Thread by @TimothyDSnyder

0/10 Yesterday I tweeted that it was up to civil society to defend democracy. Today I want to say something about what civil society is, and how it works.

1/10 Civil society, for the dissidents from whom I learned, means that layer of activity between the isolated individual and the powerful state. It enables freedom despite fear and action despite oppression.

2/10 Civil society opposes loneliness. It means speaking to people about the real dangers we face, in this case the coup attempt we must confront. Talking more means fearing less.

3/10 Vaclav Havel spoke of "the powerful realization that freedom is indivisible." Civil society means acting alongside others.

4/10 Jacek Kuron advised not to burn down the other side's party committees, but to found your own. Civil society means forming groups or joining them.

5/10 Civil society means acting where you have knowledge and concern. This is what Havel meant by "living in truth." Lawyers who care about the rule of law, for example, should be highly engaged right now.

6/10 If you want to make a difference, you can check in with (or donate to) civil society organizations whose members have been thinking about what to do about authoritarian plotting & when to do it: your union, Indivisible, #ProtectTheResults, @protctdemocracy, @fairfightaction

7/10 Civil society avoids violent confrontation. Peaceful action looks better, feels better, and works better.

8/10 Civil society suggests we act where we can, rather than stand back and watch what we cannot change.

9/10 What to do in these weeks? We can work for change in Georgia. We can organize and march for values that will become policy. For a transition to racial equity. For a transition to climate rescue. For a transition to a healthy society. For a transition to an employment economy

10/10 Civil society makes the best more likely and the worst less terrible. It opens vistas for change. And it prepares us for the challenges, if and when they come, that we must face down.