The 1935 novel that predicted the rise of Donald Trump
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/shortcuts/2016/oct/09/it-cant-happen-here-1935-novel-sinclair-lewis-predicted-rise-donald-trump?CMP=fb_usThe 1935 novel that predicted the rise of Donald Trump
Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here features an antihero who whips up support among angry voters on the back of firebrand rhetoric, fearmongering populism and anti-Mexican sentiment. Sound familiar?
Jules Stewart
Sunday 9 October 2016 09.00 EDT
Last modified on Sunday 9 October 2016 16.06 EDT
snip//
Lewis’s hero, the New England journalist Doremus Jessup, attends a Windrip rally in Madison Square Garden. Jessup reports that Windrip’s rhetoric was irresistible to his thousands of downtrodden admirers. He later can’t remember a word Windrip said. But it doesn’t matter: if Windrip contradicts himself, backtracks on policy or simply spews out a torrent of lies, he tells them what they want to hear. Every American will be guaranteed a minimum income of $5,000 ($88,000 in today’s money), US-hating Mexico will be severely dealt with and Jewish bankers will be punished for landing the country in this mess.
Windrip unveils his 15-point manifesto, which includes “prison or the death penalty” for anyone advocating communism and the recognition of Jews as “fully Americanised”, so long as they continue to support “our ideals”. Substitute “Muslim” for “communist” and “Hispanic” for “Jew” and there emerges an uncomfortable picture of what is taking place in the US today.
Windrip wins the election. He orders the invasion of Mexico, after which his victorious militia returns singing When Johnny Comes Marching Home. Political opponents are herded into concentration camps, while a flood of refugees flee across the border to Canada.
In the end, though, it is only a work of fiction – and millions of Americans cling to the belief that it will remain so. Fingers crossed on 8 November.
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A whole book?
No way.
On a more serious note, I see your point. Haven't read it myself. Perhaps I will, but I can glean most of what I want to know from that synopsis. One big difference, in the 1930's things really were bad. People were seriously fucked by the crash of '29. We were lucky in the US. We got Roosevelt. The Italians got Mussolini and the Germans got Hitler out of that mess. But no way 2016 US is as bad as 1934 US, and deep down I think most people know that. Trump is still preaching to a fairly small, though loud minority who have been convinced things are much worse than they are.
Thanks. History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme.
Art imitates life, which imitates art.
I'm going to order it. (Yeah, from Amazon..... 
)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0380008424/ref=tmm_mmp_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1476052055&sr=8-1
