A blog about life as seen by a retired Middle School Science Teacher from California
Author: Bruce Halen
I am a retired Middle School Science Teacher that loves to sing, ride bicycles and write. I am a Unitarian Universalist by religion and thrive on exercise to keep mentally and physically healthy and happy. I am an Ovo-Lacto vegetarian.
“The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So, support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections. Vote in local and state elections while you can. Consider running for office.”
Tim Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, 2017.
That moment that is right now is the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2019. One of our political parties has taken this event and sought to use it to further their political aim of one party domination of politics in the United Sates of America.
This is a controversial claim. I know that. But, I also think that it needs to be stated out loud so that more and more people are exposed to it, hear it and contemplate it.
American abolitionist Wendell Phillips said “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Several democracies came and went in the 20th Century. They were the victims of major events combined with oppressive actions of the duly elected rulers in the 1930’s-’40’s. These fascist, Nazi and communists took advantage of their moments and democracy was disappeared.
As Dr. Snyder notes, most people who voted for the Nazi Party in 1932 didn’t consider that they would not be voting in another fair and free election for awhile. The only reason why Germans have free elections today is because the Nazis were defeated in 1945. That 1932 election might have been the last one that the German people would ever have. The last Russian election was in 1990. Will there ever be another one in Russia? Not until the Russian people say there will be.
Could this happen in the United States? The answer is, of course it could. When Dr. Snyder first published On Tyranny in 2017, he said this in the book: “We can be sure that the elections of 2018, assuming they take place, will be a test of American traditions. So, there is much to do in the meantime.”
“It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So, choose an institution you care about–a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union–and take its side.
Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, 2017.
(A reminder that I am paraphrasing Dr. Snyder in this post.If you want his entire message, I encourage you to read the book.)
I do think that Dr. Snyder’s message here is very clear. If you believe in something strongly, it is your duty to support it in whatever way that you can.
Do you value good journalism? Subscribe to a publication that offers a printed version of their work. In this way you support news organizations that pay journalists to gather, edit, vet and publish factual news from real sources with actual evidence.
Do you know anyone or of anyone that is suffering during COVID-19? Support legislation to help them financially, donate to your local food bank, encourage your friends and families to get involved.
Don’t stand by and think that someone else will do the work. You need to do the work. Find the cause that you value and help it to do its work.
This is to my friends, colleagues, neighbors, fellow singers and musicians, acquaintances, people that I pass by on the road, adversaries, classmates, Zoom Box buddies and any combination of the above.
Thank you for being who you are and sharing the special gifts that you are graced to have been gifted. Those gifts have been especially valuable to receive during this COVID-19 time.
Words can only hint at the positive impact that you have had on me. You are the best.
This piece is a fascinating antiphon and its story has meaning for our experience with COVID-19. I read this article in the New York Times on Saturday, January 2, 2021. Click on the link below the section of score to read the article. I’ve included a recording of The Choral Project performing this piece in 2015. The soloist is Mike Fotinakis.
Thank God and Timothy Snyder for this book. Timothy Snyder and Jon Meacham (The Soul of America: The Battle for our Better Angels) are my biggest reasons for hope that we will emerge out of this national nightmare.
I am working on my second reading of this little book with big content. I approached Dr. Snyder about printing the book verbatim in my Blog. He pointed out that there would be clear copy write issues with this approach.
So, because I think that getting the content of this book out to my small , but loyal, readership is important, I’ve decided to re-state the lessons at the start of each of the 20 chapters and summarize the contents in my own words.
Dr. Snyder begins his book with these words: “History does not repeat, but it does instruct.” The folks that wrote the Constitution of the United States were concerned that their well conceived democratic institutions would devolve into oligarchy (a small group of people having control of a country, organization or institution) or empire.
Tyranny comes from the Latin tyrannus meaning “illegitimate ruler.” In the 20th Century Fascism and Communism arose in Europe in response to globalization. Nation states fearing that they were loosing control of power turned to Fascism and Communism. Fascists ruled for a decade or two in Italy and Germany in the 1930’s and ’40s. The Soviet version of Fascism lasted over seven decades.
The United States has the chance to learn from history, to seek out and understand where tyranny comes from and what it looks like and then to take action to restore the democratic forces that our nation was founded upon. This will not happen by itself. Dr. Snyder has identified 20 points or lessons that he thinks will help us to do battle with the forces of tyranny in our time.
Speaking of the Contents:
Do Not Obey in Advance.
Defend Institutions.
Beware the one-party state.
Take responsibility for the face of the world.
Remember professional ethics.
Be wary of paramilitaries.
Be reflective if you must be armed.
Stand out.
Be kind to our language.
Believe in Truth.
Investigate.
Make eye contact and small talk.
Practice corporeal politics.
Establish a private life.
Contribute to good causes.
Learn from peers in other countries.
Listen for dangerous words.
Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
Be a patriot.
Be as courageous as you can.
Lesson 1:Do Not Obey in Advance
“Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
Timothy Snyder
Dr. Snyder gives two examples of this tendency to presumptively following the new ruler in the book.
In 1938 Austria, the decision of a large portion of the Austrian people to follow Adolf Hitler without question decided what would happen to Austrian Jews.
In 1961, a Yale psychologist conducted an experiment to demonstrate why Germans followed along with Hitler in the 30’s and 40’s. He told one group that they would be applying an electric shock to another group in a learning experiment.
The group receiving the “shock” were instructed on what was happening. The people “giving” the shock did not know what they were doing. They witnessed great pain and suffering from people that they did not know. The instructor gave them orders to “increase” the level of the shock until victims complained of chest pain and victims appeared to die. There appeared to be no concern for the fate of their fellow citizens in light of the results of the experiment.
The experiment showed how willing people were to listen to a new ruler and follow them without question.
I encourage you to get a copy of this book:
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. Tim Dugan Books, New York, 2017.
I’ve made some changes to the Welcome and Introduction post that is now hidden at the bottom of this Blog. I’ve added a bit more information about myself and my goals for publishing it for you to see. While you’re there, you might enjoy my two latest posts titled Win-Win-Win and Musical Interlude.
Some people are in it to win just for themselves. Others who know better are more selfless about it and look for the Win-Win where both parties benefit from a result. Maybe, if the stars are aligned, you might even find that the Win can go in even more than just two directions.
My wife has taken responsibility for the care and well being of her 91 year-old aunt. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about that except that her aunt lives a five hour drive away, has macular degeneration and glaucoma, has severe hearing loss, needs a hip replacement and remains fiercely independent. The job of meeting her needs is, to say the least, difficult.
She makes the five hour drive about once a month to check up on her aunt and make contact with her small network of caregivers. Aunty Nan loves her cats and pretty much the only way that she can live with her beloved felines is to stay in her split level home. She is in no way capable of living independently as much as she would like to think that she is.
Her network of caregivers includes her longtime once-a-month house cleaner, a wonderful loud voiced Visiting Angel who visits daily and makes sure that Aunty Nan is eating and does daily tasks to keep the house neat, hygienic and livable and a kind and competent young woman with a natural talent for working with elderly folks.
It is a fragile system that, if it works flawlessly, allows Aunty Nan to receive the basic care that she needs to at least function in the comfort and familiarity of her own home. But, the operative word is fragile. If one of the parts of this network is unable to carry out their role, the system falls apart. Ultimately that would mean that Aunty Nan would need to be moved to assisted living or perhaps even memory care. She has money, but not an unlimited amount of it. She has undiagnosed cognitive issues that raise questions about her ability to live alone in her home even with the two daily visits, and the diligent efforts of her niece.
For the sake of confidentiality, the kind and competent young woman will remain “the kind and competent young woman (KCYW from now on).” KCYW lives with her mother who has early onset dementia. KCYW is on her own to provide care for her own mother on her own with no other sibling support, financial or otherwise. She works for a home health care agency and cares for other needy elderly folks in order to support their small household. She works for Aunty Nan (and my wife) on the side to bring in a little more income.
KCYW’s job requires her to drive. Here’s where the Win-Win-Win comes in. KCYW was facing the prospect of having to give up her job caring part-time for Aunty Nan because her car was in worse shape than her clients. It barely got up the hill and then she was afraid to turn it off for fear that it wouldn’t restart. That would limit the length and quality of her visits because she was worried about the car.
KCYW is incredibly valuable to Aunty Nan and to my wife’s peace of mind. So, my wife and I discussed options on how to solve her car problem. We thought about Uber as an option. Under normal, non-COVID conditions, this might have worked. But, exposing KCYW to different drivers each day didn’t seem like a workable plan. The plan needed to involve a car, because mass transportation options simply aren’t available for her in her community.
So, we decided on an option that worked for us, Aunty Nan and KCYW. We researched the possibility of buying a dependable used car for KCYW. We had KCYW come to pick out the car that fit within our budget and together we made the purchase in her name. She will chip away at paying us back by having half of her pay for caring for Aunty Nan go toward paying us back for the car.
That could be where the cycle of winning ends, but the story isn’t finished. KCYW has a car (Win). My wife can relax knowing that KCYW is still able to continue caring for Aunty Nan (Win). Aunty Nan maintains her caregiver (Win). KCYW was surprised that someone would do this for her. Her mother didn’t believe that it was true.
But, it was true. I believe that KCYW got much more than just a car out of this experience. She also got a boost of self esteem. The fact that someone believed in her enough and valued her enough to consider putting her into a vehicle that would bring her peace of mind and allow her to focus on her job and the care of her mother, has the potential change KCYW’s life. How much change it will make is now in her hands. The possibilities of directly experiencing the generosity and thoughtfulness of another person can only result in good things for the other person.
KCYW knows that somebody cares. She received some bootstraps to pull up. What she does with those bootstraps is the gift that keeps on giving. The future is a little brighter for KCYW.
Here are some songs of the season that I hope will bring you some joy. Bruce
Solstice Song. Arr. by John Ector and Performed by The Alegria Singers of the First Unitarian Church of San JoseDark of Winter, Words and Music: Shelley Jackson Denham; From Singing the Living Tradition, Unitarian Universalist Hymnal; Quartet: Nancy Palmer Jones (Soprano), Meredy Halen (Alto), John Ector (Tenor), Bruce Halen (Bass)Veni,Veni (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel), Arr. by Chip Davis and John M. Ector. Performed by The Alegria Singers of the First Unitarian Church of San Jose.
