Yale historian and Holocaust expert Timothy Snyder shared
the following powerful thoughts:
Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy
yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might
learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are twenty
lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today.
1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of
authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead
about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it
without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory
obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.
2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or
a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you
are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don't protect
themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the
beginning.
3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set
a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more
important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is
hard to have show trials without judges.
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words.
Look out for the expansive use of "terrorism" and
"extremism." Be alive to the fatal notions of "exception"
and "emergency." Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic
vocabulary.
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist
attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or
plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire.
The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of
opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don't
fall for it.
6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases
everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey
that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don't use the internet before bed.
Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps
"The Power of the Powerless" by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell,
The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of
Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible
by Peter Pomerantsev.
7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and
deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different.
But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an
example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.
8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom.
If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis
upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest
wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more
time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to
print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you.
Bookmark PropOrNot or other sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.
10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body
softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get
outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new
friends and march with them.
11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just
polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down
unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should
not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the
psychological landscape of your daily life.
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice
the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used
to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over
states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make
political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections
while you can.
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a
charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice
that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.
15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what
they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware.
Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the
internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the
same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail
state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many
hooks.
16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your
friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here
are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution
by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns
who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and
marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When
the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle,
the game is over.
18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a
weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of
the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing
irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means,
contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in
professional ethics.)
19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared
to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.
20. Be a patriot. The incoming president is not. Set a good
example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.
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