博客存档 - Susan Tacent

Beyond a Narrow Circle

8/26/2020

Sharing in an undertaking teaches us that we can trust people beyond a narrow circle of friends and families, and helps us to recognize authorities from whom we can learn. The capacity for trust and learning can make life seem less chaotic and mysterious, and democratic politics more plausible and attractive.

15 Contribute to good causes, from On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder

The Notion of Hidden Realities

8/25/2020

Totalitarianism removes the difference between private and public not just to make individuals unfree, but also to draw the whole society away from normal politics and toward conspiracy theories. Rather than defining facts or generating interpretations, we are seduced by the notion of hidden realities and dark conspiracies that explain everything.

14 Establish a private life, (Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around.) from On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder

Your body softening in your chair

8/24/2020

For resistance to succeed, two boundaries must be crossed. First, ideas about change must engage people of various backgrounds who do not agree about everything. Second, people must find themselves in places that are not their homes, and among groups who were not previously their friends. Protest can be organized through social media, but nothing is real that does not end on the streets. If tyrants feel no consequences for their actions in the three-dimensional world, nothing will change.

13 Practice corporeal politics, (Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.) from On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder

Trust

8/23/2020

In the most dangerous of times, those who escape and survive generally know people whom they can trust. Having old friends is the politics of last resort. And making new ones is the first step toward change.

12 Make eye contact and small talk, in On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder

Some Private Responsibility

8/22/2020

Since in the age of the internet we are all publishers, each of us bears some private responsibility for the public's sense of truth. If we are serious about seeking the facts, we can each make a small revolution in the way the internet works. If you are verifying information for yourself, you will not send on fake news to others. If you choose to follow reporters whom you have reason to trust, you can also transmit what they have learned to others. If you retweet only the work of humans who have followed journalistic protocols, you are less likely to debase your brain interacting with bots and trolls.

11 Investigate in On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century, Timothy Snyder

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Your body softening in your chair

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