My family spent the last week in Paris. We visited Notre Dame just a few days before the hammer-wielding terrorist attack there. We were in Paris during the London attacks. So let me tell you how I felt: GRIEF at the tragic loss of life, ANGER at the evil the terrorists were perpetrating, and STEELY RESOLVE to not let terror win the day.
But at no time did I feel *unsafe.*
FACTS
My family was far more likely to die by speeding Parisian taxi than by terrorist… yet we scurried across the narrow streets, hustling to our next adventure or simply seeking out another Pain au Chocolat because MAN those things are tasty. We didn’t let the recent spate of terror attacks affect our desire to enjoy all the delights Paris had to offer—and neither, apparently, did the French. There were security screenings at all the major tourist attractions, but there was no oppressive sense of a State Under Siege—Parisians weren’t letting terror win the day by interfering with their joie de vivre. In fact, they were warm and welcoming to us Americans wherever we went. Tourism is down, and it’s as if the service sector is in solidarité, trying extra hard to make sure tourists enjoy their stay.
It’s a so very French thing to do, collectively insisting on joy in the face of terror.
So too with London’s Mayor, praising the calm and heroic response in the face terror. The British are the people who drank tea in the face of the Luftwaffe bombing of London, so I expect no less.
Contrast this with the President of the United States, who uses a terror attack to say how “right” he is on his illegal immigration ban (“We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!” -Trump’s tweet), essentially encouraging Americans to be afraid.
Think about that. The president *wants* you to be afraid.
RESIST
This has to be understood in the context of what *your fear* does for the President. It’s central to his campaign. It’s what got him elected. But more than that, it’s key to his expansion of power.
“The authoritarians of today are also terror managers… consider the current Russian regime, so admired by the president. Vladimir Putin not only came to power in an incident that strikingly resembled the Reichstag fire, he then used a series of terror attacks – real, questionable, and fake – to remove obstacles to total power in Russia and to assault democratic neighbors.” -On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
The president needs your anticipatory obedience, your conformity, your unwillingness to resist, and your willingness to live in fear.
Don’t give it to him.
(Americans have actually done a spectacular job of #resisting from the moment of the election. Active and ongoing refusal to conform has blunted several of Trump’s proposals, not only holding back the proposals themselves, but preventing him from building on those.)
History. Facts. An understanding of how democracies fall. These are the tools everyday Americans need to preserve our Republic against the threats from within that the Founding Fathers imagined when creating our system of checks and balances. Education – when you understand what’s happening, you are far better equipped to fight it.
READING FOR RESISTANCE
“On Tyranny: 20 Lessons from the 20th Century” is a smart, concise book on how to fight tyranny. It was quickly written after the election by a Yale History professor to help arm the Resistance with facts and a conceptual framework for safeguarding the Republic. What Trump is doing is not new. The American people are not exceptional (in the sense that we are not immune to the forces of history). Democracies have fallen to tyranny before us, and not just once or twice. In fact, it’s more the rule than the exception.
On Tyranny is in the top 300 books on Amazon right now for a reason – it should be required reading for everyone who wants to #Resist.
During my transatlantic flight, I read the book, noted the many actions I’ve already taken that were mentioned as essential aspects to resisting tyranny (everyday actions are more powerful than you imagine), and made plans for more.
I highly encourage you to do the same.
Peace and Love,
Sue