Snyder's On Tyranny--Step-by-Step
Part 1 the First Five Lessons
It is becoming more and more obvious that we are on our own. By “we” I mean the Democratic electorate and any others who have seen the light. Democratic leadership is still waiting for a leader. At the rate they’re going, that wait could be at least two years. I’m not that patient.
If nothing else, we need to inform and gird ourselves on what we’re facing. We may end up only leading skirmishes that look like a three-year-old blasting at Mike Tyson’s kneecaps, but they will be honorable skirmishes.
This is the first of 4 articles taking us step-by-step through the lessons and the history behind each, history that aligns lockstep with what is about to happen.
Do not obey in advance. A citizen who obeys in advance is doing nothing more than teaching the power group what it can do. It’s called anticipatory obedience. In March, 1938, Hitler started threatening to annex Austria. Although it was the Austrian chancellor who conceded Austria, it was the anticipatory obedience of Austrian citizens that killed the Austrian Jews. Kristallnacht followed in November.
Defend Institutions. “Our institutions” are not ours, nor will they remain supportive, unless we protect them. Choose an institution - local democracy-driven organization, a court, a newspaper, a specific law, a labor union - and stand by it through what is to come. Tyrants who come to power, especially through the use of institutions, tend to then destroy them. Some German Jews voted as they knew Nazis wanted them to in the hope that their vote would keep the “new system” away from them. Sound familiar? The institutions they thought would stand and protect them were destroyed.
Beware the one-party state. Tyranny, authoritarianism, demagogy, oligarchy, or fascism will circle the wagons behind a single political party. The next step is to make political life and action impossible for opposing forces. Democracy needs to be defended from the Americans who will join in with the leadership. The enemy within. Isn’t that what Putin has said will bring America down? We need to keep the strength of the Democratic party building. Defend democratic, open elections. Vote in every election. Support candidates. Help source good candidates. Consider running for even a minor office. Keep a two-party system active. Rally for removing the electoral college. Get behind having paper ballots that cannot be electronically altered or destroyed. Remember, the Nazis were the only political party for 12 years, and it took a World War to remove them.
Take responsibility for the face of the world. The world rarely cares how we feel, but they react to what we do. Becoming complacent with certain phrases, symbols, gestures, tells the world how we are dealing with our political situation. If we are going to embrace a symbol, a phrase, it must encompass all Americans, turning none away. The wrong symbol or catch-phrase may lead to the oppressive leadership stealing the game and the option for the rest of the world to write us off. The right one becomes a battle-cry, a code, a sign that the rules of the game are still in our hands. Think of Les Miserables and the French Revolutionists.
Remember professional ethics. If rule-of-law and the courts are not upheld, oppressors convince the populace that those ethical models, and others, are there for their use, not to oppose them. Professionals - attorneys, journalists, physicians, activist groups - need to police their ranks. If they don’t, they run the risk of losing public trust and falling into in-fighting, which puts them at the mercy of the oppressors. We’ve already seen this happening. Even the independent media and election attorneys are going to have to be on their toes, calling out any weak links. These types of groups, coming together under shared interests, knowledge, and ethics, and holding each other accountable gives them more power. Their power as a resistance is in sticking together.
The next article will cover the next five lessons from Snyder. If you can, use the time between now and the inauguration to educate yourself. Knowledge is definitely going to be power as we go through this. If you haven’t already, read Project 2025. Do some background research of your own on each of Trump’s nominees. Read Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs To Know by Erica Chenowith, or Trumpocracy by David Frum, or Authoritarian Nightmare by James Dean and Bob Altemeyer.
As always, leave comments or suggestions.