[FRIAM] What should we do?

Mon Jan 2 20:17:32 EST 2017

Marcus, 

Yes.  This one was a bit of cold water in the face for me.  Because part of
what I was looking for from this inquiry was somebody to FOLLOW in the next
four years.  But is that avoidable.  Isn't concerted action what we will
need? 

Nick

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

 <http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/>
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

From: Friam [mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com] On Behalf Of Marcus Daniels
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2017 5:52 PM
To: 'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group' <friam at redfish.com>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] What should we do?

When people like this
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/12/31/an
thony-bourdain-bashes-fellow-privileged-eastern-liberals-for-making-trump-wi
n-possible/>  start shifting gears in such a self-serving way, it is not a
good sign.  

1. Do not obey in advance.

Much 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 start to do it without being asked. You've already done this,
haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is
possible and accelerates unfreedom.

  _____  

From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com <mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com> >
on behalf of Nick Thompson <nickthompson at earthlink.net
<mailto:nickthompson at earthlink.net> >
Sent: Monday, January 2, 2017 4:48 PM
To: 'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group'
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] What should we do? 

Hi, Barry, 

This is great.  I will paste it in below for those who are reluctant to
click on stuff.  

I am struck by the contrast between the ordinariness of most of his
suggestions and number #19.  Almost all the others are things I can do
without disturbing my day to day life.  I already DO a lot of them, and look
where we are.  #19 can be seen a metaphor for all the things I might do
which would involve mobilizing me for activities I do not naturally.  I
think the problem is that we all have to start stepping out onto that
slippery slope.  Here is the text:

Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to
fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from
their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are twenty lessons from
the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today:

1. Do not obey in advance.

Much 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 start to do it without being asked. You've already done this,
haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is
possible and accelerates unfreedom.

2. Defend an institution.

Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a
newspaper. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you are making them
yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don't protect themselves. They
go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.

3. Recall professional ethics.

When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments
to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a
rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials
without judges.

4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words.

Look out for the expansive use of "terrorism" and "extremism." Be alive to
the fatal notions of "exception" and "emergency." Be angry about the
treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.

5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.

When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all
times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think
of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the
balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest
trick in the Hitlerian book. Don't fall for it.

6. Be kind to our language.

Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of
speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying.
(Don't use the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your
bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps The Power of the Powerless by
Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The
Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or
Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.

7. Stand out.

Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel
strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is
no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo
is broken, and others will follow.

8. Believe in truth.

To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can
criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing
is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most
blinding lights.

9. Investigate.

Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles.
Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize
that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Learn about sites
that investigate foreign propaganda pushes.

10. Practice corporeal politics.

Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating
on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with
unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.

11. Make eye contact and small talk.

This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your
surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand
whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation,
you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.

12. Take responsibility for the face of the world.

Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do
not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to
do so.

13. Hinder the one-party state.

The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a
historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote
in local and state elections while you can.

14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can.

Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a
free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something
good.

15. Establish a private life.

Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub
your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using
alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal
exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.
Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which
to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks.

16. Learn from others in other countries.

Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present
difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going
to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.

17. Watch out for the paramilitaries.

When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system
start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a
Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official
police and military intermingle, the game is over.

18. Be reflective if you must be armed.

If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But
know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding
themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do
not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.)

19. Be as courageous as you can.

If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in
unfreedom.

20. Be a patriot.

The incoming president is not. Set a good example of what America means for
the generations to come. They will need it. . 

This article was originally published as a
<https://www.facebook.com/timothy.david.snyder/posts/1206636702716110>
Facebook post by Timothy Snyder, the Housum Professor of History at Yale
University and author of Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning.

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com] On Behalf Of Barry MacKichan
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2017 4:07 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com
<mailto:friam at redfish.com> >
Subject: [FRIAM] What should we do?

I'm sending a couple of links that might be relevant to part of the
conversation on Friday.

<http://qz.com/846940/a-yale-history-professors-20-point-guide-to-defending-
democracy-under-a-trump-presidency/>
http://qz.com/846940/a-yale-history-professors-20-point-guide-to-defending-d
emocracy-under-a-trump-presidency/

and

 <http://xkcd.com/1779/> http://xkcd.com/1779/

--Barry

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