Never in my 83 years did I ever imagine this nightmare. I once thought the Nixon debacle was the worst we as a nation would experience. How naive I was!
There are already stormtroopers on the ground in North Carolina. The Patriot Front Neo Nazis have been assisting residents of North Carolina in the cleanup following the hurricane, while also spreading misinformation. This will be commonplace in a Trump presidency.
Here in Florida, Governor DeSantis has gone directly to governmental, official intimidation with door-knocking "election police" checking on the validity of signatures to a freedom-centered ballot initiative and, now, to threats of criminal charges to media outlets that carry advertisements in favor of the ballot initiative. It is amazing. I am trying to remember Dr. Snyder's admonition to not panic when the unthinkable happens. It has happened here.
Thank you Dr. Snyder. Being born near the start of the Great Depression, I do recognize all the signs of fascism. People who migrated here after the end of WW2 were immersed in the blood and terror of fascism as it spread its ugliness across Europe. I only read about it and saw pictures in newspapers, Life Magazine, Time, and news reels in movie theaters, but those things stuck in my memory.
I understand the people of the southern States, I don't know how it was before the 1970's but from the time I became a Director on the Board of Directors of the teachers union - the NEA National Education Association. I was in contact with teachers in southern States. Their quality of education was so low then and I doubt it has improved since. The less educated you are the more often you fall for demagogues. If you don't know the history, don't understand the economy in terms other than your household budget it's easier to accept the blame game. "I have to work hard in a crappy job, and have nothing in savings, so it must be someone else's fault"
There is a political scientist who I had heard within the last year on the "Smart People" podcast, who had data to suggest that on both sides of the divide only 20% each are well informed about the issues -- most people simply not having the time, the education, the energy or the patience (or any combination) to inform themselves better.
I believe this is mostly due to leaving education at the mercy of the States of the top 5 all but Colorado are in he New England States while the bottom 5 are all in the South. This is so unfair to children that the education they receive is totally dependent on where they are born and the wealth of their parents. For this reason I am a strong advocate of Individualized Education. I have written a couple of essays on this in Fay's Rants and am in the preparatory state of presenting this to California Office of Education and next year to the Federal Department of Education.
What would Individualized Education look like to you, and how would it solve the problem of many states and/or districts allowing their children to be poorly educated?
I respectfully would dispute your analysis of the cause and effect here.
Homeschooling, which I assume is what you mean by individualized education, was the beginning of the trend that allowed belief systems, such as creationism, to trump (pardon the pun) established science, the replaces hard won scientific discoveries with fairy tales, appealing to emotions instead of reason. Well educated Foreign Nations (and some of our more educated States) have curriculums, designed by seasoned highly capable educators and are reviewed by peers constantly - with minimal influence by politicians and parents. And education is not bankrupting anyone. In these well educated Nations parents do not have the "freedom" to decide that their child stay dumb and be indoctrinated by nonsense (such as Mormonism, for example).
Another horrible effect of homeschooling is the dependency it creates. Children are not learning to be social and interact outside their family and immediate peers. Another terrible preparation for a life in the modern world.
Any of you out there who haven't read Prof. Snyder's "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning" (2015), should. It is a profound and nuanced work. You'll not only have a better understanding of "Bloodlands," but, like "The Road to Unfreedom," it is more relevant today than it was when it was written. I recognized "Black Earth" in today's post. "Introduction: "Hitler's World" (pp.1-10) is the best description of Hitler's ideas I've ever read. But don't leave after you've read it. Please stay and read the entire book.
My nephew who is an undergraduate student was just informed by one of his professors, who had returned from a recent conference, that it was a major topic of conversation among the participants.
Many of my relatives and friends were caught up in Helene or Milton. One cousin experienced both storms: she was in NC for Helene, and back home in FL for Milton. I drove from Nashville to Cookeville, TN, this past week. When I stopped at a gas station in rural TN, I overheard an employee telling people that the government was bulldozing towns in NC and seizing the land.
I said that this was a lie. She said, "But I have heard several people saying that it was true." That's how she decided it must be true. She asked if I was from Chimney Rock (the alleged bulldozed town). I said no, but I had a house near there. (My grandparents' house that I take care of in Saluda, NC, also flooded by Helene, but not completely ruined.) Apparently she would not believe that her story was a lie unless I was actually a citizen of Chimney Rock. The fact that the story was completely implausible to any rational person did not matter.
About the "real people": there is a woman in my community here who posted a video on social media this past winter about how hard it is to be a livestock farmer in winter. She railed against "elites" that are sitting in warm houses, "in their designer duds," while the real people--people like her--have to work outside. Never mind that these spoiled, warm people are her customers; she apparently hates them and said that she is "more real" than we'll ever be.
I emailed her that this video was not good for her business, but she would not take it down. I quit buying meat from her though. She calls herself "the right-wing hippie," and while I don't see what part of her is a hippie, the right-wing, even fascist part of her was clear to see on her Instagram feed. She is the kind of person who, when the opportunity arises, will quickly be ready to deport or even kill everybody who is not as "real" as she is. Although she appears to be a sweet middle-aged lady, she is actually quite dangerous.
Not only is she dangerous but so many appear to be like minded to this unequivocal belief in the propaganda and lies that is destroying a United States.
Having grown up in a rural section of my birth state, I note that these same folks reasonably rely on extensive farming subsidies that are "handed out" by the Federal Govt. because of "funds available' via one, and only one means: the payment of Federal taxes.
She and the others of her political choice/cult/party are the first to accept the "hand out" for themselves but bitch and blame everyone (Democrats) other than themselves and their political cohort (Fascist/Pseudo-White Christian/Nationalist/Republican Party members). Just wait until they "can't get what they want and don't get what they need" while their billionaire/multi-millionaire political leaders continue to live the lives of the kleptocrats that they are....
Thank you Professor Snyder for following up on the theme of anti-science behavior as discussed in On Freedom. Unfortunately the anti-science attitude is common to virtually all who have dictatorial aspirations, for the simple reason that science is all about truth, and megalomaniacs view themselves as arbiters of truth.
In the US, the anti-science attitude appeared at the national level in the administration of Ronald Reagan, was carried to the next level by George W. Bush, and has reached new levels under Trump. But it would be a mistake to associate the hatred of science only with the right; there are people on the far left who are also science haters.
For those who wish to explore the topic further, I recommend Corrupted Science by John Grant and Voodoo Science by Robert Park. Both books were published more than 15 years ago, so do not include the latest threats, but in my view they remain current because the tactics of science deniers are basically unchanging.
Yes, the Left definitely has its own problem with denying biological reality: denying the fact that human life begins at conception, and denying the fact that a man cannot turn himself into a woman.
I know when life *began* : About 4 billion years ago, in one or a small number of events, after which it has proliferated and differentiated according to natural and understandable principles, which human beings are still clarifying and debugging. BTW my account of the time has been known with increasing accuracy during my lifetime; but the next part of my summary I have lifted from Darwin's description 150 years ago.
As to when one individual life begins, there is no scientific answer, such a Ronald Regan wished for, because that boundary is a matter of opinion.
I forgot to mention that the widely received opinions on when *an individual* life begins have changed radically over the last few hundred years, because of the findings of science. If you want to go back the traditional view, pretty much universally accepted before microscopes and things, you will have to believe that each life begian at "quickening", the time when the movement of the fetus gave the first unequivocal signs that a new individual life was developing. Welcome to the 17th century and before. Enjoy the plagues and the infant mortality.
My apologies for rising to the bait with an off-topic posting. I just had to write down what I've gestating for a while.
Scary forecast - but it will possibly happen if we don't start in the schools with the teaching of "Skeptical Thinking". You can be immunized against idiots.
Skeptical Thinking and fact based analysis was my education. How did we lose this? I suggest school boards, "democratically" elected, dominated by parents and "pastors" (grifters in a frock). 1+1 = 3 as long as elected parents say so.
Also, nice shout out for Jason Stanley's crystalline and powerful book, How Fascism Works. I always keep copies on hand for my fascist-curious friends and acquaintances.
Thanks for describing the characteristics, behaviors, and threats of fascism. Most people are angered when they believe they are being stripped of their rights. It’s important to distinguish between those who are supporting individual rights and those who are trying to take them away.
We must focus on their actions not their words. “By their fruits you shall know them.”
In allowing Trump to run for president, we have legitimized craziness. We are like a parent who does not set limits. Now craziness and disinformation become the norm. We have set NO boundaries for lying. Everything is "free speech".
Thanks to all of you. We need to vote and to help get out the vote and to work to make sure that our children and grandchildren learn more about and appreciate our democracy. We cannot let grievances and prejudice take over our country.
On climate change, it is with a bit of schadenfreude that I view states in the southeast (and I live in one of them) that have resisted climate change get hammered. But I saw early changes of climate change in the late 1990’s as the New England fall foliage faded and the tour busses stopped coming. The Maine potato crop moved gradually into Canada. All of which was punctuated in the effects of melting permafrost that I saw in a trip to Alaska 20 years ago.
Does anyone here know how to door-knock, or what happens? I am profoundly introverted with social anxiety but I can't just let this social insanity go on without at least doing some little thing. I feel trapped in a madhouse!
Postcards are also a good choice! You write one or two sentences on a pre-addressed, pre-stamped card. I just sent out 100. Also, going with someone to knock doors helped me. We left literature when no one was home. I liked going into neighborhoods that were new to me.
I wrote 260 letters for Vote Forward to 7 different states. I used 5 bullet points regarding why I vote: Strong economy for good jobs, free & fair elections (to allow democracy to thrive), good health care, schools where kids can learn in safe surroundings, and a healthier environment.(NO partisan statements allowed and NO candidates' names allowed.)
Good job!! That is a lot. I wrote about making a plan to vote, voting early, and seeing choices about voting by scanning a QR code. Strictly non-partison. I wrote 20 postcards at a sitting. Doing helps!!
Never in my 83 years did I ever imagine this nightmare. I once thought the Nixon debacle was the worst we as a nation would experience. How naive I was!
I understand! Nixon was just disgusting, but this is truly frightening. We can only pray that sanity will prevail🙏🏻🙏🏻
Vote too not just pray. I'm pretty sure a lot of people prayed that the Nazis would not come for them.
There are already stormtroopers on the ground in North Carolina. The Patriot Front Neo Nazis have been assisting residents of North Carolina in the cleanup following the hurricane, while also spreading misinformation. This will be commonplace in a Trump presidency.
Here in Florida, Governor DeSantis has gone directly to governmental, official intimidation with door-knocking "election police" checking on the validity of signatures to a freedom-centered ballot initiative and, now, to threats of criminal charges to media outlets that carry advertisements in favor of the ballot initiative. It is amazing. I am trying to remember Dr. Snyder's admonition to not panic when the unthinkable happens. It has happened here.
Sowing doubt and discrediting FEMA is part of the push to privatize everything
“Beware of Paramilitaries.”
Have you seen the new movie out called, Civil War?
No, heard from friends it was worth it, from a Freedom of the press frame work.
Recommend. It has a feel very similar to Don't Look Up. Also probably an accurate rendering of an oligarchic fascist future.
Yes, it was terrifying -- really about this moment
What a filthy mess these people will make if they "manage" to get their way.
I keep reading these posts and adding: De Santis.
Cannot like this
Agree. I couldn’t like it, but I did restack it
Agree. It's best not to look away.
Thank you Dr. Snyder. Being born near the start of the Great Depression, I do recognize all the signs of fascism. People who migrated here after the end of WW2 were immersed in the blood and terror of fascism as it spread its ugliness across Europe. I only read about it and saw pictures in newspapers, Life Magazine, Time, and news reels in movie theaters, but those things stuck in my memory.
I understand the people of the southern States, I don't know how it was before the 1970's but from the time I became a Director on the Board of Directors of the teachers union - the NEA National Education Association. I was in contact with teachers in southern States. Their quality of education was so low then and I doubt it has improved since. The less educated you are the more often you fall for demagogues. If you don't know the history, don't understand the economy in terms other than your household budget it's easier to accept the blame game. "I have to work hard in a crappy job, and have nothing in savings, so it must be someone else's fault"
The less educated are so prone to following conspiracy theories and theorists, and I had no idea how remarkably uneducated we are as a nation.
There is a political scientist who I had heard within the last year on the "Smart People" podcast, who had data to suggest that on both sides of the divide only 20% each are well informed about the issues -- most people simply not having the time, the education, the energy or the patience (or any combination) to inform themselves better.
I believe this is mostly due to leaving education at the mercy of the States of the top 5 all but Colorado are in he New England States while the bottom 5 are all in the South. This is so unfair to children that the education they receive is totally dependent on where they are born and the wealth of their parents. For this reason I am a strong advocate of Individualized Education. I have written a couple of essays on this in Fay's Rants and am in the preparatory state of presenting this to California Office of Education and next year to the Federal Department of Education.
What would Individualized Education look like to you, and how would it solve the problem of many states and/or districts allowing their children to be poorly educated?
The document is twelve pages long. I could mail or email it to you. Contact me through Fay's Rants to let me know how you want to receive it.
I respectfully would dispute your analysis of the cause and effect here.
Homeschooling, which I assume is what you mean by individualized education, was the beginning of the trend that allowed belief systems, such as creationism, to trump (pardon the pun) established science, the replaces hard won scientific discoveries with fairy tales, appealing to emotions instead of reason. Well educated Foreign Nations (and some of our more educated States) have curriculums, designed by seasoned highly capable educators and are reviewed by peers constantly - with minimal influence by politicians and parents. And education is not bankrupting anyone. In these well educated Nations parents do not have the "freedom" to decide that their child stay dumb and be indoctrinated by nonsense (such as Mormonism, for example).
Another horrible effect of homeschooling is the dependency it creates. Children are not learning to be social and interact outside their family and immediate peers. Another terrible preparation for a life in the modern world.
It is especially terrifying in the rural areas where even the educators are highly racist and undereducated.
I think we are at a 4th grade reading level and civics and critical thinking is no longer being taught.
Any of you out there who haven't read Prof. Snyder's "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning" (2015), should. It is a profound and nuanced work. You'll not only have a better understanding of "Bloodlands," but, like "The Road to Unfreedom," it is more relevant today than it was when it was written. I recognized "Black Earth" in today's post. "Introduction: "Hitler's World" (pp.1-10) is the best description of Hitler's ideas I've ever read. But don't leave after you've read it. Please stay and read the entire book.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/11/meteorologists-death-threats-hurricane-conspiracies-misinformation
I wish I had something to say, but all this has left me without words. Except, they will blame the historians as well, as I’m sure you know.
My nephew who is an undergraduate student was just informed by one of his professors, who had returned from a recent conference, that it was a major topic of conversation among the participants.
Many of my relatives and friends were caught up in Helene or Milton. One cousin experienced both storms: she was in NC for Helene, and back home in FL for Milton. I drove from Nashville to Cookeville, TN, this past week. When I stopped at a gas station in rural TN, I overheard an employee telling people that the government was bulldozing towns in NC and seizing the land.
I said that this was a lie. She said, "But I have heard several people saying that it was true." That's how she decided it must be true. She asked if I was from Chimney Rock (the alleged bulldozed town). I said no, but I had a house near there. (My grandparents' house that I take care of in Saluda, NC, also flooded by Helene, but not completely ruined.) Apparently she would not believe that her story was a lie unless I was actually a citizen of Chimney Rock. The fact that the story was completely implausible to any rational person did not matter.
About the "real people": there is a woman in my community here who posted a video on social media this past winter about how hard it is to be a livestock farmer in winter. She railed against "elites" that are sitting in warm houses, "in their designer duds," while the real people--people like her--have to work outside. Never mind that these spoiled, warm people are her customers; she apparently hates them and said that she is "more real" than we'll ever be.
I emailed her that this video was not good for her business, but she would not take it down. I quit buying meat from her though. She calls herself "the right-wing hippie," and while I don't see what part of her is a hippie, the right-wing, even fascist part of her was clear to see on her Instagram feed. She is the kind of person who, when the opportunity arises, will quickly be ready to deport or even kill everybody who is not as "real" as she is. Although she appears to be a sweet middle-aged lady, she is actually quite dangerous.
Not only is she dangerous but so many appear to be like minded to this unequivocal belief in the propaganda and lies that is destroying a United States.
Having grown up in a rural section of my birth state, I note that these same folks reasonably rely on extensive farming subsidies that are "handed out" by the Federal Govt. because of "funds available' via one, and only one means: the payment of Federal taxes.
She and the others of her political choice/cult/party are the first to accept the "hand out" for themselves but bitch and blame everyone (Democrats) other than themselves and their political cohort (Fascist/Pseudo-White Christian/Nationalist/Republican Party members). Just wait until they "can't get what they want and don't get what they need" while their billionaire/multi-millionaire political leaders continue to live the lives of the kleptocrats that they are....
Thank you Professor Snyder for following up on the theme of anti-science behavior as discussed in On Freedom. Unfortunately the anti-science attitude is common to virtually all who have dictatorial aspirations, for the simple reason that science is all about truth, and megalomaniacs view themselves as arbiters of truth.
In the US, the anti-science attitude appeared at the national level in the administration of Ronald Reagan, was carried to the next level by George W. Bush, and has reached new levels under Trump. But it would be a mistake to associate the hatred of science only with the right; there are people on the far left who are also science haters.
For those who wish to explore the topic further, I recommend Corrupted Science by John Grant and Voodoo Science by Robert Park. Both books were published more than 15 years ago, so do not include the latest threats, but in my view they remain current because the tactics of science deniers are basically unchanging.
Yes, the Left definitely has its own problem with denying biological reality: denying the fact that human life begins at conception, and denying the fact that a man cannot turn himself into a woman.
I know when life *began* : About 4 billion years ago, in one or a small number of events, after which it has proliferated and differentiated according to natural and understandable principles, which human beings are still clarifying and debugging. BTW my account of the time has been known with increasing accuracy during my lifetime; but the next part of my summary I have lifted from Darwin's description 150 years ago.
As to when one individual life begins, there is no scientific answer, such a Ronald Regan wished for, because that boundary is a matter of opinion.
I forgot to mention that the widely received opinions on when *an individual* life begins have changed radically over the last few hundred years, because of the findings of science. If you want to go back the traditional view, pretty much universally accepted before microscopes and things, you will have to believe that each life begian at "quickening", the time when the movement of the fetus gave the first unequivocal signs that a new individual life was developing. Welcome to the 17th century and before. Enjoy the plagues and the infant mortality.
My apologies for rising to the bait with an off-topic posting. I just had to write down what I've gestating for a while.
I listened to Obama's speech last night. I think he might have read your book:)
Scary forecast - but it will possibly happen if we don't start in the schools with the teaching of "Skeptical Thinking". You can be immunized against idiots.
Skeptical Thinking and fact based analysis was my education. How did we lose this? I suggest school boards, "democratically" elected, dominated by parents and "pastors" (grifters in a frock). 1+1 = 3 as long as elected parents say so.
"Grifters in a frock" Nice phrase!! LOL
Thanks for elaborating themes of impotence, lies, and us-and-them politics you've covered so well in recent essays and media appearances. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/timothy-snyder-the-politics-of-impotence
Also, nice shout out for Jason Stanley's crystalline and powerful book, How Fascism Works. I always keep copies on hand for my fascist-curious friends and acquaintances.
Thanks for describing the characteristics, behaviors, and threats of fascism. Most people are angered when they believe they are being stripped of their rights. It’s important to distinguish between those who are supporting individual rights and those who are trying to take them away.
We must focus on their actions not their words. “By their fruits you shall know them.”
In allowing Trump to run for president, we have legitimized craziness. We are like a parent who does not set limits. Now craziness and disinformation become the norm. We have set NO boundaries for lying. Everything is "free speech".
Thanks to all of you. We need to vote and to help get out the vote and to work to make sure that our children and grandchildren learn more about and appreciate our democracy. We cannot let grievances and prejudice take over our country.
"Do not just sit back & hope." Get fired up & #VoteBlue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkf0_Ku-vgA
The GOP has been captured by fraudsters & power by any means authoritarians. The projection & propaganda never stops.
Trump & Vance can’t handle the truth threatening fact checkers, whistleblowers & truth tellers with retribution. https://wapo.st/3XXgHPt
Vance’s comment “I thought you weren’t going to fact check!” Was telling, no?
On climate change, it is with a bit of schadenfreude that I view states in the southeast (and I live in one of them) that have resisted climate change get hammered. But I saw early changes of climate change in the late 1990’s as the New England fall foliage faded and the tour busses stopped coming. The Maine potato crop moved gradually into Canada. All of which was punctuated in the effects of melting permafrost that I saw in a trip to Alaska 20 years ago.
Does anyone here know how to door-knock, or what happens? I am profoundly introverted with social anxiety but I can't just let this social insanity go on without at least doing some little thing. I feel trapped in a madhouse!
Postcards are also a good choice! You write one or two sentences on a pre-addressed, pre-stamped card. I just sent out 100. Also, going with someone to knock doors helped me. We left literature when no one was home. I liked going into neighborhoods that were new to me.
I wrote 260 letters for Vote Forward to 7 different states. I used 5 bullet points regarding why I vote: Strong economy for good jobs, free & fair elections (to allow democracy to thrive), good health care, schools where kids can learn in safe surroundings, and a healthier environment.(NO partisan statements allowed and NO candidates' names allowed.)
Good job!! That is a lot. I wrote about making a plan to vote, voting early, and seeing choices about voting by scanning a QR code. Strictly non-partison. I wrote 20 postcards at a sitting. Doing helps!!