Still kinda relevant
"Dictatorships are pantheistic. The dictator manages to plant a little piece of himself in every one of us." Right now in my Spanish class, we are taking a look at Spanish author Ana Maria Matute, an author from the peninsula who lived during the Spanish Civil War, the dictatorial reign of Francisco Franco, and after the dictator's death in the 70's. This excerpt from Dedé (Novel: In the Time of the Butterflies) reminded me of a similar history shared by so many in Spain, Latin America, Africa, USSR, and really worldwide. The fear of talking openly is a fear most often associated with those nations that which are under dictatorial rule. My high school Spanish teacher recalled one of those moments for class my senior year of high school. We had finished watching the documentary of the Spanish Civil War and she spoke of her time in Spain in the early 1970's. She asked her host mother a question during breakfast about the government and the host mother essentially refused to answer at the time. Later, she explained that every house was bugged or at the very least someone was listening. Informers were plethora. In foreign language circles, a concept exists that essentially says that an individual who goes on an immersion trip goes through a period during and after their return where they just hate their native land or at least feel it to be inferior to all other nations who speak the second language, especially where that person spent time. For a while I couldn't stand America after I returned from Argentina and I still love Argentina dearly, but reading a book like this one provides a solid reminder to my identity, saying, "Be proud that you are free because these nations are not and have not been for centuries." We may complain about our politicians, but thank God they are not dictators and leave that piece of themselves, policies, or fear inside of us.