Snyder’s ‘On Tyranny’ should be required reading
“In politics, being deceived is no excuse.” —Leszek Kolakowski
A good friend gave us a book that should be required reading today. “On Tyranny” is a small (4×6-inch), 127-page volume by Timothy Snyder, a celebrated history professor at Yale University. His specialty is Russian and Eastern European history. He has studied tyrants and tyrannical regimes around the world for years.
One of his messages is that tyrants are easy to spot: think Putin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Xi Zhin Pi, Castro, etc. Donald J. Trump is a tyrant wannabe.
Tyrants push big lies. They call their opponents names. They ignore facts and reality in favor of propaganda. They suppress or restrict voting. They misuse language. You get the picture.
Snyder says our Founding Fathers designed the U.S. Constitution to stand up to political zealots who will do or say anything to destroy our form of government and grab power for themselves.
“On Tyranny” has 20 short chapters or lessons that tell us what we can do to resist tyranny and protect ourselves, our community and our country. Read it. It won’t take long. Why not send copies to your state reps and their Trump supporters in Congress?
Randy West |
Bloomington, Ind.
