A vocal critic of Benito Mussolini, Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher and politician, was imprisoned for his political views in 1926; he remained in prison until shortly before his death in 1937. From his cell, he wrote the Prison Letters in which he famously said, “I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will." In this time of upheaval, when the post-World War II world order is dying, a new world order is being born, and monsters roam the earth, it is from Gramsci's dual perspective that I write this post. I will be brief. Th e window to oppose America’ s headlong rush into authoritarianism at home and neo-imperialism abroad by congressional or judicial means has closed. Law firms, universities, businesses, the press, media, foundations, and individuals alike who have been deemed "insufficiently aligned" with the Administration's agenda, have been intimidated into submission by frivolous lawsuits, expe...