“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
—President Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981.
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017) by Timothy Snyder is a remarkable recitation of the manner in which a free people succumb to authoritarianism. Relying largely upon the circumstances that allowed Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini to rise to power by the 1930s, the professor of history at Yale University also cites a number of other instances throughout the Cold War and beyond where a tyrannical ruler came to and held onto power. The most striking of all these “twenty lessons” is the observation that the authoritarians of the past century have risen to power in amazingly similar —and thus now predictable—ways.
As we look around in 2026, and reflect on Snyder’s book, there is overwhelming evidence that our country is now on this oft-repeated march towards authoritarianism.
Snyder recognized early on that the emergence of Donald Trump was an extremely visible symptom of a socio-political pathology whose origins can be traced back to the 1980s. On Tyranny was originally published on February 28, 2017, only five weeks into Trump’s first presidential administration. He observed that what began as anti-government rhetoric has metastasized into tens of millions of Americans believing that there now exists a “deep state” and only Donald Trump can save us from it.
While Snyder deftly identifies examples of what we have all been going through, he also offers what we must do to fight back.
For example, Snyder’s Lesson #2 is to “Defend institutions.” Among the most visible signs that we certainly have some institutions in need of defense, I offer Trump’s dismantling of the federal workforce, his transformation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and his attempts to propagandize Smithsonian museums and research centers. However, federal workers have blown the whistle on the tactics implemented to weed out the disloyal. Musicians and other artists have refused to perform at the Kennedy Center. Historians and other groups have railed against Trump’s effort to rewrite history in the name of promoting American exceptionalism; or, as Snyder writes, “imaginary perfection.”
In Lesson #7, “Be reflective if you must be armed,” Snyder warns that the “evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things.” He adds that these law enforcement officials and soldiers should “be ready to say no.”
I am reminded of federal legislators recently informing those in the armed forces of their duty to refuse illegal orders; and also of the people of Minneapolis and elsewhere standing up to federal law enforcement officials terrorizing their communities.
Authoritarian regimes co-opt the police and the military in the name of “law and order” and personal safety. If you’re flummoxed by the behavior of those with badges, guns, and uniforms prowling America’s streets today, Snyder offers that maybe we should not be so surprised. Tyrants rise to power by “first challeng[ing] the police and military, then penetrate[ing] the police and military, and finally transform[ing] the police and military.” OT 38
Long before we became familiar with organizations such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, and months before the white supremacists descended upon Charlottesville in a “Unite the Right” rally in August of 2017, Snyder warned that “[w]hen men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh.”
As Trump administration officials violate the law, the Constitution, and the norms of decent behavior, Snyder offers Lesson #5, “Remember professional ethics,” which encourages others of influence to stand up for what is right. He writes that “if lawyers had followed the norm of no executions without trial, if doctors had accepted the rule of no surgery without consent, if businessmen had endorsed the prohibition of slavery, if bureaucrats had refused to handle paperwork involving murder,” the “mechanics” of the Holocaust would have been much more difficult to carry out.
It is heartening to see those standing up to Trump’s policies on ethical grounds; Department of Justice lawyers refusing to indict Trump’s political opponents, medical professionals using their clout and expertise to challenge absurd health recommendations emanating from the Centers for Disease Control. As to the businessmen, we should fear Tech Bros and others bending their knee to Trump. A few media outlets—CBS comes to mind—have also appeared to give in to Trump’s demands.
Many of those who have gone along with the early encroachment of American authoritarianism have done so out of the fear of standing out. Snyder Lesson #8 is to “Stand out.” I would like to think that I have heeded this advice myself. But, it has come with a price; I have been regularly called out by friends and family members to avoid talking politics because it often degenerates into argument and eventually, estrangement.
And, expressing my opinions, as I often do here, is something many folks might be uncomfortable doing; and not just for fear of standing out, but also for fear of being targeted. On this I’ll thank the intrepid protestors of Minneapolis for setting for me a fine example of standing out.
Snyder’s Lesson #17 is to “Listen for dangerous words” like “extremism” and “terrorism” and get “angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.” Alas, it is only in our current situation that two peacefully protesting American citizens, shot and killed by federal law enforcement officials, can be referred to as “domestic terrorists.”
As to the re-emergence of symbols of hate promoting white supremacy and anti-Semitism, Snyder implores us to “not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.” This one is from Lesson #4, “Take responsibility for the face of the world.”
Those symbols often appear hand-in-hand with repeated slogans and phrases; “rigged election,” “lock her up,” “America first,” “defend the homeland,” and most recently, echoing a prominent Nazi slogan, “One Homeland, One People, One Heritage,” posted by the Department of Labor.
In Lesson #9, “Be kind to our language,” Snyder encourages us to “[t]hink up your own way of speaking… Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.” Snyder implores us to adopt a healthy skepticism towards the images that arrive on our screens and, instead, seek out the printed word; sources of information that can more readily be verified and sourced.
This is perhaps the single greatest challenge we face; the right-wing drumbeat of images and language that has been consumed and adopted by tens of millions of fellow Americans.
Recognizing this years ago, I have regularly sent books, articles, and fact checks to my MAGA (former) friends. I described my understanding of the sources of information I rely upon including acknowledgement of inevitable degrees of bias. I encouraged their consideration of broader sources of information. I challenged them when they make dubious and, sometimes, downright false claims. I reviewed the sources of information they believe defend their points of view and then critique them. In short, I urged them to Change the Channel.
It has not gone well. I believe, in the end, I have threatened more than enlightened. So long have they consumed the rants from Fox News, inflammatory fight-wing podcasts, and fleeting internet messages, I believe they have lost the ability to think for themselves. I think we have reached the point where accepting so much of what the Trump administration stands for as simply a disagreement on the issues is no longer tenable. Fighting back against authoritarianism requires much more. I once believed that engaging others with reliable information from credible sources might give them pause. Unfortunately, my efforts have only put more distance between us. Such is the strength of the authoritarian forces our country now faces.
One of the most disheartening conversations I have had with a decades-long friend regarded Liz Cheney. “What do you think of Liz Cheney,” I asked a friend after the congresswoman from Wyoming was black-balled by Republicans who resented her efforts to investigate Donald Trump’s clear wrong-doing. “She quit the team,” he replied.
When I later asked how, after so much has been reliably reported about Trump—his deployment of armed thugs onto our streets, his association with pedophiles, his mendacity, his infidelity, his disdain for our global allies and the championing of dictators, his handling of classified documents, his encouragement to use violence against political opponents, his attacks upon the Constitution, his weaponization of the Justice Department, his incitement of insurrection, his illegitimate claims of a stolen election, his racist and misogynistic behavior, his demands for fealty and his childish dependence upon praise, his self-deification, and most visibly on display each and every day, his monumental ignorance – how can you continue to support him? My devout Catholic friend claimed that he did so because of a life-long opposition to abortion, the need for a limited and fiscally responsible government, a strong defense, and lower taxes. “That’s not Donald Trump,” I cried, “that’s Liz Cheney.”
His reply? Crickets…
With tens of millions of Americans rabidly continuing to support Donald Trump, I see now that Timothy Snyder’s dictum is spot on. “Most of the power of authoritarianism,” he writes, “is freely given.”
As to his frighteningly prescient book, we should all take heed. “History does not repeat,” he adds, “but it does instruct.” I encourage you to read and share his words.
The most frightening takeaway from this short volume is that good people can find themselves doing horrible things. “The European history of the twentieth century,” Snyder warns, “shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary men can find themselves standing over death pits with guns in their hands.”
While this may shock you, I remind you that quite a few “ordinary” people were swept along in the 1930s Germany and Italy; and many of them did indeed “find themselves standing over death pits with guns in their hands.”
