鈥淭oday, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the 20th century,鈥 declares Timothy Snyder in his new book, 鈥淥n Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.鈥 On Oct. 30, Cornell students, faculty and members of the Ithaca community gathered to discuss Snyder鈥檚 work as part of a community book read, which drew more than 100 people.
The book was chosen not for its perfection or because the organizers agreed with it, but 鈥渂ecause it is a short, provocative book that can generate thoughts, reflections and questions to engage with 鈥 and more importantly, to engage with our current political situation,鈥 moderator , professor of German studies and comparative literature and director for the Society for the Humanities, said in his introduction.
Introductory remarks were made by four panelists: , professor of sociology; , the Mann Professor of Modern Jewish Studies and director of the Jewish Studies Program; the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Africana Studies and chair of the Africana Studies and Research Center; and , professor of law.
Although Rana found the book valuable, he said it fundamentally misdiagnoses the causes of what we would think of as American tyranny.
鈥淭he U.S. has embedded within it deep hierarchies that are class-based and racially grounded,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hese deep hierarchies are actually sustained by the way the institutions themselves are structured, which is to allow empowered minorities 鈥 business and racial elites, not minorities as we often think of them 鈥 to maintain minority rule in a society that is, in fact, not fully democratic.
鈥淪o the historic function of insurgent social movements [like the labor and civil rights movements] has been really to democratize American life,鈥 he said.
Berezin assigned Snyder鈥檚 book to her class this semester on Fascism, Nationalism, and Populism; she focused her remarks on Snyder鈥檚 first chapter on 鈥渁nticipatory obedience,鈥 in which he urges readers not to obey before you need to. Berezin urged the audience to engage instead in anticipatory disobedience. Engage in civic activities like running for office, she said.
鈥淸Cultivate a] heightened awareness of the little ways we consent and 鈥榦bey in advance鈥 even if we do not mean to, but simply suffer a 鈥榝ailure of attention,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淚 am asking us all to pay attention, to be aware of the content of our day-to-day public commitments because by the time that we have to worry about our commitments and obedience it will be too late.鈥
To Gaines, Snyder鈥檚 belief in the resilience of American institutions and that liberal democratic values will save us is 鈥渨ishful thinking.鈥 White supremacy 鈥渉as been at the center of U.S. politics for generations, in recent decades driving the GOP anti-government, anti-civil rights agenda, and underwriting the draconian policies of cuts in anti-poverty programs and federal anticrime legislation passed by the Democratic administration of [President] Bill Clinton,鈥 he said.
Gaines added that 鈥渢he lesson for us today, and in the weeks to come, in public, and in interpersonal dealings with others, is to speak out against the racist speech and actions that increasingly surround us, and to borrow a lesson from Snyder, to not be afraid to stand out in doing so.鈥
In his remarks, Boyarin called on the audience to do the 鈥渉ard work of memory.鈥 Despite our loyalty to 鈥渢he image of a common humanity and to the dream of its unity, such grand visions are rarely the basis for effective politics in the present,鈥 he said.
Memory is 鈥渁 process of continual opening simultaneously toward our own ancestors and toward all of our contemporaries,鈥 Boyarin said. 鈥淭he more I know about my ancestors, the more receptive I can be to learning about yours.鈥
Referring to Snyder鈥檚 claim that our own conformity is a key ingredient of the victory of tyranny, Boyarin said, 鈥渄oing the hard work of memory and not the easy work of nostalgia or 鈥榬essentiment鈥 (assigning blame for one鈥檚 frustration) is one way to overcome the slide toward such conformity.鈥
The event was organized by the Jewish Studies Program, the Society for the Humanities, the Africana Studies and Research Center and American Studies Program.
This article originally appeared in the
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