Cowboy Authoritarianism in America

We are at an inflection point. A chill is sweeping the country. We ignore it at our peril. The warning signs are everywhere. Alaska GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski says, “We are all afraid.” Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey says, “The fear is real.” New York Times columnist Masha Gessen writes, “America’s Police State Has Arrived.” A Columbia University dean told students, “Nobody can protect you. These are dangerous times.” Conservative PBS commentator David Brooks calls for “a civic uprising to fight back and adds: “We have nothing to lose but our chains.” Dissent is being criminalized. People are being deported without any kind of due process. Court rulings are being ignored. Democracy, civil liberties and free speech are all under attack. What can be done to reverse cowboy authoritarianism in America?

Recorded at the University of British Columbia.

Speaker: Heather Cox Richardson

Heather Cox Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College. She previously taught at MIT. She is the recipient of the Baldacci Award for Literary Activism. Her newsletter, Letters from an American, reaches more than a million readers. She’s the author of many books, including How the South Won the Civil War.

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