Be as courageous as you can
This is the final lesson from On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. In each of the previous lessons, Snyder has provided powerful illustrations from European 20th century history exemplifying each lesson about facing dictatorship . But not this one. For this lesson, we are on our own.
I am not courageous. When the secret policeman knocks on my door, I will meekly submit. A guy with a gun will defeats me every time. It is not just death that I fear. I am just as fearful of prison. The thing about prisons run by dictatorships is that we know they are very bad. We saw the horror over the past few days as Syria’s secret underground prisons were opened up. And every dictatorship gets good at imprisoning its political enemies.
Trump has already started going after his enemies in the press in lawsuits. I expect our courts will be filled with these nuisance cases within the next month as the Trump team decides who they need to intimidate or get revenge against.
Then shortly after the inauguration there will be an “emergency” (or as Nazi political theorist Carl Schmitt called it, an “exception”) that will be used to make enough people willing to accept martial law (in the form of the Insurrection Act, a 19th century law that the Trump team has been slavering for a chance to apply it. It would allow for the military to be used to suppress a rebellion or insurrection—or people marching the street against the dictator).
Am I ready for this? No, of course not.
If you are interested in more lessons from Snyder’s brief, terrifying book, here are my links for each.
Lesson 1: Do not obey in advance.
Lesson 2: Defend institutions.
Lesson 3: Beware the one-party state.
Lesson 4: Take resposibility for the face of the world.
Lesson 5: Remember professional ethics.
Lesson 6: Be wary of paramilitaries.
Lesson 7: Be reflective if you must be armed.
Lesson 9. Be kind to our language.
Lesson 12: Make eye contact and small talk.
Lesson 13: Practice corporeal politics.
Lesson 14: Establish a private life.
Lesson 15: Contribute to good causes.
Lesson 16: Learn from peers in other countries.
Lesson 17: Listen for dangerous words.
Lesson 18: Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
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This was a great, thought-provoking series, Robert. I like how you personalized all of it. Nicely done. It would be so easy for climate events to be used in this way, and sadly there will be plenty of them. We are all in for a ride, for sure. Buckle up!