![]() Is he old-fashioned? Maybe yes, may be no. Snyder believes in sound journalism rather than the internet, he believes in books rather than tweets, he values eye contact rather than e-contacts. Some of the recommendations in the book are as simple as true. The constant factor in my life has been my firm belief in the strength of democracy and of freedom of speech and the necessity of a permanent countervailing power. As for myself, I have waited far too long to expel some people from my personal life. You should not wait and see when tyranny comes up. The lessons are meant as an early warning system. The two books should stand on the same shelf. It's not likely that Timothy Snyder has ever read the book 'Indignez-vous' of his companion, the old Jewish French author Stéphane Hessel. This book is a must read.Įvery single lesson is built-up around a verb, a verb that expresses an action, an action that you can fulfill as a 'citoyen'. That's also the reason why the book is talk of the town in New York City and Washington DC today. It's obvious right from the beginning that this book is fully dedicated to Mr. Snyder does carefully not mention the name of Mr. But any dictator of the past could have had a leading role in this tiny book: Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Khadaffi, Mugabe, Erdogan, Ceauscescu and Franco. His driver to write this essay or pamphlet of 125 pages is the recent election of President Donald Trump. Yet he claims that some lessons can be learned from it and I believe he has the right to do so. The author is aware of the relative meaning of history. Tyranny can be more destructive than bombs. The well known sixth couplet of the Dutch anthem states: let me expel tyranny, in this particular case from the Spanish Inquisition. Tyranny has been described by the Egypts, the Greek, the Romans and the Dutch. Please join us as the National Churchill Library and Center welcomes Professor Timothy Snyder for a discussion of his new book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons. It can be in politics, it may pop up in families, it might even occur in companies. Once you know the outcome, the analysis is for free. ![]() Snyder reminded me of my father, who, as a spectator, could perfectly point at my mistakes during sailing regattas. To some extend the life of historians is easy. One could say that he has made his life's work out of tyranny. Two of his most famous works are Bloodlands and Black Earth, both dealing with the Holocaust. This is the kind of behavior that should make people take notice.ĭon’t ignore dangerous language and symbolism take a stand against it.Timothy Snyder is a Professor of History at Yale University. They were used to eject dissenting voices from the rallies, and the members even encouraged supporters to remove anyone who opposed the candidate.Īt one rally, Trump gave a disturbing command: “Get the remnant out!” After “the remnant” had been removed, he asked the crowd, “Isn’t this more fun than a regular boring rally? To me, it’s fun.” ![]() If someone wants to take over, she’ll likely throw together some sort of violent organization that acts as a paramilitary wing of her political party.ĭonald Trump did something that most candidates avoid he formed a private security force that followed his orders at political rallies. In the meantime, another sign to beware of is paramilitary forces – that is, any military presence that isn’t state or federally sanctioned. And of course, you could even run for local office yourself. It’s best to support the use of paper ballots, which can’t be tampered with as easily as electronic ones. You can do your part by voting, in both local and state elections, and being politically active. What you want to avoid is one power controlling every level of the government, which is what is now happening in the United States. This is why you must be vigilant and support a multiparty system. Often the public is too distracted to notice the threat to their freedom. They’ve also tended to use salami tactics, the process of slicing away at the opposition, taking power piece by piece. Nazis, communists and fascists have traditionally used spectacle and repression to enable their takeovers. If you look at the democratic governments that have collapsed in the years since World War I, you’ll notice that each fell to a single party that seized power from within the nation. If you’ve been following the news these days, you’ll no doubt know that America is bristling with hostile attitudes toward “foreign threats.” However, if you have a real concern about threats to democracy, it’s often best to keep an eye on the threats from within. ![]()
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