20 Points for Defending Democracy under a Trump presidency
This article was originally published as a Facebook post November 28, 2016 by Timothy Snyder, the Housum Professor of History at Yale University and author of Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning. “If this is useful to you, please print it out and pass it around!” 1 December 2016
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.
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.
Learn about 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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