“On Tyranny” - Afterword(s)
Rereading “On Tyranny” served to reinforce how important context is in our current moment. We are faced with a fascist-oligarchy hybrid government/assault on the citizens of this country and by extension, the world.
Today, a Russian medical researcher at Harvard was detained by ICE for not declaring biological samples she had been requested to bring; instead of treating this as the minor offense it is, she is now detained in Louisiana after having landed in Boston. Additionally, USAID terminated almost all the remaining employees. There will likely by more disappearances and it feels likely that the rule of law will be suspended and martial law imposed as protests grow in number and numbers.
All of this helps underscore why “On Tyranny” and other tomes like Paine’s “Common Sense” and Havel’s “The Power and the Powerless” are important to read and share. Any political action should be supported with an understanding of historical context and precedent.
There are a couple of reasons I say this. Sure, many people become aware of an injustice or social issue and decide to do something about it. They may have no idea of what led to that injustice or why an issue has come about that has dire consequences, but eventually, they do learn. They begin to understand the systemic issues or ideals that brought about some catastrophe during the process of protesting.
However, forewarned is fore-armed. The more you know about the causes and conditions that brought about a situation requiring attention by an affected, aggrieved or oppressed group, the better able to meet the lies with truth and the better equipped one is to maintain clarity, if not calm, in moments that will require it.
“On Tyranny” is a small book that fits handily in the pocket. What is in it is massive. That the current regime is using a playbook for oppression that has worked throughout history but flourished in the twentieth century in a variety of guises; from fascists in Italy in the twenties, to the Nazis in the thirties, to the communists in Soviet Russia and other regimes, from Czechoslovakia to Hungary.
That the playbook has been dutifully codified in/as Project 2025 shows the effectiveness of playing the long game and strategizing and following that strategy to the nth degree. The authors of this work took their lessons from the aforementioned precedents, as well as policies and actions executed by principally Republican leaders, at least since the 1950s.
Reading works like "Main Kampf” and much of Maozedong’s writings is not pleasant. “Project 2025” is execrable but remarkable in its structure. That it has been put to use so well is a testament to what is genuinely at the heart of the so-called Conservative party in the United States. Movement Conservatism was seeded in the post-World War Two years by a desire to return power back to the wealthy and business interests.
That such a move was hugely unpopular has been demonstrated repeatedly throughout the ensuing decades. If there have been setbacks, my sense of it is that these regressions owe to the rise of a vocal right-wing media that emphasizes division and stokes hatred and fear of anyone not white, heterosexual, and for the most part, male, though obviously, concessions have been made for women and people of color when they make the right noises.
Exacerbating the noise is the reduction of access to a decent education, either by the intentional devaluation of intellectual pursuit (something that is practically infused in Americans at the genetic level) and the increasing expense of tuition for higher education, and more recently, the battle for hearts and minds at the public school levels. Curricula are under increasing fire as the right continues to erase any genuine depth of teaching of history or social studies. Literature and the other arts are under attack, as well.
Destroying access to art and culture is as deadly as destroying access to healthcare. One erodes and destroys bodies; the other erodes and destroys souls.
All of this, of course, has been carried out by totalitarian regimes as a matter of routine. How it is done may vary, but eventually, soft power and persuasion that worked on the avaricious and morally pliable gives way to forcible reinterpretation of laws and statutes that are intended to give the regime the façade of legality. Then comes the suspension of the rule of law and the arise of the rule of terror and fear.
We are not quite there. People are rising up and the courts are proving surprisingly resilient, although the Supreme Court still has not shown whether it will resist the regime’s push to summarily finishing tearing down institutions faster. Libraries and universities are under assault now. Next will be museums and likely theaters.
We are not quite there. If people continue resisting and organizing and the courts maintain the course, the next move is to elect people to contested offices and “flood the zone” with candidates who can and will take on representatives of the regime. Currently, leadership for the Democratic Party is hobbled by the current Senate Minority Leader. That said, there are, among his colleagues, those who are more vocal in their stances against the occupier and his supporters. The situation in the House of Representatives is more volatile and there are more Democrats willing to call out their colleagues on the other side of the divide.
While that all seems hopeful, genuine change is going to have to come from community leaders and organizations on the ground to ensure that elected representatives join the fight with as much spirit.
Timing is everything and Snyder shows us how fast dismantling of order can occur. We are seeing this play out in real time, as the regime has caused extensive, if not irreparable, damage in little more than two months. Any resistance established has to grow at a similar pace and less as a reaction to what has been done - though that is a high priority - than to act with initiative to counter plans already underway.
It’s been a pleasure revisiting Snyder’s work and I recommend everyone have a copy. I’ll post information about how and where to order and a link to Professor Snyder’s website, as well.
He shares a number of books and essays to read and I’ll copy that list for reference under the Appendix: Further Reading from “On Tyranny”.
I truly hope that my commentary has inspired some to seek out and read this book for themselves. Try to be as informed as fully as possible. Don’t rely on commentary alone; find primary sources and form your own decisions and ideas.
We will get through all this.
Works cited in “On Tyranny” (Chapter 9, pp. 61-63)
Novels/fiction:
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
1984 - George Orwell
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
It Can’t Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis
The Plot Against America - Philip Roth
“One novel known by millions of young Americans that offers and account of tyranny and resistance is”:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J.K. Rowling
Non-fiction:
"Politics and the English Language - George Orwell
The Language of the Third Reich - Victor Klemperer
The Origins of Totalitarianism - Hannah Arendt
The Rebel - Albert Camus
The Captive Mind - Czeslaw Milosz
"The Power of the Powerless" - Vaclav Havel
"How to be a Conservative-Liberal-Socialist" - Leszek Kolakowski
The Use of Adversity - Timothy Garton Ash
The Burden of Responsibility - Tony Just
Ordinary Men. - Christopher Browning
Nothing is True and Everything is Possible - Peter Pomerantsev
Bibliography
Snyder, Timothy. On Tyranny - Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Crown Publishing. New York. 2017..
I don’t have to add a lot here in terms of what we will likely be called on to do. You will read, again and again, how important it is to contact your reps, to volunteer your time, to march in protest, and to help where you can/as you can.
Two places to start with:
Mobilize at https://www.mobilize.us/. I have the landing page set to my area; populated with events, petitions, and volunteer opportunities, it’s practically one-stop shopping.
Indivisible at https://indivisible.org/ is another comprehensive hub. You can sign up for updates, download their guide to organizaing, find candidates to support, and more.
If you don't have a copy of "On Tyranny", you can purchase one here:
"On Tyranny" at Timothy Snyder's website where he lists several options. Support local bookstores and buy local or check it out from your local library.
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