![]() Until recently we had convinced ourselves that there was nothing in the future but more of the same. (I was going to reproach the use of “he” and “his” there, but with some disturbing exceptions this is indeed largely a male aberration.) A patriot has universal values, standards by which he judges his nation, always wishing it well-and wishing that it would do better. A patriot must be concerned with the real world, which is the only place where his country can be loved and sustained. Ī patriot, by contrast, wants the nation to live up to its ideals, which means asking us to be our best selves. It is not patriotic to call upon Russia to intervene in an American presidential election. It is not patriotic to admire foreign dictators. It is not patriotic to avoid paying taxes, especially when American working families do so. It is not patriotic to dodge the draft and to mock war heroes and their families. His target in “Be a patriot” is particularly clear: In “Be calm when the unthinkable arrives”, Snyder outlines the rise of Putin. Be angry about the treacherous use of political vocabulary. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Take responsibility for what you communicate with others.īe alert to the rise of the words extremism and terrorism. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns. Realise that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Subsidise investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Here Snyder identifies four modes: open hostility to verifiable reality, “shamanistic incantation” (“Build that wall!” “Lock her up!”), magical thinking (“the open embrace of contradiction”), and misplaced faith.įigure things out for yourself. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. If nothing is true, then no-one can criticise power, because there is no basis on which to do so. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labour.Īvoid pronouncing the phrase everyone else does. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Notice the swastikas and the other symbols of hate. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow.
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