I thought this was just a bad dream from which I would eventually awaken. I thought, that in time, a short time, the world would get back to “normal.” Now, I know. It is not a dream; not even a nightmare. It is a new reality and there is no longer a normal to get back to.
After reading Professor Timothy Snyder’s book entitled On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, I understood we will never go back.
First of all, Dr. Snyder has some chops as a teacher and a writer. He is a Professor of History at Yale University and he has authored, co-authored, or edited a dozen books on the history of the 20th century, most notably the rise and decline of Nazism, Communism, and Fascism in Europe.
I purchased the book after seeing a review of it in an interview with Dr. Snyder conducted by Bill Maher. I figured I’d casually read it over the next couple weeks like I do with non-fiction titles; amble my way through, be more entertained by the history rather than moved by rhetoric.
I read the entire book in 4 hours. It helped that it was only 126 pages long and roughly the size of a pamphlet (this I think not unintentional). The 20 odd chapters average about 5 pages each – the shortest being 1 page (if you don’t count the grim single line that constitutes chapter 20); the longest chapter is about 8 pages (and probably the most important chapter in the book regarding what comes next – Chapter 18).
The chapter titles are topical and germane to life in a fragile Democracy. Really, did you ever think our Democracy had a shelf life? For each chapter, Dr. Snyder works a rhetorical formula that goes something like this:
1. Statement of current concern, issue or threat
2. Historic correlate to #1
3. Contemporary correlate to #1 & #2
4. Evidence of the threat to Democracy
I won’t reveal the content of Dr. Snyder’s chapters, lest I rob you of the “pleasure” of your own discovery. Suffice it to say this: think about this rhetorical pattern with chapter titles like: Beware the One Party State, Be Wary of Paramilitaries, and Listen For Dangerous Words.
This is our reality now: Democracy is under attack. If you doubt that all of this is really happening and that, maybe after 2018 elections, or the 2020 elections, we can get back to “normal,” check out chapter 19, Be A Patriot.
The book is not ALL doom and gloom; there actually is a flicker and a spark of hope here and there. Dr. Snyder does give advice on how to engage in a positive, civically disobedient way.
I also, have some advice: Purchase this book. ($6.97 pb/$3.99 Kindle.) When I checked it out at the County Public Library, the library had one copy that had 16 holds on it. Read it. Tell your friends about this book. Maybe purchase a couple of copies to give to them. We all – ALL — must wake up to this new reality now.
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Submitted by Mark Kumming, WCD Member