Dispatches From the Culture Wars — March 24, 2026
- MAGA Aesthetics and Fascist Power
- Texas: Gateway to Trumptopia
- Standing Up for Science
- Elders in the Movement
- The War on Teaching
- Young Latinos Bridge Faith and Activism
- Two Institutions Shame Jewish Americans
- Mahmoud Khalil Speaks
- Taxing the Rich in Washington State
- Epstein and Academic Sexism
MAGA Aesthetics and Fascist Power
By Henry Giroux, CounterPunch
We live in an age in which fascist aesthetics has become a powerful tool of authoritarian pedagogy, functioning, in part, to mobilize myth, emotion, ritual, and spectacle in order to celebrate fascist sentiments including white nationalism, racial and ethnic hierarchies, state terrorism, and the performative cruelty of the powerful, but also to crush dissent and prevent the redistribution of power.
Texas: Gateway to Trumptopia
Terrorists or Protesters? By Austin Wood, Dallas Observer
Art Cancellation with No Explanation By Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews
Texans Reject Naming a Street for Charlie Kirk By Graig Graziosi, The Independent
By Dan Vergano, Scientific American
Scientists, advocates and lawmakers gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol for the second annual Stand Up for Science rally. Addressing the crowd, government scientists spoke out against the Trump administration’s moves to cut or censor their work. More than 2,000 people turned out for the protest on the National Mall; similar rallies took place in more than 50 cities around the country.
By Bill Winkley, Waging Nonviolence
The activism carried out by our nation’s elders is laudable and extensive. Attend any rally, march, protest and look at the amount of white hair in the rising sea of protesters. Today’s seniors are assuring a future where we have a fully restored and improved democracy.
By Timothy Messer-Kruse, Jacobin
What were once considered the ravings of tinfoil-hat conspiracy junkies are now par for the course for the Trumpian right and its analysis of the state of public education.
Young Latinos Bridge Faith and Activism
By Hosffman Ospino and Timothy Matovina, The Conversation
As Catholic theologians who have researched Latino Catholics for several decades, we believe they are redefining U.S. Catholicism. Young Latinos’ faith-based advocacy indicates that this group will shape the future of the church. Leaders we have interviewed see themselves as “gente puente,” or “bridge builders,” who can find themselves grounded in faith-inspired commitments to justice.
Two Institutions Shame Jewish Americans
AIPAC By Alex Kane, Jewish Currents
ADL By Daniel Sieradski, Jewschool
By Michael Arria, Mondoweiss
This month marks the one-year anniversary of Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest, a moment that seemingly kicked off an increased wave of government suppression against the Palestine movement. Khalil, who was released from detention last June, spoke about the status of his case, the media’s attacks on him, and the case of Leqaa Kordia.
Taxing the Rich in Washington State
Thousands of union members have taken time away from work and their families to come to Olympia this session and make a direct ask of our lawmakers: tax millionaires to fund education, health care, and child care.
By Lydia Wilson, New Lines
Reviewing the files led to a picture of a cozy circle of complicit elites, each providing legitimation to the other: Epstein with cash and access, the academics offering their reputations and expertise in support of Epstein’s worldview. The ideas Epstein funded shape the way that Western governments try to influence the behavior of their populations.