“BE REALISTIC” we are told. The weather is rejecting us, fascism has resurrected itself, pogroms rage, new pandemics knock on our doors, and yet, “be realistic.”

“Be realistic.” The favorite refrain of those who, in their blindness to history, allow history to be changed in ways they cannot understand. “Be realistic.” The slogan of those who love their power and privilege while denying they have any of it. “Be realistic.” The bootlicker’s mantra, chanted when the independent thoughts they have repressed begin to surface.