Dear Nick, Thank you for your letter. Just this afternoon, I had been thinkingabout you, concerned that you should be well. Your letter is reassuring. I tried, but didn't get access to the NY Times article you cited. Since I am not a subscriber, the Times requires that for access to even a small fraction of its texts, I open a "free" account. My threshold of revolt against commercial manipulation is minimal, and I forego the privilege of reading any of their publication for the price of disclosing my name, email address, age, sex, etc. for purposes that are obviously commercial. "Lügenpresse" is equivalent to "fake news". The difference between the Germany of 1919 and the United States of 2019, is that in Germany, journalists who criticised the government were assassinated or kidnapped and beaten to death, whereas Stephen Colbert's late night show averages more than 3.5 million viewers, and his contract has just been renewed at such high remuneration, that the sum is not even mentioned on the Internet. Colbert's net assets, the reward of his "fearless journalism", is reported as 45 million dollars. By way of contrast, a 47 year old journalist named Otto Thielemann, who I believe may have been a distant cousin of my mother's, was beaten to death by the Nazis in Dachau on March 17, 1938.... I hope the cultural diversity of this country, the large proportion of Latinos, Asians, Afro-Americans will save us - for now - until a "master race" emerges, - any master race will do - which will inevitably destroy the society. So far as truth and falsehood, Wahrheit und Lüge, "real news" and "fake news" are concerned, I've convinced myself that there are two strata of "truth". Subjective truth is what I myself see, hear, experience, and remember, what is assimilating itself and what has assimilated itself to my spirit. This subjective truth holds that ALL past and present "history", includiung all "current events," is inherently mythical. Objective truth is the (essentially mythical) account that constitutes political correctness to the society in which I live and to which I must conform, a political correctness which I may not contradict if I wish to avoid expulsion and deportation, myths such as that America is the greatest Nation the world has ever seen, that the framers of the Constitution published a perfect political instrument, the unconditional endorsement of which is a test of my loyalty ..., that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. In our society, unlike in other societies, I am not required to worship and sacrifice to Kronos, who precipitated a Golden Age of Virtue by acceeding to his mother Gaia's suggestion that he, Kronos, castrate Uranos his father who had offended Gaia, because he, Kronos had imprisoned in Tartaros their children, the other Titans, the Cyclops and the Hundredhanded... I repeat, if I wish to survive, I must stay abreast of and endorse the current conventional wisdom whatever it may be. I look forward to speaking with you when you return. Stay healthy and happy. EJM