A very quick history lesson in the danger of the current political environment of the United States and around the world. It is described as “A call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come” against a man who holds open contempt for the values of democracy and the institutions designed to protect them.

It is well documented by this well-respected historian of the Holocaust, that it is that contempt, destruction of institutions, and blind obedience to the destruction of democratic values that led to the rise of Hitler and Stalin. The book is highly accessible reading, and is not an ‘academic’ paper.

While most people only associate Hitler with the Holocaust, it is a mistake to do so. The Holocaust was preceded by the people’s belief that those institutions would protect them from any real danger, but the institutions were systematically dismantled, so the catastrophic polies could be enacted.

Young people whose history classes only covered WWII as the Holocaust, Pearl Harbour and other major events without examining the real rise to power.

People who want a refresher course in the above.
People who don’t see how the two rises to power can possibly be related.

People who fell for the authoritarian trickery before they realize what that actually meant, and how not to be blindsided by it again.

People who want to recognize the language, mannerisms and behaviour of would-be authoritarians.

People who want to know what they can do to protect the institutions that protect them.

Everybody should read this book.

The 20 specific directions he gives for resisting authoritarianism, and then tells you why it is so important to follow those directions by giving DIRECT examples from history.

Orders include
Do not obey in advance – meaning do not anticipate what your leader wants. Parallel: the SS undertook mass killings without orders. Hitler was not only pleased, he realized that without a word, people would inflict more damage than he thought they’d be capable of, in the name of “patriotism”.

He lays out further examples of actual university experiments where people (believed they were) significantly harming other people – without extra prompting - because they thought it was what the scientists wanted.

When he gave his direction for being a real patriot, he listed all the things patriotism wasn’t – first. Nothing he said was incorrect, but I fear it gives (false) weight to the counter-argument by allowing them to (incorrectly) claim some type of logical fallacy. I would have preferred he listed them as statements and then listed a statement as to why the President was not those things.

Give a copy to everyone, everywhere. Also, be more logical instead of emotional when talking about the man – by keeping track of how/what/why he’s destroyed, defunded, cut budgets of, and otherwise power-grabbed.

At first, a little scared. Then – empowered. We see you, and what you’re doing, and now we can officially call it out as what it is.

Is a well-known and respected historian of the Holocaust, with a particular ability to dissect the events and values that led to the rise of power and subsequent atrocities of both Hitler and Stalin.

This is not a man who does “just doesn’t like the President”. This is a man who has documented similar rises to power and specifically points the similarities of not just the President – but the sycophants he surrounds himself and the general populace (who are the only ones capable of stopping him from further power grabs).

As Snyder says, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it teaches a lot of lessons – so he gives you the tools and background to recognize and acknowledge what is going on, and how to work against it.

The book is short, concise and practical. If you appreciate democracy, read this book.

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Created Jan 02, 2018 at 12:19pm • Submit your own review...