Thank you Professor Snyder for starting this blog. I just finished reading The Road to Unfreedom and subscribed immediately when I saw this. I am a retired securities lawyer and grandmother who realized last September that, to understand and fight Trump and his ilk, I had to do more than merely text out the vote and make donations.
Subscribed Immediately. Thank you professor for all the book you do. I guess its important to understand the basics of economics, political structure and key systems that run our society. If you could help to provide book recommendations to understand the basics of these various range of key topics that would help beginners like us. Thanks again.
I subscribed! I have been following your work since the publication of On Tyranny. I have introduced your writing and interviews to other politically active people. I worry about the US slipping into Authoritarianism. It looks likely if the Republican Party takes back the Legislature in 2022 and then wins the Presidency in 2024. The Biden Administration is making efforts to preserve democratic norms but they are having a stumble at immigration and also in ability to pass policy because of sometimes arcane rules (such as the filibuster in the Senate) and a Republican Party who has mostly decided truth doesn’t matter and who has decided to go the authoritarian route. What’s even more worrisome than on the Federal level is what is happening in many US State legislatures which are Republican-held. These legislatures are introducing bills to suppress voting and to possibly strip a governor who disagrees of the power to stop them. I live in MD, so it is not an issue here, but in PA, it is a different story. I support groups like ACLU and SPLC, but what else can I do?
Subscribed immediately. Thank you for walking the walk when it comes to freedom. I always remember you said, "freedom is being able to live and discuss your values." As our society drifts further towards magical thinking to alleviate the unimaginable pressures we face, I welcome your commitment to the value of free thought and wrestling with hard things. Thank you for not only reminding us of the power of individuals with your historical work but for showing us how to be empowered individuals with your writing and commentary.
Thank you. Reading Bloodlands was like discovering a new continent. I felt much more prepared to deal with questions of security and politics and why people make the decisions they do after your work.
Thank you for being a "wayfinder." You were the first person who helped me make sense of Brexit - Trump - and the politics of eternity. Thank you for your book on malady - I could totally relate to lying in the ER and thinking about the system - so glad you are better - we need you.
Poet David Whyte talks about how we are animated by "beautiful and disturbing questions." I am using a few to pull me forwards. One is about food systems (my area of work and writing). Canada is entertaining a wide spectrum of views on food futures but still framing policy around the usual very few very large corporate players, which privileges a multinationally controlled colonial approach with a strong techno-optimist flavour (big data, blockchain, and AI).
My meta question is this. How do we conduct the future-systems discussion without creating binaries and polarizing (e.g. for food, tech vs agro-ecology) which leads to parties entrenching and viewing each other as "good guys" and bad guys?" How do those of us who have been working on a given issue for decades find ways to frame the discussion without deepening our own or others' confirmation biases?
I am so grateful for this new endeavor. I have been reading you for a long time, but want to especially thank you for The Road to Unfreedom. I am also a fan of your wife’s work, which is equally brilliant. I have been a reader of history, especially of 19th and 20th century Europe, since I was a teen. I’m thankful for historians who engage the reading public. I can’t wait to watch this conversation unfold.
Subscribed immediately. In Vienna, please greet those months in 1948 when Paul Celan met Ingeborg Bachmann! Interesting your thought in the "Malady" piece concerning that word: I went through roughly the same meditation when I translated Abdelwahab Meddeb's book "La Maladie de l'Islam" as "The Malady of Islam" (rather than as illness, sickness, whatever) as he was a writing it right after 9/11. Looking forward to your new writings — the old ones sustained me during these past 4 years. Thank you.
Subscribed for a year. I trust you. I’ve watched anything I can find of you on YouTube. From years ago. I’m very happy you’ve decided to do this. Thank you.
Question: I would like to know if you are willing to do a thought experiment and give subscribers a taste of what America would look like/be like to live in for a Democratic voter like me (or them) if S1, For the People Act, does not pass and the Trump party retakes the house, the senate, and the presidency. I do not see a Trumpian president and a Trumpian congress giving up power once they retake it all and there is no S1 to protect the right to vote. If S1 does not pass it will be harder or impossible for democrats to cast their vote.
Background—what spurred the question:
I have read your recent books. On Tyranny helped so much during the Trump years. Our Malady should be read by everyone in Congress. We need Universal Healthcare, not just Medicare for all.
I worry about the stability of the USA, especially for my children and grandchildren. I worry our nation’s allies fret over the stability of our government—treaties and agreements got thrown out the window with Trump, and will not come to our aid in our time of need.
My mother, fifteen years old at the time, endured WWII in Yugoslavia—internal civil war plus invasions by Axis powers. The stories she told of her time in a concentration camp (entire family) and other things she had to do to survive, such as being forced to choose a side--were horrifying. I am uncertain if people understand how fragile civility is and how quickly a neighbor turns on a neighbor.
When Trump won and consolidated power and set about systemically destroying established governmental norms and established brain trusts within the government, he was, I think, establishing a compact with the Republicans and the supporting oligarchs in the USA (the appointment of DeJoy at the U.S. Post Office, and its demolition, mail sorter by mail sorter) in return for their absolute loyalty to him and his administration. Only a handful of Republicans challenged him politically to act against his strategic interests.
The GOP remained silent or were aiding and abetting his criminally neglectful approach to the COVID-19 pandemic (calling the virus a hoax, no need for mask-wearing, keep the country open), the separation of children from parents at the border, his overt racism, sexism, and bigotry, his pandering to dictators, his begging of foreign governments to interfere with the 2016/2020 election, his coercion of the heads of agencies, his blatant violation of the emoluments clause (how does one enter the presidency bankrupt and come out a multi-billionaire?), his attempts to privatize rich public US lands, there’s more, and of course his spreading of the Big Lie.
I do not think Trump and the Republicans are finished pillaging the USA. I think they are just getting started and regrouping. If the filibuster is not ended, and S1, For the People Act of 2021 is not passed, how will a democratic party candidate ever get voted in again with the draconian voter suppression laws passed by forty-three (or is it forty-eight) states?
What I saw on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol showed me the fragility of our democratic government. I worry that if we devolve into a full-fledged civil war because half of the nation wants a democratic government and the other half wants to follow a dictator, we won’t get UN peacekeepers (I don’t know enough about them to know whether we would want their assistance), but instead we would get a Russia and China invasion, in the form of, ‘we’re helping to stabilize the U.S.A.—a too big to fail thing, but really they want a piece of our rich in natural resources nation.’ And then I think, I am catastrophizing. But that little bit of Eastern European DNA in me is screaming loudly to pack up and leave if S1 does not pass. Am I catastrophizing?
Found this substack and immediately subscribed. Thank you, Professor Snyder for sharing your insights. I discovered you through On Tyranny and have read a lesson from the book at nearly every protest I have attended these past 5 years. I have also passed along over 30 copies of your book since I now permanently carry a copy in my bag. I am a regional organizer (NC/SC) working at Indivisible Project and want you to know that you have an enormous amount of support among my groups. Thank you again.
Fastest subscription I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for doing this Dr. Snyder! If demagogues and algorithms can rob us of our focus and “dissolve our concentration by distraction” in order to destroy our democracy, then it will take a private space (at first) with guidance from the well informed and well intentioned to recalibrate our focus, so that we can prevent its demise. And this is the story that will build back the necessary resilience we so desperately need. I am so happy to be here in this space and I am looking forward to listening, learning, and I hope I can contribute something of value in return. I’ve read all your recent books, and finished The Red Prince over the holidays ( a needed education on the Hapsburgs and Ukrainian history. I’ve wanted to start Bloodlands, however since Jan 6th, I just can’t stop re-reading The Road to Unfreedom.
Spaces for people to think without being distracted by the latest manufactured controversy are what we need. Thank you for doing this.
I think time would be spent well on the development of accurate, compelling, easy-to-grasp narratives that reach beyond those already-converted and start to highlight the glaring hypocrisy and incompetence of the ruling right.
Jan Neuenschwander
Thank you Professor Snyder for starting this blog. I just finished reading The Road to Unfreedom and subscribed immediately when I saw this. I am a retired securities lawyer and grandmother who realized last September that, to understand and fight Trump and his ilk, I had to do more than merely text out the vote and make donations.
Subscribed Immediately. Thank you professor for all the book you do. I guess its important to understand the basics of economics, political structure and key systems that run our society. If you could help to provide book recommendations to understand the basics of these various range of key topics that would help beginners like us. Thanks again.
I subscribed! I have been following your work since the publication of On Tyranny. I have introduced your writing and interviews to other politically active people. I worry about the US slipping into Authoritarianism. It looks likely if the Republican Party takes back the Legislature in 2022 and then wins the Presidency in 2024. The Biden Administration is making efforts to preserve democratic norms but they are having a stumble at immigration and also in ability to pass policy because of sometimes arcane rules (such as the filibuster in the Senate) and a Republican Party who has mostly decided truth doesn’t matter and who has decided to go the authoritarian route. What’s even more worrisome than on the Federal level is what is happening in many US State legislatures which are Republican-held. These legislatures are introducing bills to suppress voting and to possibly strip a governor who disagrees of the power to stop them. I live in MD, so it is not an issue here, but in PA, it is a different story. I support groups like ACLU and SPLC, but what else can I do?
Subscribed immediately. Thank you for walking the walk when it comes to freedom. I always remember you said, "freedom is being able to live and discuss your values." As our society drifts further towards magical thinking to alleviate the unimaginable pressures we face, I welcome your commitment to the value of free thought and wrestling with hard things. Thank you for not only reminding us of the power of individuals with your historical work but for showing us how to be empowered individuals with your writing and commentary.
Thank you. Reading Bloodlands was like discovering a new continent. I felt much more prepared to deal with questions of security and politics and why people make the decisions they do after your work.
Thank you for being a "wayfinder." You were the first person who helped me make sense of Brexit - Trump - and the politics of eternity. Thank you for your book on malady - I could totally relate to lying in the ER and thinking about the system - so glad you are better - we need you.
Poet David Whyte talks about how we are animated by "beautiful and disturbing questions." I am using a few to pull me forwards. One is about food systems (my area of work and writing). Canada is entertaining a wide spectrum of views on food futures but still framing policy around the usual very few very large corporate players, which privileges a multinationally controlled colonial approach with a strong techno-optimist flavour (big data, blockchain, and AI).
My meta question is this. How do we conduct the future-systems discussion without creating binaries and polarizing (e.g. for food, tech vs agro-ecology) which leads to parties entrenching and viewing each other as "good guys" and bad guys?" How do those of us who have been working on a given issue for decades find ways to frame the discussion without deepening our own or others' confirmation biases?
I am so grateful for this new endeavor. I have been reading you for a long time, but want to especially thank you for The Road to Unfreedom. I am also a fan of your wife’s work, which is equally brilliant. I have been a reader of history, especially of 19th and 20th century Europe, since I was a teen. I’m thankful for historians who engage the reading public. I can’t wait to watch this conversation unfold.
Subscribed immediately. In Vienna, please greet those months in 1948 when Paul Celan met Ingeborg Bachmann! Interesting your thought in the "Malady" piece concerning that word: I went through roughly the same meditation when I translated Abdelwahab Meddeb's book "La Maladie de l'Islam" as "The Malady of Islam" (rather than as illness, sickness, whatever) as he was a writing it right after 9/11. Looking forward to your new writings — the old ones sustained me during these past 4 years. Thank you.
Subscribed immediately!
A light in the darkness. Looking forward to this.
Subscribed for a year. I trust you. I’ve watched anything I can find of you on YouTube. From years ago. I’m very happy you’ve decided to do this. Thank you.
Hello Professor Snyder.
Thank you for starting this blog. I subscribed.
Question: I would like to know if you are willing to do a thought experiment and give subscribers a taste of what America would look like/be like to live in for a Democratic voter like me (or them) if S1, For the People Act, does not pass and the Trump party retakes the house, the senate, and the presidency. I do not see a Trumpian president and a Trumpian congress giving up power once they retake it all and there is no S1 to protect the right to vote. If S1 does not pass it will be harder or impossible for democrats to cast their vote.
Background—what spurred the question:
I have read your recent books. On Tyranny helped so much during the Trump years. Our Malady should be read by everyone in Congress. We need Universal Healthcare, not just Medicare for all.
I worry about the stability of the USA, especially for my children and grandchildren. I worry our nation’s allies fret over the stability of our government—treaties and agreements got thrown out the window with Trump, and will not come to our aid in our time of need.
My mother, fifteen years old at the time, endured WWII in Yugoslavia—internal civil war plus invasions by Axis powers. The stories she told of her time in a concentration camp (entire family) and other things she had to do to survive, such as being forced to choose a side--were horrifying. I am uncertain if people understand how fragile civility is and how quickly a neighbor turns on a neighbor.
When Trump won and consolidated power and set about systemically destroying established governmental norms and established brain trusts within the government, he was, I think, establishing a compact with the Republicans and the supporting oligarchs in the USA (the appointment of DeJoy at the U.S. Post Office, and its demolition, mail sorter by mail sorter) in return for their absolute loyalty to him and his administration. Only a handful of Republicans challenged him politically to act against his strategic interests.
The GOP remained silent or were aiding and abetting his criminally neglectful approach to the COVID-19 pandemic (calling the virus a hoax, no need for mask-wearing, keep the country open), the separation of children from parents at the border, his overt racism, sexism, and bigotry, his pandering to dictators, his begging of foreign governments to interfere with the 2016/2020 election, his coercion of the heads of agencies, his blatant violation of the emoluments clause (how does one enter the presidency bankrupt and come out a multi-billionaire?), his attempts to privatize rich public US lands, there’s more, and of course his spreading of the Big Lie.
I do not think Trump and the Republicans are finished pillaging the USA. I think they are just getting started and regrouping. If the filibuster is not ended, and S1, For the People Act of 2021 is not passed, how will a democratic party candidate ever get voted in again with the draconian voter suppression laws passed by forty-three (or is it forty-eight) states?
What I saw on January 6, 2021, at the Capitol showed me the fragility of our democratic government. I worry that if we devolve into a full-fledged civil war because half of the nation wants a democratic government and the other half wants to follow a dictator, we won’t get UN peacekeepers (I don’t know enough about them to know whether we would want their assistance), but instead we would get a Russia and China invasion, in the form of, ‘we’re helping to stabilize the U.S.A.—a too big to fail thing, but really they want a piece of our rich in natural resources nation.’ And then I think, I am catastrophizing. But that little bit of Eastern European DNA in me is screaming loudly to pack up and leave if S1 does not pass. Am I catastrophizing?
Thank you.
Found this substack and immediately subscribed. Thank you, Professor Snyder for sharing your insights. I discovered you through On Tyranny and have read a lesson from the book at nearly every protest I have attended these past 5 years. I have also passed along over 30 copies of your book since I now permanently carry a copy in my bag. I am a regional organizer (NC/SC) working at Indivisible Project and want you to know that you have an enormous amount of support among my groups. Thank you again.
Fastest subscription I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for doing this Dr. Snyder! If demagogues and algorithms can rob us of our focus and “dissolve our concentration by distraction” in order to destroy our democracy, then it will take a private space (at first) with guidance from the well informed and well intentioned to recalibrate our focus, so that we can prevent its demise. And this is the story that will build back the necessary resilience we so desperately need. I am so happy to be here in this space and I am looking forward to listening, learning, and I hope I can contribute something of value in return. I’ve read all your recent books, and finished The Red Prince over the holidays ( a needed education on the Hapsburgs and Ukrainian history. I’ve wanted to start Bloodlands, however since Jan 6th, I just can’t stop re-reading The Road to Unfreedom.
Spaces for people to think without being distracted by the latest manufactured controversy are what we need. Thank you for doing this.
I think time would be spent well on the development of accurate, compelling, easy-to-grasp narratives that reach beyond those already-converted and start to highlight the glaring hypocrisy and incompetence of the ruling right.
Thank you for creating your blog. Looking forward many hours of reading and learning.