Posted on 07/04/2017 1:10:31 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The resistance movement against President Donald Trump has one of the country's premier historians onboard — and his reasons for opposing Trump are pretty terrifying. Leading historian at Yale, Timothy Snyder, warns that Trump could try overthrowing democracy during his presidency. In fact, he predicts it's "inevitable."
Snyder has spent his career working on Modern Eastern Europe, and as such he has plenty of knowledge on authoritarian leaders. Using his research, he wrote a book to help get America through the Trump presidency and it's called On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. The book is more of a guidebook that takes lessons from the past to figure out what the resistance needs to do on a daily basis under Trump.
Snyder's concerns over the nation's political system were further explored in an interview between him and Salon. Snyder explained to Salon's Chauncey DeVega that Trump could theoretically mount his own version of the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany to try and consolidate power outside of Democracy. In addition to detailing the theory in his own book, he has also put forward this argument in The New York Review of Books.
Essentially, Snyder argues, it would start with some sort of terrorist attack or other national emergency. In response to the attack, Trump could institute a state of emergency whereby constitutional law and freedoms are limited. "I think it’s pretty much inevitable that they will try," Snyder told DeVega, explaining that "conventional ways of being popular are not working out for them." To be clear, this is all theoretical.
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Trump's polling numbers remain at historic lows. So, save that path to continued governance, an alternative method of consolidating control could be "getting into a new rhythm of politics, one that does not depend upon popular policies and electoral cycles."
Whether the strategy would actually succeed is an entirely other question. Snyder explains, "Whether it works or not depends upon whether when something terrible happens to this country, we are aware that the main significance of it is whether or not we are going to be more or less free citizens in the future." His personal thought on the matter is that, no, a power grab wouldn't ultimately work — "not so much because we are so great but because we have a little bit of time to prepare."
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Snyder basically thinks enough citizens and government actors have thought about the possibility and won't let it happen. Reading his book might prepare you to join in the fight. "What my book does is it goes across the arc of regime change, from the beginning to the end, and it provides things ranging from simpler to harder that people can literally do every day," Snyder explains to Salon.
Herein comes the most interesting part:
The thing that matters the most is to realize that in moments like this your actions really do matter. It is ironic but in an authoritarian regime-change situation, the individual matters more than [in] a democracy. In an authoritarian regime change, at the beginning the individual has a special kind of power because the authoritarian regime depends on a certain kind of consent.
If enough individuals "find the ways not to express their consent," then the overthrowing of democracy won't be successful. Perhaps it's not the usual way to spend your July 4, but there's probably not a more patriotic way to spend Independence Day.
Because he is a “leading historian” at Yale
How in the world can a “smart” person conclude that after we (who are armed to the teeth and by and large know what we are doing) sat by and watched what 0bama did to this country for 8 years think that snowflakes are going to do something more? Delusional.
You answered your own question.
“Yale”
These people are unhinged.
It's what they would do so they think that is what Trump will do.
I will allow that it may be a bit of wish fulfillment on their part. It would allow them to heroically take to the barricades and shell the Winter Palace.
"Ceterum censeo Islam esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
The liberals are the ones that were practicing tyranny. Shoving their agenda down everyone’s throat and not willing to listen to anyone about anything that wasn’t lock step with them.
Liberals are still trying to do that, with their violence at protests and what not. Refusing to accept this country rejected their agenda.
He’s a historian at Yale and he thinks the USA is a democracy? Sad.’,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
My thought exactly! Wonder if he has ever heard of the word “Republic?” I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands....
Guess he has never made the pledge.
Beware when these People get back in power.
>>Beware when these People get back in power.
*********************************************
This is most important for all Patriots to remember. These people are the most angry, foaming at the mouth zealots I’ve ever seen.
That we had to put up with decades of watching our country go to hell, our Constitution ripped to shreds, our freedoms eroded matters not to them.
Already they completely justify violence against us. I have no doubt if they ever get back into power (and they will unless they are somehow permanently purged), it will be showers and ovens for us.
As I’ve said here many times before, there isn’t a Liberal alive that would turn down a chance to help load us Irredeemable Deplorables into Cattle Cars on their way to the DNC Indoctrination Camps, not a one.
More to the point, if ever there was a president that might be accused of this it was obamarangatang, so where was this buttmonkey's concerns then?
The conservatives in our great nation are law abiding citizens. Most of them are armed. A large percentage of them are very very very proficient with firearms.
I pray the day does not occur when law and order ceases to exist and judicial or executive or legislative tyranny reins. If it does, patriots will step forward. 300 yards is easy. This is something as I said, I pray never happens.
The people of our great nation is not what made it great. Great masses of people came here and they were poor,desperate and only wanted to just live and prosper. Our most brilliant forefathers wrote the Constitution of the United States of America. This document is what allowed the desperate and poor from Europe to become the greatest nation in the history of man. We must not lose it!
And, I bet this guy never gave a second thought about Obama doing what he fears Trump will do - and Obama was far more likely to try something really bad....
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