Another fabulous lecture! Thank you for all your work outside your classes each week - and it sounds like you teach quite a few! Taking on these additional lectures and then making them available is such a gift to the spirit. Keep taking your vitamins! I cannot wait for your book on Freedom. So much of the current vocabulary in our nation, a vocabulary that has been cheapened by too many loud mouthed folks with no ethics beyond being elected and or making money, must be reclaimed and you are helping all of us do that. Like Zelenskyy says we all like the warm bath but when we get out of the bath we have to deal with the rub of pluralism and all the rest. The temptation is to stay in the warm bath - glued to our screens, or whatever we're glued to. The terrible allure of the strange and dangerous lie of "reality tv" if you will. But none of that produces an ethic for the personal as well as civic work of building democracy and becoming free in our own selves as agents for a better world. And yes, we have to know some of what has already happened and where ideas have come from and who are the people whose ideas still flow through the body politic everywhere. Fascism did not die. It was defeated in a war. It is still present. I've been watching the U.S. and the Holocaust, and the clips of speeches in the US during that period of time are the same words I am hearing today from corners of the US. Not to mention in other parts of the world. I think the warm bath is a response to fear - fear of the unknown, fear that larger forces are not doing what they promised and that, TADA, it is indeed up to you personally and to you with others and that how it plays out will likely be the hardest work you personally have ever undertaken. And of course all of these realizations cut many ways - the folks in thrall to conspiracy theories and hanging on the former guy's (and his acolytes) inanity seem totally hypnotized by the banality of the evil surrounding them. I think President Zelenskyy said something similar yesterday in his speech on the commemoration yesterday, October 14. That is as true for many in our own nation. Fox is not the only purveyor. No wonder it's called Fox.
Excellent analysis. Encouraging and inspiring too. Your account of what Zelenskyy told you in your conversation about freedom reminds me of Martin Luther saying: "Here I stand. I can do no other." Thank you!
I agree, the sound is bad but the microphone sounds fine to me, and when Prof. Snyder is close to it and speaking into it, it sounds fine. It's just that he then moves away from it, and the sound follows the inverse square law and falls off massively with the distance. As a conference interpreter in an online meeting world I am dealing with presenters ignoring the technology that makes them audible to people outside their immediate environment all the time. 😉
As I was listening to it, I kept thinking how much of the material in this lecture applies equally well to another conflict, which has been puzzling and frustrating me for well over 50 years: the one between Israel and the Palestinian people.
The comment by Golda Meir that "There was no such thing as Palestinians" made in June 1969, and the incitement to the killing of Palestinan children, referred to as "little snakes," by Israeli Minister of the Interior Ayelet Shaked come readily to mind.
In the case of Ukraine, most of us enthusiastically support continued assistance to Ukraine in maintaining its independence. In the other conflict, official US policy, and an almost unanimous political posture, provides billions of dollars annually in support of the Israeli government and its actions.
Is this not hypocritical?
Do you think the principles expressed in the lecture apply here? If not, why not?
As a resident of Australia, I listened to this lecture with interest. The analysis of genocide and colonialism applies precisely to Australia's history since European settlement in the late 18th century, when the Englishman Captain James Cook discovered "New Holland", declared it terra nullius and claimed it for the English crown.
Vicious history wars have been fought here over the past couple of decades over who gets to write our national story. Fortunately, our common sense of decency seems to have prevailed for now, and the genocide deniers are in retreat. We have just had an election where common decency also prevailed, the Trump allies here suffering a resounding defeat. Now our indigenous people have a program for a Voice from the Heart to be enshrined in our constitution, and it is to be put to a referendum shortly.
So things can and do change. We benefit, though, from a proportional representation electoral system which has enabled both Greens and "Teals" (socially liberal economic conservatives) to attain substantial representation in both houses of parliament. They are having a marked, entirely beneficial "third force" effect: healthy argument and debate once more obtain, and the air is now fresh and breathable once more.
So much for dealing with "genocide" and "colonialism", and attaining to "renewed democracy". It can be done, and we wish you all the very best in your upcoming midterms.
There remains the question of "fascism", and its founding myth of a primordial purity to which we must aim to return.
Echoing in my mind as I listened to Dr Snyder's description here, was a thought I have had more than once about the Greens. It seems to me (and I say this as a lefty and a green) that there is more than a hint of this neurotic purity complex in the Greens' insistence on an unspoilt nature. So, the best national park is one in which humans do not set foot. We hear about "virgin nature". People become obsessed with removing "non-native" vegetation. Sadly, the truth of the genesis story is that nature fell out of paradise together with the human being (Adam-Eve). So the Greens are reaching for the unattainable. With outfits such as Extinction Rebellion resorting to ever more extreme tactics, though, one wonders whether there may be some undesirable seeds sprouting in there with the otherwise admirable climate action movements. What do you think?
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to follow Dr Snyder's lecture course, and have watched all his videos I can find on Utube. Would it be possible to post the map quiz for those of us not at Yale? I would love to have a go at it!
outstanding, as are all Dr. Snyder's lectures and presentations. Let's keep all this in mind as we participate in the campaigns for the upcoming midterms.
Tim: Thanks again. You are sharing the light of a freedom for builders to build on a secure foundation with individual committment, teams and trust. Here we all stand. Hopefully, soon, together. E pluribus unum.
Really excellent lecture. Thank you. It is hard to be optimistic right now about the future of democracy when the people who might win power in the US and Canada are so enamoured by Putin. They have no interest in understanding the history of Ukraine, which you have been sharing brilliantly in your Yale lectures. I really hope your students go out to vote, and bring along friends and family. The future of democracy really is on the ballot this year.
This is chilling. And unfortunately, it has the ring of truth to it. Putin's actions make no sense in any 'reasonable' way, but fits with his bizarre, but firmly held belief.
The question is how many Russians actually subscribe to it. Judging from the several hundred thousand men of military age who have fled out of the country, a sizeable percentage do not. Most people are probably passively indifferent - until it is their son, husband, father who is drafted into this war. But the war combined with propaganda - look! they attacked our bridge! we have to fight for the fatherland - will probably also convince some of the population that this war must be fought. The only sure thing is more atrocities will follow.
Thank you. This lecture pulls together several questions I have regarding Ivan Ilyan from reading, ‘The Road to Unfreedom.’ Highlighting how propaganda has invaded our lives. Your lectures are a call for/to all of us who haven’t been caught up in the web of lies to speak up and stand up for Democracy for Ukraine.
Thank you. I needed this. I am a European (it's still legal to say that in the UK- just.)
Since the invasion, I felt instinctively that the future of 'Europe' is being decided in Ukraine. That Ukraine is not a place on the borderlands that might or might not join 'Europe': it is at the heart of 'Europe', of what meaning still attaches to 'Europe'. This lecture gives me the facts and argument behind that instinct.
It also answer in the most compelling and chilling way the question: what's with Putin? He's not Stalin.2 which God knows, would be bad enough .He isnt the capo di capi. He is something so dark, so mad, that it's clear we HAVE to stop him.
If History in School was taught in context of today in this manner, many more people would take history in school
Another fabulous lecture! Thank you for all your work outside your classes each week - and it sounds like you teach quite a few! Taking on these additional lectures and then making them available is such a gift to the spirit. Keep taking your vitamins! I cannot wait for your book on Freedom. So much of the current vocabulary in our nation, a vocabulary that has been cheapened by too many loud mouthed folks with no ethics beyond being elected and or making money, must be reclaimed and you are helping all of us do that. Like Zelenskyy says we all like the warm bath but when we get out of the bath we have to deal with the rub of pluralism and all the rest. The temptation is to stay in the warm bath - glued to our screens, or whatever we're glued to. The terrible allure of the strange and dangerous lie of "reality tv" if you will. But none of that produces an ethic for the personal as well as civic work of building democracy and becoming free in our own selves as agents for a better world. And yes, we have to know some of what has already happened and where ideas have come from and who are the people whose ideas still flow through the body politic everywhere. Fascism did not die. It was defeated in a war. It is still present. I've been watching the U.S. and the Holocaust, and the clips of speeches in the US during that period of time are the same words I am hearing today from corners of the US. Not to mention in other parts of the world. I think the warm bath is a response to fear - fear of the unknown, fear that larger forces are not doing what they promised and that, TADA, it is indeed up to you personally and to you with others and that how it plays out will likely be the hardest work you personally have ever undertaken. And of course all of these realizations cut many ways - the folks in thrall to conspiracy theories and hanging on the former guy's (and his acolytes) inanity seem totally hypnotized by the banality of the evil surrounding them. I think President Zelenskyy said something similar yesterday in his speech on the commemoration yesterday, October 14. That is as true for many in our own nation. Fox is not the only purveyor. No wonder it's called Fox.
Excellent thank you.
Excellent analysis. Encouraging and inspiring too. Your account of what Zelenskyy told you in your conversation about freedom reminds me of Martin Luther saying: "Here I stand. I can do no other." Thank you!
The sound quality is poor. A better microphone is needed.
I agree, the sound is bad but the microphone sounds fine to me, and when Prof. Snyder is close to it and speaking into it, it sounds fine. It's just that he then moves away from it, and the sound follows the inverse square law and falls off massively with the distance. As a conference interpreter in an online meeting world I am dealing with presenters ignoring the technology that makes them audible to people outside their immediate environment all the time. 😉
Excellent, and chilling, lecture.
As I was listening to it, I kept thinking how much of the material in this lecture applies equally well to another conflict, which has been puzzling and frustrating me for well over 50 years: the one between Israel and the Palestinian people.
The comment by Golda Meir that "There was no such thing as Palestinians" made in June 1969, and the incitement to the killing of Palestinan children, referred to as "little snakes," by Israeli Minister of the Interior Ayelet Shaked come readily to mind.
In the case of Ukraine, most of us enthusiastically support continued assistance to Ukraine in maintaining its independence. In the other conflict, official US policy, and an almost unanimous political posture, provides billions of dollars annually in support of the Israeli government and its actions.
Is this not hypocritical?
Do you think the principles expressed in the lecture apply here? If not, why not?
Thanks again for an excellent review.
Thank you. this is a forceful and enlightening presentation. Zelensky staying in Kyiv made all the difference.
As a resident of Australia, I listened to this lecture with interest. The analysis of genocide and colonialism applies precisely to Australia's history since European settlement in the late 18th century, when the Englishman Captain James Cook discovered "New Holland", declared it terra nullius and claimed it for the English crown.
Vicious history wars have been fought here over the past couple of decades over who gets to write our national story. Fortunately, our common sense of decency seems to have prevailed for now, and the genocide deniers are in retreat. We have just had an election where common decency also prevailed, the Trump allies here suffering a resounding defeat. Now our indigenous people have a program for a Voice from the Heart to be enshrined in our constitution, and it is to be put to a referendum shortly.
So things can and do change. We benefit, though, from a proportional representation electoral system which has enabled both Greens and "Teals" (socially liberal economic conservatives) to attain substantial representation in both houses of parliament. They are having a marked, entirely beneficial "third force" effect: healthy argument and debate once more obtain, and the air is now fresh and breathable once more.
So much for dealing with "genocide" and "colonialism", and attaining to "renewed democracy". It can be done, and we wish you all the very best in your upcoming midterms.
There remains the question of "fascism", and its founding myth of a primordial purity to which we must aim to return.
Echoing in my mind as I listened to Dr Snyder's description here, was a thought I have had more than once about the Greens. It seems to me (and I say this as a lefty and a green) that there is more than a hint of this neurotic purity complex in the Greens' insistence on an unspoilt nature. So, the best national park is one in which humans do not set foot. We hear about "virgin nature". People become obsessed with removing "non-native" vegetation. Sadly, the truth of the genesis story is that nature fell out of paradise together with the human being (Adam-Eve). So the Greens are reaching for the unattainable. With outfits such as Extinction Rebellion resorting to ever more extreme tactics, though, one wonders whether there may be some undesirable seeds sprouting in there with the otherwise admirable climate action movements. What do you think?
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to follow Dr Snyder's lecture course, and have watched all his videos I can find on Utube. Would it be possible to post the map quiz for those of us not at Yale? I would love to have a go at it!
Thankyou!
outstanding, as are all Dr. Snyder's lectures and presentations. Let's keep all this in mind as we participate in the campaigns for the upcoming midterms.
Tim: Thanks again. You are sharing the light of a freedom for builders to build on a secure foundation with individual committment, teams and trust. Here we all stand. Hopefully, soon, together. E pluribus unum.
Really excellent lecture. Thank you. It is hard to be optimistic right now about the future of democracy when the people who might win power in the US and Canada are so enamoured by Putin. They have no interest in understanding the history of Ukraine, which you have been sharing brilliantly in your Yale lectures. I really hope your students go out to vote, and bring along friends and family. The future of democracy really is on the ballot this year.
This is chilling. And unfortunately, it has the ring of truth to it. Putin's actions make no sense in any 'reasonable' way, but fits with his bizarre, but firmly held belief.
The question is how many Russians actually subscribe to it. Judging from the several hundred thousand men of military age who have fled out of the country, a sizeable percentage do not. Most people are probably passively indifferent - until it is their son, husband, father who is drafted into this war. But the war combined with propaganda - look! they attacked our bridge! we have to fight for the fatherland - will probably also convince some of the population that this war must be fought. The only sure thing is more atrocities will follow.
Thanks you for another excellent synthesis.
Thank you. This lecture pulls together several questions I have regarding Ivan Ilyan from reading, ‘The Road to Unfreedom.’ Highlighting how propaganda has invaded our lives. Your lectures are a call for/to all of us who haven’t been caught up in the web of lies to speak up and stand up for Democracy for Ukraine.
It was always predicted to be the fall of Rome, but instead will be Ukraine. By Moscow the third Rome. Crazy.
Thank you. I needed this. I am a European (it's still legal to say that in the UK- just.)
Since the invasion, I felt instinctively that the future of 'Europe' is being decided in Ukraine. That Ukraine is not a place on the borderlands that might or might not join 'Europe': it is at the heart of 'Europe', of what meaning still attaches to 'Europe'. This lecture gives me the facts and argument behind that instinct.
It also answer in the most compelling and chilling way the question: what's with Putin? He's not Stalin.2 which God knows, would be bad enough .He isnt the capo di capi. He is something so dark, so mad, that it's clear we HAVE to stop him.
An attached face microphone, like the astronauts use is needed.