William Shakespeare - Margaret Thatcher - Martin Luther King - Robert Kennedy - Aldous Huxley - John W Gardner - Barry Goldwater - Zbigniew Brzezinski - Bertrand Russell - Thomas Carlyle - Friedrich Nietzsche - Christopher Hitchens - Stacey Dooley TV - Dark Net 2017 - Why We Hate TV - Andrew Marr TV - The American Presidency with Bill Clinton TV - David Attenborough TV - Against All Enemies 2024 -
Who can be patient in such extremes? William Shakespeare, Richard Duke of York I i 216, Queen Margaret to King et al
The violence and intimidation we have seen should never happened. It is the work of extremists. It is the enemy within. Margaret Thatcher
The question is not whether we will be extremists but what kind of extremists we will be. Dr Martin Luther King
What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents. Robert Kennedy
At least two-thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity: idealism, dogmatism and proselytising zeal on behalf of religious or political idols. Aldous Huxley
Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world’s ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all. John W Gardner
Thousands of mercenaries who have trained in camps on the territory of Chechnya as well as come in from abroad are actually preparing to impose extremist ideas on the whole world. Boris Yeltsin
I would remind you that extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue! Barry Goldwater
War on terrorism defines the central preoccupation of the United States in the world today, and it does reflect in my view a rather narrow and extremist vision of foreign policy of the world’s first superpower, of a great democracy, with genuinely idealistic traditions. Zbigniew Brzezinski
The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure of the holders’ lack of rational conviction. Opinions in politics and religion are almost always held passionately. Bertrand Russell
A people inspired by democracy, human rights and economic opportunity will turn their back decisively against extremism. Benazir Bhutto
No violent extreme endures. Thomas Carlyle
Extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones, but by contrary extreme positions. Friedrich Nietzsche
People say to me, Why do you keep mentioning the extremists? Because the extremists are the tail that wag the whole dog. And my profession proves it. Your culture proves it. And you are humiliated by this … Because the extremists have the initiative … The state department condemned the cartoons, not the violence. Christopher Hitchens vs Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Public Library 4th June 2007
Luton: Now I’m coming home to find out if it’s true that Muslim extremists are taking over my town. And if this is why the wide right-wing are on the rise here. Stacey Dooley, My Hometown Fanatics, BBC 2012
‘I think you look naked on the street.’ ibid. Muslim protester to Stacey
‘All non-Muslims are destined for the hell-fire.’ ibid. Muslim
The world-wide web has given us access to powerful tools of messaging and manipulation … Armies of frustrated citizens are fuelling each other’s anger, embracing ideologies that promise a revolution for everyone. Dark Net s2e4: My Nation, Showtime 2017
2018: We’re seeing such an upsurge in extremism … the mainstreaming of extremism … Why We Hate s1e4: Extremist, Sasha Havlicek, counter-terrorism expert, Discovery 2019
There is often trauma in these individual cases of radicalisation early on … What they offer their members is love and support and belonging and care. ibid.
A system of the dehumanisation of the other. ibid.
In the twentieth century – our age – our brilliance and our foolishness collided to produce one of the greatest moral dilemmas humankind has faced. For three years Robert Oppenheimer had led a top secret mission to end the deadliest war in the history of the war. Andrew Marr’s History of the World VIII: Age of Extremes
Welcome to the age of extremes. ibid.
Freedom v Order: In critical moments throughout our history we’ve seen the scales tip dangerous for in either direction, driven by extremists … People so sure of their position that they would resort to oppression or violence to dismantle our institutions. The American Presidency with Bill Clinton IV: Extremism
… And you’ve reached the limit of where life exists. These often extreme places on our planet are often hard for us to reach. Indeed, this cave was only recently discovered. And it contains many surprises … Cave pearls and giant stalagmites … Underground rivers have carved this great passage through the limestone. Over five miles long and wide enough in places to accommodate a jumbo jet. And it is here in the cave’s furthest chamber that life can be found: translucent cave fish and shrimps. David Attenborough, Planet Earth s3e6: Extremes
Unpredictable extremes of weather however can upset this delicate balance. ibid.
Remarkably, around 50% of Earth’s inhabits depend on fire to keep healthy. ibid.
So I’m looking at an intake questionaire for a violent extremist group … We need to have a solid understanding of how badly this could escalate. We are not at the point where violence is the solution to our problems. But there are a lot of people trying to convince vets and others that we are. And that is a very dangerous thing. Against All Enemies, airborne Army man, Amazon 2024
Everyone becomes more violent in the aftermath of warfare. ibid. expert
On January 6th 2021 US military veterans who had sworn an oath to defend the country were at the vanguard of a violent attempt to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election. ibid. narrator
They shouted for the hanging of our own vice-president. That’s a coup attempt. ibid. comments
The common ideology is simple: we had power, we should have power, power has been taken away from us, and by any means necessary we can get it back. ibid.
In America you have the right to be an arsehole. ibid.
Intimidation is a form of voter suppression and goes hand in hand with election subversion both in our history and today. The entire poll-watching program for the Trump campaign was called Army for Trump. ibid.
A slew of laws that limited access to the ballot box. ibid. narrator
Christian Nationalism: A political movement that believes America was founded as a ‘Christian Nation’ privileging Christianity over all other faiths. Masquerading as religion, this ideology exploits scripture and sacred symbols to achieve extremist objectives. Bad Faith, captions, 2024
Christian nationalism is nationalism. It has nothing to do with Christianity. It’s about power in politics. ibid. Steve Schmidt
That we as a country have a special relationship with God. ibid. man in the know
They may have their Trump but they don’t have their Jesus. ibid. Reverend William Barber
Christian nationalism has been an effective political tool for centuries. The Ku Klux Klan emerged post Civil War to challenge emancipation. ibid. narrator
At its peak in 1924, the Klan claimed 8 million members. The vast majority were white evangelicals. ibid. caption
Paul Weyrich was a dangerous combination of religious zealot and savvy Republican operative. He realised that if could organise an army of angry Christians into a powerful voting bloc, he could completely transform America. ibid. narrator
The Moral Majority: It was a political creation from the political right. ibid. comments
So the GOP became God’s Own Party. ibid.
Their whole worldview was to increase income disparity as a gesture of God’s will. ibid. Anne Nelson
Jim Crow 2.0 Has Got To Go. ibid. protest banner
Christian Nationalism is incredibly powerful because of the money that’s been invested in it. But I think it’s also absolutely essential that people realise it is not the majority position in this country, it’s not even the majority position among Christians. ibid. dissenting Christian
It is really fundamentally about hatred of democracy. ibid. Barber
You are a target for a multifaceted operation of tremendous sophistication. ibid. Nelson
With the Council calling the shots, the wrecking-ball went to work. ibid.
Christian Nationalists were firmly embedded at the highest levels of government. ibid. narrator
The Council went into full combat mode to support the Big Lie. ibid.
The assault on democracy continued inside the chambers of Congress. Senate and House Republicans rejected the slate of electors. ibid.