crisis is a societal one as reflected in the heart, thoughts, and actions of each of us. This is not a drill.

The love and well-being of all of us depends on leaving the past, its shortcomings and biases, so we may freely imagine a more viable future where tolerance and basic kindness may still, somehow, light our way to a more vital, common-sense future.

Robert Mason

Guilderland