Author: Bruce Halen

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information. Over 3.5 million people have lost their lives during the COVID-19 Pandemic that started in January 2019 and over 20% of those have occurred in the United States. Over 500,000 people. Half of a million people have died in the most medically advance country in the world. The cause of this tragedy needs to be identified so that this does not happen again on this scale ever again.

Lesson 20:  Be as courageous as you can

“If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.”

Dr. Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century,” 2017.

You can interpret that literally or figuratively, it’s up to you. I didn’t choose to write about tyranny. I would much rather be writing about the wonders of life as seen through the eyes of a retired middle school science teacher that likes to ride bicycles and sing.

But, that’s not what is coming through me right now. Tyranny is real. There’s nothing fake about it. It is real. When faced with tyranny in the Twentieth Century, the “Greatest Generation,” the parents of us Baby Boomers, rose up against the tyranny of Mussolini, Tojo and Hitler. They defeated it so that we wouldn’t have to live through what they experienced.

Well, it’s here again. Putting your head in the sand or calling it “fake” or “fantasy” isn’t going to make it go away. This is our greatest generation moment. What we do with it will guide the lives of our children, grandchildren and beyond. The Seventh Generation Principal is found in the Iriquois Great Law of Peace. It basically states that decisions that you make today will impact future generations.

What legacy would you like to leave for your progeny? I wrote my take on Dr. Snyder’s book “On Tyranny” because I feel passionately about Democracy. I’ve had to write some things that are difficult to write and even more difficult to listen to. Yet, these words needed to be written and read.

I believe that words are the way to defeat the forces of tyranny. They are my tools. I have no desire to take up arms and physically fight the tyrants. But, if I need to, I will. I will not stand by and watch my country be taken over by evil minded tyrants who will stop at nothing to get their way.

Once again, I want to thank Dr. Timothy Snyder for his scholarship and insights on the subject of tyranny. His work reminded me that I am from the blood of the greatest generation, the generation that fought and died during WW2 to save the world from tyranny. I am not a warrior in the mold of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen that have and are currently engaged in direct combat to fight for Democracy. Yet, I do consider myself a warrior of words. I fight my battles with words and ideas. I hope that words are enough.

I suggest that a you obtain a copy of this book for your children, friends and relatives or anyone you know that you think should hear this message. It’s the best gift that you can give. While you’re at it, send them a pocket version of the United States Constitution. Both of these documents will serve them well.

So, as I complete this series on tyranny, let me leave you on this note (pun intended):

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information.

Lesson 19:  Be a Patriot

“Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.”

Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons For the Twentieth Century,” 2017.

For the most part I’m going to present Dr. Snyder’s words in a different format to present this lesson on tyranny. The lists below are all his words. Let’s begin this lesson with the distinction between a patriot and a nationalist. If you’ve read the links, it might not be obvious to you what the difference is between the two.

I’ll refer back to Dr. Snyder. “The (most recent former) president is a nationalist, which is not at all the same thing as a patriot. A nationalist encourages us to be our worst, and then tells us that we are the best.” As George Orwell puts it, A nationalist, “although endlessly brooding on power, victory, defeat (and) revenge (tends to be) uninterested in what happens in the real world.”

In Snyder’s words, “nationalism is relativist, since the only truth is the resentment we feel when we contemplate others.” Snyder further quotes novelist Danilo Kis who said nationalism “has no universal values, aesthetic or ethical.”

Herein lies the fundamental difference between nationalism and patriotism.

Snyder uses several examples of the most recent former president’s actions to make his point on what patriotism is NOT and I quote:

• It is not patriotic to dodge the draft and to mock war heroes and their families.
• It is not patriotic to discriminate against active-duty members of the armed forces in one’s companies, or to campaign to keep disabled veterans away from one’s property.
• It is not patriotic to compare one’s search for sexual partners in New York with the military service in Vietnam that one has dodged.
• It is not patriotic to avoid paying taxes, especially when American working families do pay.
• It is not patriotic to ask those working, taxpaying American families to finance one’s own presidential campaign, and then to spend their contributions in one’s own companies.
• It is not patriotic to admire foreign dictators.
• It is not patriotic to cultivate a relationship with Muammar Gadaffi or to say that Bashar Al-Assad and Vladimir Putin are superior leaders.
• It is not patriotic to call upon Russia to intervene in an American presidential election.
• It is not patriotic to cite Russian propaganda at rallies.
• It is not patriotic to share an advisor with Russian oligarchs.
• It is not patriotic to solicit foreign policy advice from someone who owns shares in a Russian energy company.
• It is not patriotic to read a foreign policy speech written by someone on the payroll of a Russian energy company.
• It is not patriotic to appoint a national security advisor who has taken money from a Russian propaganda organ.
• It is not patriotic to appoint as secretary of state and oilman with Russian financial interests who is the director of a Russian-American energy company and has received the “Order of Friendship” from Putin.

This may sound like Russia bashing, but the point is that patriots serve their own country.

So, what is a Patriot? In the words of Dr. Snyder:

• A patriot wants the nation to live up to its ideals, which means asking us to be our best selves.
• A patriot must be concerned with the real world, which is the only place where the country can be loved and sustained.
• A patriot has universal values, standards by which he (she) judges his (her) nation, always wishing it well–and wishing it would do better.

Democracy is fragile. The freedom that it espouses and celebrates can and has been used against it. Democracies failed in Europe in the 1920s,'30s and '40s.  They are having a hard time now, right here in the Twenty First Century.  According to Dr. Snyder, "A nationalist might say that it can't happen here, which is the first step towards disaster.  A patriot says that it could happen here, but that we will stop it."

So, my take on why it is important to know the difference between a patriot and a nationalist is to understand the two words intention and reality. This takes me back to the words of George Orwell who wrote that a nationalist “although endlessly brooding on power, victory, defeat (and) revenge, tends to be “uninterested in what happens in the real world.”

Looking back (hopefully forever) at the actions of our most recent former president, there are numerous signs that his hold on power was rooted in a nationalist world view that could only be viewed as “great” unless it came out of a fantasy.

Surely the dark world of humorless racism, misogyny, hedonism, division and hatred cannot be considered as great. In order to accept this past as great, one has to accept not only a fantasy view of the world, but then to accept that it was great. That requires, in my mind at least, a great deal of misinformation and propaganda. For social, communal creatures like us Homo sapiens to become individualistic followers of those dark “isms,” we first must be removed from the real world that exists around us. Credit Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, NewsMax and One America Network for effectively spreading the propaganda necessary to create this fantasy world.

Surely the fantasy world of “Q” that was created to help establish the religious part of this fantasy world will be seen by even its most ardent followers for what it is. A fantasy world meant to distract us away from our true nature by a tyrant and tyrannical powers trying to separate people away from reality. The world of fantasy and conspiracy and not real. They are invented and are tools of the dark, by the dark and for the dark. The nationalist tyrants live in the darkness and benefit from the darkness.

But, my point here is not to dwell on the dark recent past, it is to celebrate patriotism. The patriot sees the world for what it is. The world is nuanced and imperfect. Yet, it is the one place where our country can be loved and defended, warts and all and the patriot recognizes that fact. The patriot has universally accepted values that seek to lift up and celebrate goodness, justice and equality. Our military heroes are often closely linked with patriotism and rightly so. They have been on the front lines, often paying the ultimate price to defend our liberty and freedoms. But, one does not to have served in the military to be seen as a patriot. Civilian patriots are all around you. The fact is, you are a patriot as well.

Celebrate patriotism, promote patriotism, and be a patriot.

Celebrate patriotism, promote patriotism and be a patriot.

Celebrate patriotism, promote patriotism and be a patriot.

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information.

Lesson 18:  Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.

“Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Do not fall for it.

Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century,” 2017.

Terror management. Remember that this book was written in 2017 before the most recent former president had unleashed his terror campaign on the United States and the world. In this 21st Century case, which terror event are we referring to? Take your pick. Was it taking children away from their parents at the southern border? Was it the Naval Air Station Pensacola attack that left three sailors dead? Was it the attack on the Capitol on January 6? Was it the diabolical mishandling of the Coronavirus Pandemic that has killed nearly a half million Americans to date and over 2,400,000 people worldwide? Threats of violence to his political opponents?

Up until the burning of the Reichstag, one of the homes of legislative power in Germany, Adolf Hitler’s party gained power mainly through the democratic process. But the fire changed everything. Seeing the burning building, Hitler said, “The fire is just the beginning. There will be no mercy now. Anyone standing in our way will be cut down.”

On February 28, 1933, a day after the fire, Hitler implemented a decree suspending the rights of all German citizens. They could now legally be “preventively detained.” By claiming that the fire had been set by enemies to the German state, Hitler and the Nazis won big in the parliamentary elections of March 5. Opposition party members were starting to be rounded up and placed in detention centers. On March 23, an “enabling act” was passed by the parliament which gave Hitler the power to rule by decree.

The only thing that ended this period of martial law/state of emergency was the end of the Second World War which the Germans lost to the Allies. Hitler had taken an act of terror and used it to create a governmental regime that resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

In the 2000’s, Russia’s Vladimir Putin used a series of terrorist events, real, provoked, imaginary and questionable, to eliminate private television outlets and regional governorships thus consolidating his power and influence on the country. Read the minority staff report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 10, 2018 that I have linked above. The most recent former president and Mr. Putin’s first telephone call was reported as including that the two men “shared the opinion that it is necessary to join forces against the common enemy number one: international terrorism and extremism.”

I find it interesting that there was no mention of domestic terrorism in this conversation. Perhaps you can get further details by reading the Foreign Relations Committee Report referred to above as to why that area of terrorism was omitted from the conversation.

Snyder writes, “For us, the lesson is that our natural fear and grief must not enable the destruction of our institutions. Courage does not mean not fearing or not grieving. It does mean recognizing and resisting terror management right away, from the moment of the attack, precisely when it seems most difficult to do so.”

The House of Representatives voted to impeach the former president, but the Senate refused to convict him of inciting an insurrection against the United States of America. The House acted quickly to resist the terror, the Senate failed yesterday to resist the terror. He is not longer in office, but the Senate just devoted more of my retirement to resisting tyranny. I’m tired of this resistance.

But, all I need to do to regain my commitment to resist tyranny is to look at the photo of my 21 year-old father in uniform as he prepared to serve his country, our country with the Army Air Corps in Burma during the Second World War.

The Nazi era political thinker and philosopher Hannah Arendt previously cited by Dr. Snyder in his book, wrote after the Reichstag fire, “I was no longer of the opinion that one can simply be a bystander.”

Senators may have lacked the courage to act. But that’s not you. Take the actions that you are capable of taking and remember

January 6, 2020.

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information.

Lesson 17:  Listen For Dangerous Words

“Be alert for the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.”

Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century,” 2017.

George Orwell wrote about “Double Speak” in his 1949 novel 1984. Our most recent former president used the Orwellian tool often in his efforts to confuse and deceive the American people. I suggest that you go back and re-read Lesson 1 of this series: “Do Not Obey in Advance” to help put this reference into context.

Dr. Snyder’s words really hit me hard. Let me ask you a rhetorical question. How often did we hear the words extremist and terrorist come out of the mouth of the former president? How were the words used? When were they used? Well, I’ll tell you what I think.

During Summer 2020 demonstrations revolving around the deaths of George Floyd and Brionna Taylor, the demonstrators were labeled as extremists and terrorists. On the other hand, the raucous Million MAGA March which turned violent was not labeled as either extremist or terrorist by the former president.

Who gets to decide when it an “extremist” event or a “terrorist” event? I guess that would be the the person in charge. They get to decide what is not accepted or normal. If it doesn’t fit the tyrant’s definition of normal then it becomes extreme. Terrorism refers to an actual danger. The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol can therefore be defined as an act of terrorism. Is the looting and hooliganism that commonly comes with street demonstrations an act of terrorism? Who are the terrorists, Antifa, a loosely knit coalition of anti-Fascist ideologues or The Proud Boys whose names and faces can now be easily attached to and identified as purveyors of right wing violent extremism?

Twentieth Century dissidents that resisted communism or Fascism were labeled as extremists. Current day Russia uses laws on extremists to get back at its critics. So, labeling someone as an extremist can be used against anyone who doesn’t agree with the orthodoxy of the day.

An example of double speak can be found in 1980’s Nicaragua. Backers of the deposed former dictator, Anastasio Somoza, wanted their power and privilege back. President Reagan backed the attempt to overthrow the new leftist Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega. From the Reagan perspective, these people were “freedom fighters.” From another perspective, they were a group of human rights violating terrorists attempting to overthrow the fledgling Sandinista government.

One other very important point that Dr. Snyder makes in his lesson, is the idea of the “exception.” Nazi legal theorist Carl Schmitt stated that at the core of Fascist rule was this concept that events of the current moment call for “emergency” action. The implementation of martial law was invoked after the fire at the Reichstag in 1933. Former administration official General Michael Flynn encouraged his former boss to impose martial law in the United States when it became clear that the results of the 2020 Presidential Election would not be reversed by “peaceful” means.

I contend that the most recent former president was trying to use COVID as his excuse for emergency action. I cringe at the thought of where the country would be in it’s COVID response had Trump been re-elected in November. His failure to develop a plan for the distribution of the vaccines makes it a little easier for me to make a claim like this that seems totally outrageous. Thank God that we didn’t have to test that hypothesis.

Finally, on the subject of freedom. Snyder says, “But when they try to train us to surrender freedom in the name of safety, we should be on our guard.” How true that statement is. Someone might read that statement and equate it with the COVID-related mandates to wear masks and keep social distancing in public. The key words here are “on our guard.” The intentions of the surrender of personal freedoms in the name of public health are NOT to be confused with the intentions of a tyrant imposing martial law on a country. Being on your guard is your responsibility to the preservation of Democracy.

Snyder says, “Most authoritarian regimes, such as Russia, use laws on extremism to punish those who criticize their policies. In this way the notion of extremism comes to mean virtually everything except what it is, in fact, extreme: tyranny.”

I get pretty worked up on the subject of the use of patriotic language and patriotic symbols. The people that invaded the Capitol on January 6, 2020 are not Patriots. The people responsible for setting the stage for the Capitol invasion are not Patriots. The people that perpetuate the Big Lie of the 2020 election are not patriots.

Over the past nearly five years, I can credit the former president for one thing and one thing only. That thing is my renewed sense of patriotism and attention to the civics lessons that I first learned in high school. Never again will I take my citizenship for granted. Our flag flies proudly at our home.

My words are my bond. And my words are safe in a democracy.

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information.

Lesson 16:  Learn From Peers in Other Countries

“Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends in other countries. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.”

Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century,” 2017.

Snyder wrote this while the former president was still in office. The darkness was darker then it is now and we aren’t exactly in bright sunshine yet. The former president advanced from one stage to another in the electoral process. Interestingly, as Snyder points out, Ukrainian and Russian journalists took the pulse of the American Midwest and saw that there was indeed a chance, in fact a probability, that this person could be elected president.

They had seen the fake news thing used before. The Ukrainians were the target of a Russian disinformation campaign in 2013. The Ukrainians knew how to handle this misinformation campaign. Russia failed to get their candidate elected president. When the Russians engaged in a similar disinformation campaign in the American presidential election of 2016 alleging that Hillary Clinton was ill because she had mentioned an article on “decision fatigue” in an email, the story was spread by Americans to Americans. This time, however, the Russians got their person into office. We here in the West need to start taking our lessons from the East.

We have the good fortune to have friends in Europe and Australia. My wife’s family opened their home to foreign exchange students on three occasions. We still have contact with these women and their spouses to this day. We don’t see them often, but thanks to the Internet, we are able to share our thoughts and feelings with each other and learn from each other. It is important to get different perspectives on issues that are so close to us. It is like the saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” We can see the trees. They can see the forest. I am very grateful for these opportunities to see the forest through the eyes of our foreign friends.

Travel has had a substantial influence on my world view. The world was opened up to me by watching the slideshows and listening to the stories of my Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Ed who travelled literally the entire world year-after-year in their retirement. Their son, my cousin, went on to join the Peace Corps. The examples of my aunt, uncle and cousin made me curious about the world. When combined with the altruism of my father (who had no desire to travel after his experiences abroad during the Second World War), I was inspired to join the Peace Corps and experience life beyond the borders of Tulare County, California, USA. I got my first passport and went on to serve my country and humanity for two years in Belize, Central American in the late ’80s as a Rural Education Volunteer.

A passport and the travel opportunities that it makes available to you will change your life and your world view. It will also give you a place to go should you want it or need it. If you don’t have a passport, I suggest that you get one.

Listen to outside voices. Change your own voice.

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information.

Lesson 15:  Contribute to Good Causes

“Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay. Then you will have made a free choice that supports civil society and helps others do good.”

Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century,” 2017.

Do you remember former President George H.W. Bush and his “thousand points of light?” That is what this lesson is about. It’s about strengthening our civil society through our own actions and by encouraging others to so as well.

I dislike making any reference to our most recent former president, but in order to point out how tyrants think, I’ve linked these comments that were made by this person on July 5, 2018 at a rally in Montana in regards to President Bush’s Thousand Points of Light idea. Darkness does not do well when exposed to light. Darkness as exemplified by Vladimir Putin, Vampires, Darth Vader and bullies among others, don’t respond well in the light of day. Thus, light is the enemy of darkness. George H.W. Bush and I were diametrically opposed on political philosophy and policy, but he was spot on with this idea of a thousand points of light.

Literally there are thousands and thousands times a thousand of those “points of light” that President Bush alluded to. As long as those lights shine, tyranny will never get to hide in the shadows of darkness.

Snyder encourages us “to engage in activities that are of interest to us, our friends, our families.” This includes, but is by no means whatsoever, limited to making money contributions to society building causes that you believe in. I’m in a position to be able to make modest monetary contributions to organizations that I believe are doing good in the world. Each one of these activities is a “point of light.” Giving of your hard earned resources and engaging with like minded people that you didn’t or still don’t know strengthens the invisible fabric that binds civilizations together. Donate when you can in substantive ways. I’m proud of what I donate to the organizations of my choice.

But, I’m equally, if not more, proud of the things that I do that don’t involve money. Responding to emails or letters to validate the interests and contributions of friends and family, donating Platelets at the Stanford Blood Center, singing in my church choir, writing this Blog, taking care of my own physical and mental health. Taking an active role in the life of those you know and love shows how “the capacity for trust and learning can make life seem less chaotic and mysterious, and democratic politics more plausible and attractive.”

Eastern Europeans know a great deal about tyranny. Twentieth Century did not like non-governmental organizations or charities, in fact they were openly hostile towards them. Fascists want everything under their control and these types of organizations functioned outside of their control. Authoritarians of today like those in Russian and Turkey carry this same view about free associations and NGOs.

We can each do our part in defeating and resisting tyrants by being involved in life, by paying attention to our friends and families, by contributing to causes that make life better for people and by exemplifying the good that we wish to see in the world.

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information.

Lesson 14:  Establish a Private Life

“Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware on a regular basis. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Tyrants seek the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have hooks.”

Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century,” 2017

Nothing dark about this right? This isn’t meant to drive you further into your shell, but to alert you as to what some folks are trying to do with your personal information and how they are using it to create misinformation. This is no mystery and it is a great cause of concern. Be mindful of your personal information, take the necessary precautions and move on with making life healthy and happy for you and yours.

Dr. Snyder points out in this lesson that totalitarianism doesn’t mean an “all-powerful state, but the difference between public and private life.” Our freedom lies in what we wish to keep to ourselves and that which we are ok becoming public information. You personally get to make the decision about which one is which. Make no mistake that when your personal information becomes public without your permission, you need to take steps to stop it using the tools within your power. Secure you computer’s internet security with appropriate software and speak up to your lawmakers about the security of your personal life. This is very important.

“Whether it is done by American or Russian intelligence agencies, or for that matter by any institution, the theft, discussion, or publication of personal communications destroys a basic foundation of our rights.”

Remember the email dump that occurred just before the 2016 elections? This is a case study to make this point. Private communications between people were taken from their context and made public out of context. This action was an act deliberately designed to spread misinformation. This should not have been the storyline for the news. The news should have been that this was a privacy violation and against the law. It wasn’t reported as a rights violation. It was used to distract us from the real news and where it had come from.

Hannah Arendt, to whom Snyder frequently refers to as a great political thinker, refers to our collective appetite for the secret to be dangerously political. Political in that Totalitarianism makes us as individuals “unfree.” Interpret the term from the perspective of right leaning political thinkers and Totalitarian means Liberal or Socialist. Interpret the term from left leaning political thinkers and you have Fascists and tyrants. It’s not my end game here to to determine the efficacy of one or the other. Click the link on Totalitarianism above and Google will take you wherever you want to go with the term.

My point based on Dr. Snyder’s research, is that Totalitarianism directs societies away from normal politics and toward conspiracy theories. Have you heard any of these lately? Consider our current political climate in the United States. Where is our attention? Let me answer that. Our attention is on stolen emails, stolen laptops, stolen elections and dark conspiracy theories. In the words. of Dr. Snyder, “When we take an active interest. in matters of doubtful relevance at moments that are chosen by tyrants and spooks, we participate in the demolition of our own political order.”

They do this by blurring the line between what is private and what is public. By taking private information and presenting it out of context, the information is often used to misinform and create an environment of doubt, chaos and confusion. Tyrants thrive on doubt, chaos and confusion.

Guard your privacy and be aware of what is going on in the world. Keep your head up, stay informed and encourage those you know to stay informed. It may get dark at times. There is a lot of darkness out there at this point. In my opinion, the best way to deal with darkness is to shine light on it. That light needs to be real bright right now. May your light shine very brightly.