1. Do not obey in advance. 2. Defend institutions. 3. Beware the one-party state. 4. Take responsibility for the face of the world. 5. Remember professional ethnics. 6. Be wary of paramilitaries. 7. Be reflective if you must be armed. 8. Stand out. 9. Be kind to our language. 10. Believe in truth. 11. Investigate. 12. Make eye contact and small talk. 13. Practice corporeal politics. 14. Establish a private life. 15. Contribute to good causes. 16. Learn from peers in other countries. 17. Listen for dangerous words. 18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. 19. Be a patriot. 20. Be as courageous as you can.
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1. Do not obey in advance. 1
Much of the power of authoritarianism
is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about
what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do
it without being asked. You’ve already done this, haven’t you?
Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible
and accelerates unfreedom.
2. Defend an institution. 2
Follow the courts or the media, or a
court or a newspaper. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless
you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions
don’t protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each
is defended from the beginning.
3. Recall professional ethics. 5
When the leaders of state set a
negative example, professional commitments to just practice
become much more important. It is hard to break a ruleoflaw
state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without
judges.
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look
out for the expansive use of “terrorism” and “extremism.” Be
alive to the fatal notions of “exception” and “emergency.” Be
angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. 18
When the terrorist attack
comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await
or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the
Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the
balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the
oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don’t fall for it.
6. Be kind to our language. 9
Avoid pronouncing the phrases
everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if
only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don’t use
the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your
bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps “The Power of the
Powerless” by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The
Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The
Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True
and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.
7. Stand out. 8
Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to
follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something dif erent.
But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you
set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others
will follow.
8. Believe in truth. 10
To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If
nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is
no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is
spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights
9. Investigate. 11
Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time
with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by
subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your
screen is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate
foreign propaganda pushes.
10. Practice corporeal politics. 13
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.
11. Make eye contact and small talk. 12
This is not just polite. It is a
way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down
unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you
should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation,
you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily
life.
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. 4
Notice the
swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do
not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example
for others to do so.
13. Hinder the one-party state. 3
The parties that took over states
were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to
make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and
state elections while you can.
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. 15
Pick a charity and
set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free
choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing
something good.
15. Establish a private life. 14
Nastier rulers will use what they know
about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware.
Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative
forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal
exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal
trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for
the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.
16. Learn from others in other countries. 16
Keep up your friendships
abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here
are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find
a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have
passports.
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. 6
When the men with guns who
have always claimed to be against the system start wearing
uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a
Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the
offcial police and military intermingle, the game is over.
18. Be reflective if you must be armed. 7
If you carry a weapon in
public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of
the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one
day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not
know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)
19. Be as courageous as you can. 20
If none of us is prepared to die
for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.
20. Be a patriot. 19
The incoming president is not. Set a good
example of what America means for the generations to come. They
will need it.
