Non-complacent
One of the most important books written in recent memory is On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder. In it, Snyder explains that we are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to facism, but our one advantage is that we can learn from their experience.
The U.S. military deployed to our city streets, prosecuting perceived enemies, masked men dragging people away in unmarked cars and sending them to undisclosed countries without due process . . . the Trump regime is not hiding their authoritarianism.
Snyder’s first lesson is: Do not obey in advance. He explains that most power in authoritarianism is freely given. A citizen who sits idly by is teaching power what it can do.
Californians have a unique opportunity to not obey in advance, and instead to stand up and say no to Donald Trump’s cruelty, lawlessness, corruption and authoritarianism. Vote yes on Prop 50 to take our power back and preserve our precious democracy. It’s an emergency, temporary action that is vital in this “break the glass” moment.
Beth Eurotas-Steffy
Santa Rosa
Detached
When I think of ICE offering a bounty on immigrant children, I think of the most important people in my life, my children, and how much I love them.
I wonder about those ICE agents and the politicians making these actions possible; do they think about their own children? It must take a lot of compartmentalizing to keep that from affecting them. Or maybe straight out denial. What a burden to carry.
Stephen Parsons
Santa Rosa
