Thread: Many people think that Camazotz in #wrinkleintime is an allegory for soviet-style communism. This is not the case.

While Madeleine L'Engle was convinced that any *ism* leads to dehumanizing generalities, she knew that totalitarianism lurked under the surface of American democracy.

In earlier drafts of Wrinkle, she had a passage about how democracies become dark. She tried to make it work in two different places in the story, but it was too didactic and was cut.

Mr. Murry explains to Meg and Calvin that a planet can become dark through totalitarianism, and lists Kruschev, Hitler, Mussolini, Mao, Franco, Castro. Meg asks, "What about countries like ours, ones that aren't under dictatorships? Democracies?"

Her father's answer: too much prosperity, which results in a lust for security. He tells her it's the greatest evil there is.

What we're seeing now is the powerful scared of losing their position and willing to protect white supremacy at the cost of our democracy. We really are on the knife's edge. Take care of yourselves, dear ones, and keep fighting. -cjv