So I'm now reading "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century" by Timothy Snyder. #OnTyranny goodreads.com/book/show/3391… 
"Aristotle warned that inequality brought instability, while Plato believed that demagogues exploited free speech to install themselves as tyrants." #OnTyranny p9
"Both fascism and communism were responses to globalization: to the real and perceived inequalities it created, and the apparent helplessness of the democracies in addressing them." #OnTyranny p12
"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." #OnTyranny p12
'Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf…They fall one after the other 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' #OnTyranny p22
"We believe that we have checks and balances, but have rarely faced a situation like the present: when the less popular of the two parties controls every lever of power at the federal level, as well as the majority of statehouses." #OnTyranny p30
"The party that exercises such control proposes few policies that are popular with the society at large, and several that are generally unpopular—and thus must either fear democracy or weaken it." #OnTyranny p30
"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." #OnTyranny p32
"the man [doesn't] actually endorse…the sign in his window [he just wants to] withdraw into daily life w/o trouble from…authorities. When everyone else follows the same logic, the public sphere is covered with signs of loyalty, and resistance becomes unthinkable" #OnTyranny p36
"If lawyers had followed the norm of no execution without trial, doctors…no surgery without consent, businessmen…prohibition of slavery, bureaucrats…paperwork involving murder, then the Nazi regime would have been much harder pressed to carry out the atrocities" #OnTyranny p40
"When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come" #OnTyranny p42
"Nazi storm troopers began as a security detail clearing the halls of Hitler's opponents during his rallies… As a candidate, the president [Trump] ordered a private security detail to clear opponents from rallies." #OnTyranny p44-45
"Some killed from murderous conviction. But many others who killed were just afraid to stand out. Other forces were at work besides conformism. But without the conformists, the great atrocities would have been impossible." #OnTyranny p50
"[We] created myths of righteous resistance to Hitler. In the 1930s, however, the dominant attitudes had been accommodation and admiration. By 1940 most Europeans had made their peace with the seemingly irresistible power of Nazi Germany." #OnTyranny p52
"Influential Americans such as Charles Lindbergh opposed war with the Nazis under the slogan 'America First.'" #OnTyranny p52
"Victor Klemperer, a literary scholar of Jewish origin, turned his philological training against Nazi propaganda. He noticed how Hitler's language rejected legitimate opposition" #OnTyranny p60
"More than half a century ago, the classic novels of totalitarianism warned of the domination of screens, the suppression of books, the narrowing of vocabularies, and the associated difficulties of thought." #OnTyranny p62
"When we repeat the same words and phrases that appear in the daily media, we accept the absence of a larger framework. To have such a framework requires more concepts, and having more concepts requires reading [books]." #OnTyranny p62
"One novel known by millions of young Americans that offers an account of tyranny and resistance is JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. If you or your friends or your children did not read it that way the first time, then it bears reading again." #OnTyranny p63
Read:
- Politics & the English Lang.
- Lang. of the 3rd Reich
- Origins of Totalitarianism
- Captive Mind
- Power of the Powerless
- How to Be a Conservative-Liberal-Socialist
- Uses of Adversity
- Burden of Responsibility
- Ordinary Men
- Nothing is True & Everything is Possible
- Politics & the English Lang.
- Lang. of the 3rd Reich
- Origins of Totalitarianism
- Captive Mind
- Power of the Powerless
- How to Be a Conservative-Liberal-Socialist
- Uses of Adversity
- Burden of Responsibility
- Ordinary Men
- Nothing is True & Everything is Possible
"Fascists despised the small truths of daily existence, loved slogans that resonated like a new religion, and preferred creative myths to history or journalism." #OnTyranny p71
"They used new media…to create a drumbeat of propaganda that aroused feelings before people had time to ascertain facts. And now, as then, many people confused faith in a hugely flawed leader with the truth about the world we all share." #OnTyranny p71
"Post-truth is pre-fascism." #OnTyranny p71
"Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. [Read] long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism… [S]ome of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda… Take responsibility for what you communicate w/ others." #OnTyranny p72
"Once we subliminally accept that we are watching a reality show rather than thinking about real life, no image can actually hurt the president politically. Reality television must become more dramatic with each episode." #OnTyranny p76
"eye contact and small talk…is also a way to stay in touch w/your surroundings, break down social barriers & understand whom you should & should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life" #OnTyranny p81
"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 simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person" #OnTyranny p87
"Make sure you and your family have passports." #OnTyranny p95
"Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary." #OnTyranny p99
"manufacturing a general conviction that the present moment is exceptional, and then transforming that state of exception into a permanent emergency. Citizens then trade real freedom for fake safety." #OnTyranny p100
"When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that [suspends rights] is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. DO NOT FALL FOR IT." #OnTyranny p103
"James Madison nicely made the point that tyranny arises 'on some favorable emergency.' After the Reichstag fire, Hannah Arendt wrote that 'I was no longer of the opinion that one can simply be a bystander.'" #OnTyranny p110
"A nationalist will say that 'it can't happen here,' which is the first step toward disaster. A patriot says that it could happen here, but that we will stop it." #OnTyranny p114
"In his 2016 campaign, the American president used the slogan 'America First,' which is the name of a committee that sought to prevent the United States from opposing Nazi Germany." #OnTyranny p123
"The president's strategic adviser promises policies that will be 'as exciting as the 1930s.' When exactly was the 'again' in the president's slogan 'Make America great again'? Hint: It is the same 'again' that we find in 'Never again.'" #OnTyranny p123
Fin. #OnTyranny
