<div dir="ltr"><a href="http://444.hu/2016/11/22/egy-tortenesz-20-tanacsa-a-trump-rendszerben-eloknek-de-magyarkent-sem-hulyeseg-elolvasni">http://444.hu/2016/11/22/egy-tortenesz-20-tanacsa-a-trump-rendszerben-eloknek-de-magyarkent-sem-hulyeseg-elolvasni</a><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">2016-11-28 10:18 GMT+01:00 Patrice Riemens <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:patrice@xs4all.nl" target="_blank">patrice@xs4all.nl</a>></span>:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Twenty Lessons from the 20th Century<br>
<br>
by Timothy Snyder, Housum Professor of History Yale University<br>
<br>
"Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield<br>
to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might<br>
learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are<br>
twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances<br>
of today<br>
.<br>
1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is<br>
freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a<br>
more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without<br>
being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory<br>
obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates<br>
unfreedom.<br>
<br>
2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court<br>
or a newspaper. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you are making<br>
them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don't protect<br>
themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the<br>
beginning.<br>
<br>
3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set a<br>
negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much<br>
more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers,<br>
and it is hard to have show trials without judges.<br>
<br>
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look<br>
out for the expansive use of "terrorism" and "extremism." Be alive<br>
to the fatal notions of "exception" and "emergency." Be angry about<br>
the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.<br>
<br>
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist attack<br>
comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or<br>
plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag<br>
fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power,<br>
the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the<br>
Hitlerian book. Don't fall for it.<br>
<br>
6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone<br>
else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey<br>
that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don't use the internet before<br>
bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to<br>
read? Perhaps "The Power of the Powerless" by Václav Havel, 1984 by<br>
George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czes½aw Milosz, The Rebel by Albert<br>
Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is<br>
True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.<br>
<br>
7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to<br>
follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But<br>
without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an<br>
example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.<br>
<br>
8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If<br>
nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no<br>
basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle.<br>
The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.<br>
<br>
9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with<br>
long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to<br>
print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to<br>
harm you. Bookmark PropOrNot or other sites that investigate foreign<br>
propaganda pushes.<br>
<br>
10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in<br>
your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put<br>
your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends<br>
and march with them.<br>
<br>
11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is<br>
a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary<br>
social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should not<br>
trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the<br>
psychological landscape of your daily life.<br>
<br>
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the<br>
swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get<br>
used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do<br>
so.<br>
<br>
13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over states<br>
were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make<br>
political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state<br>
elections while you can.<br>
<br>
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a charity and<br>
set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that<br>
is supporting civil society helping others doing something good.<br>
<br>
15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know<br>
about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember<br>
that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the<br>
internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person.<br>
For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.<br>
Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on<br>
which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.<br>
<br>
16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your friendships<br>
abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an<br>
element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution<br>
by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.<br>
<br>
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns who<br>
have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and<br>
marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh.<br>
When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military<br>
intermingle, the game is over.<br>
<br>
18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in<br>
public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the<br>
past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing<br>
irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this<br>
means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about<br>
training in professional ethics.)<br>
<br>
19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die<br>
for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.<br>
<br>
20. Be a patriot. The incoming president is not. Set a good example<br>
of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it."<br>
<br>
Timothy Snyder<br>
Housum Professor of History<br>
Yale University<br>
Author: "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning"<br>
<br>
(original to:<br>
<a href="http://lapelosa.tumblr.com/post/153343741892/twenty-lessons-from-the-20th-century" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lapelosa.tumblr.com/pos<wbr>t/153343741892/twenty-lessons-<wbr>from-the-20th-century</a>)<br>
<br>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><a href="http://www.eperjesi.hu/" target="_blank">http://www.eperjesi.hu/</a><br></div>
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