Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
On Tyranny -- Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
(by Timothy Snyder, 2017, pocket- sized, double spaced, 126 pp)
History does not repeat. But it does instruct. History can familiarize and it can warn...
We might be tempted to think that our democratic heritage automatically protects us from such threats. This is a misguided reflex.
In fact, the precedent set by the the Founders demands that we examine history to understand the deep sources of tyranny, and to consider the proper responses to it.
Americans today are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yeidl to fascism, Nazism, or communism in the twentieth century.
Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so.
This book presents twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today.
We might be tempted to think that our democratic heritage automatically protects us from such threats. This is a misguided reflex.
In fact, the precedent set by the the Founders demands that we examine history to understand the deep sources of tyranny, and to consider the proper responses to it.
Americans today are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yeidl to fascism, Nazism, or communism in the twentieth century.
Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so.
This book presents twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today.
Chapter Titles:
1. Do not obey in advance.
2. Defend institutions.
3. Beware the one-party state.
4. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
5. Remember professional ethics.
6. Be wary of paramilitaries.
7. Be reflective if you must be armed.
8. Stand out.
9. Be kind to our language.
10.Believe in truth.
11. Investigate.
12. Make eye contact and small talk.
13. Practice corporeal politics.
14. Establish a private life.
15. Contribute to good causes.
16. Learn from peers in other countries.
17. Listen for dangerous words.
18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
19. Be a patriot.
20. Be as courageous as you can.
In the future we might literally be the Democratic Underground.
8 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Good to know. And thanks for including the painting by John Trumbull - I'm a descendant of his and I love this piece! 
