Because no one really cares as long as they can believe tomorrow will be better than today, which is what the tyrant always promises, and what he can usually deliver in the short run. Complacency and sloth, cowardice and ignorance are our enemies, only later come fear, anger and hate.

We live in a civilization dominated by the cult of celebrity. Regardez the TV game shows, the supermarket checkout tabloid display, the endless awards shows and boy bands. We live in the land of the Red Carpet, Sports Psychology, Fashion Journalism, Pilates and the Paleo Diet. Then there is the distraction of consumerism, the careerism that makes it possible, the false refuge of suburban domesticity. And of course, there is sport--NASCAR, Wrestling, and (dare I say it), the Stuporbowl, all ultimately beholden to a commercial imperative. We are the universe of clickbait, lipsynch, air guitar, laugh track and canned applause.

No, its not all part of a vast conspiracy designed to steal our freedom. Its just the opposite, the conspiracy works with the tools that are available. You're right, history does not repeat itself but somehow the tune is hauntingly familiar.

As for your question, last night my wife and I watched the video of the film "Cabaret". That story was written in the nineteen thirties, in Berlin, by a foreigner living in that world and with the perception to understand what he saw going on around him. It didn't do any good,

did it?