on tyranny 20 lessons from the 20th century

The “20 Lessons from the 20th Century,” as the post came to be called, focused a national spotlight on its author.Įven before his post, Snyder had been no stranger to fame. Within days the post had gone viral, accumulating over 17,000 shares on Facebook and making headlines across dozens of websites. Here are twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today.” “Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. There’s also a PDF available for download but it requires you to sign up for an account of some kind.“Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism,” he began.

And don't get me started on Trump's attacks on the judiciary. Not only is he firing heads of agencies who disagree with him, he has fired and refused to replace EVERY SINGLE US attorney, as well as leaving vacant almost all deputy, assistant, and deputy assistant cabinet positions. Now, Trump is about to deliver the coup d'grace. Since then, Republicans at all levels have worked to destroy or cripple our institutions. First, Ronald Reagan declared government is the problem. THE VERY SAME THING IS GOING ON HERE - our institutions are being destroyed.

He goes on to describe how Hitler in Germany and the Bolsheviks in Russia destroyed the institutions that protected the citizens. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. The section of 'On Tyranny' that spoke loudest to me is section 2: After reading it, you will want to re-read it and pass it around to your friends. 'On Tyranny' is a short, small book that you can read in an afternoon or less. In a recent interview, Snyder predicted that Trump would stage or would take advantage of a major event - e.g., terrorist attack - to pull off a coup similar to Hitler's Kristallnacht. Snyder has pulled out 20 lessons that illustrate how it happened and HOW IT CAN HAPPEN HERE. Within a few years, most of these had turned into dictatorships. 'On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century,' by Yale historian Timothy Snyder.įollowing the two world wars, democratic republics of various types emerged from the carnage.

On tyranny 20 lessons from the 20th century