User:Buster7/On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

History and Tyranny

The philosophers Plato and Aristotle defined a tyrant as "a person who rules without law, using extreme and cruel methods against both their own people and others". The Encyclopédie defined the term as a usurper of sovereign power who makes "his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust desires, which he substitutes for laws". The Founding Fathers sought to avoid the evil that they called tyranny. They had in mind the usurpation of power by a single individual or group, or the circumvention of law by rulers for their own benefit.

• Plato believed that Demagogues exploited Free Speech to install themselves as tyrants.
• Consider History when our political order seems imperiled. Hopes of the expansion of Global Trade that would generate expectations of progress were challenged by new visions of mass politics in which a leader or a party claimed to directly represent the will of the people. Fascists rejected Reason in the name of will, denying objective truth in favor of a glorious myth articulated by leaders who claimed to give voice to the people.

The will of the people

"The History of Europe in the 20th Century shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary men can find themselves standing over death-pits with guns in their hands". The Third Reich, Nazism and rise of Fascism were updated versions of old mass politics in which a leader or a party claimed to directly represent the "will of the people"

Do not obey in advance

Most 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 offers themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

• Anticipatory Obedience (early allegiance) is a political tragedy. The voluntary obedience of the governed after presidential elections cause the populace to extend their services, their support, to the new leader, the new president. The turning over of Power from one to the next is a cornerstone of American History. It gives US longevity and strength and so it goes, forever and ever
• (Early 1938) It was Anticipatory Obedience of the Austrian people that decided the fate of Austrian Jews after Hitler came to power in Germany. As Nazis captured Jews and set them to remove symbols of an Independant Austria, people who were not Nazis looked on with interest and amusement. Jewish goods were seized and their property rights usurped. Eventually non-Nazis joined in the theft. Kristallnacht was a national pogrom by November 1938.
• Authoritarian Personality. Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram 1961 study; to test instinctive human adapting to a new situation without reflecting on the new situation. WP//Milgram's Jewish identity led to his focus on the Holocaust and his obedience-to-authority research. One group of students would electrically shock another group of students in an experiment about learning. (No actual shocking was done. Participants "faked" pain and suffering) Displays were graphic and stark to test empathy and concern for the victims. Participants still continued to apply what they thought were greater and greater shocks to the point of feined death. "Even those who did not proceed all the way to the (apparent) killing of their fellow human beings left (the study) without inquiring about the health of the other participants" Milgram grasped that people are remarkably receptive to new rules in a new setting. They are surprisingly willing to harm and even kill others in the service of some new purpose if the are instructed by a NEW authority. The Authoritarian Personality creates unexpected levels of Obedience-to-Authority

Defend institutions

It is institutions that help us preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of "Our Institutions" unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after another unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about---a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union---and take its side

• Authoritarians do not necessarily have a "better self' that they "ethically draw on". They can easily transform institutions into "a simulacrum of what they once were so that they gird the new order rather than resist it" The Nazis called it Gleichschaltung. In time major institutions are humbled, denigrated to a lower social status with less effect on the mind of the people.

Beware the one-party state

The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the ruls of democratic elections. Vote in state and local elections while you can. Consider running for office

• Thomas Jefferson may have said;" Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty". A party emboldened by a favorable election or motivated by ideology, or both, might change the system from within. We need paper ballots because they cannot be tampered with remotely and can be recounted.

Take responsibility for the face of the World

The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. 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.

Remember professional ethics

When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-Law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants just as concentration camp directors seek business men interested in cheap labor.

Be wary of Paramilitaries

When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.

Be reflective if you must be armed

If you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless 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.

Stand out

Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

Be kind to our language

Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking if only to convey that thing that everyone is saying. Make an effort to seperate yourself from the internet.

Believe in Truth

To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, no one can criticize power, because there is no basis on which to do so. If nothing is true then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the brightest lights.

• Post Truth is pre-Fascism.
• Dismiss any noise from Right or left. (Cuomo 11/12)
• Is it your truth or is it truth truth. (EDC 11/12)

Investigate

Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time reading long articles. Subsitize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the Internet is intended to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which comes from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate with others.

Make eye contact and small talk

This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and 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.

Practice corporeal politics

Power wants your body in your chair and your emotions dissipating on a screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.

Establish a private life

Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware on a regular basis. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Tyrants seek the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have hooks.

Contribute to good causes

Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or to and set up autopay. Then you will have made a free choice that supports civil society and helps other to do good.

Learn from peers in other countries

Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends in other countries. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going ti find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.

Listen for dangerous words

Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the notions of 'emergency' and 'exception'. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.

Be calm when the unthinkable arrives

Modern Tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don't fall for it!

Be a Patriot

Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.

Be as courageous as you can

If none of US is prepared to die for freedom, then all of US will die under tyranny.