The courage to criticize: Thought under fire

In 1967, the Mexican writer Octavio Paz stated that nothing is sacred or off-limits to thought except the freedom to think itself.

A thought that renounces criticism—especially self-criticism—is not truly thought. Without criticism, meaning without rigor and experimentation, there is no science, no art or literature, and no healthy society.

These words serve as a starting point for examining the present moment. The world is witnessing an aggression by the Zionist entity and the United States against Iran.

At the same time, a distinct form of American political theater has emerged, with President Trump presenting himself in messianic and even Christ-like terms, holding public religious sessions with a figure who claims to cast out demons, and placing something resembling an American theocracy onto his hand—all while tensions rise with the current pope of the Catholic Church.

The question is how to critically analyze these overlapping developments: the military aggression, the religious-political performance, and the deeper crisis of thought and freedom that Paz warned about decades ago.

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