Fighting tyranny - lesson one - do not obey in advance
Reading On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder and reading it again with the illustrated version; he has twenty brief, history based lessons for how we fight and resists.
As soon as I finished it, I started sending copies to my loved ones.
I’m repeating the core messages here in the hopes of spreading Timothy Snyder’s message far and wide.
- Do not obey in advance. We have already seen inspiring and powerful examples of people and institutions WHO DID NOT obey in advance. Shout out to all the lawyers standing up and speaking out against law firms who are “by capitulating to the … demands for fealty and protection money.”
U.S. attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, and the officials who oversaw the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, Kevin O. Driscoll and John Keller
Let me tell you a little more about Danielle Sassoon. She was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. She’s a member of the conservative Federalist Society and clerked for conservative Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court. She credits Justice Scalia for always treating her like one of the guys and teaching her how to shoot a gun.
This woman has spent the past 17 years of her professional life working toward this pinnacle of success. And when she witnessed something that was not ‘consistent with the principles of impartiality and fairness that guide my decision making’ she made what I can only imagine was a difficult decision to speak up. She was prepared to resign if needed.
Here’s to the incorrigible elevation and hope of celebrating courageous behavior. May it inspire us all.
Love, Kerry