For those who are shocked, appalled, disheartened, etc. by what happened on Nov 5th, please read “On Tyranny” by Timothy Snyder (https://snyder.substack.com/p/on-tyranny).
Published in 2016, it was a warning against what happened on Tuesday. But now that what we thought unthinkable has happened, this book provides hope and actions an individual can still take to slow the spread of autocratic oligarchical fascism.
- Do not obey in advance
- Defend institutions
- Beware the one-party state
- Take responsibility for the face of the world
- Remember professional ethics
- Be wary of paramilitaries
- Be reflective if you must be armed
- Stand out
- Be kind to our language
- Believe in truth
- Investigate
- Make eye contact and small talk
- Practice corporeal politics
- Establish a private life
- Contribute to good causes
- Learn from peers in other countries
- Listen for dangerous words
- Be calm when the unthinkable arrives
- Be a patriot
- Be as courageous as you can
The 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousers, but mostly soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but valued liberty more. Each one surely had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it. But they stood tall, and unwavering and pledged:
“For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
We each should follow their example as best we can.