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Brought to the Fore

On June 9 at the Guilford Community Center, Professor Timothy Snyder discussed his book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. The event, co-sponsored by a group of local businesses and organizations, drew a standing-room-only crowd.

In his talk, Professor Snyder described how conditions leading to and created by the recent presidential election are comparable to conditions that elsewhere have paved the way to authoritarianism. Professor Snyder highlighted the urgent need to protect American democracy by engaging in acts of resistance now, while the personal risks of doing so are still minimal. Among the acts of resistance of which Professor Snyder spoke are those that take place in small moments in daily life in one’s own community. For example, he elaborated on Lesson 12 in his book. This lesson, titled “Make Eye Contact and Small Talk,” includes the following: “You might not be sure, today or tomorrow, who feels threatened in the United States. But if you affirm everyone, you can be sure that certain people will feel better.” In considering this seemingly simple admonition, I was struck by the direct path from failing to affirm one’s neighbor to disowning one’s neighbor to creating otherness to dehumanizing fellow human beings. Once people are dehumanized, conditions are ripe for violence.

The pertinence of Professor Snyder’s warnings is brought to the fore by several recent incidents in our community—including one in which racial slurs were sprayed on a Guilford home (as reported by the Guilford Courier on June 20), as well as other incidents involving homophobia and anti-Semitism mentioned on the Simply Guilford Facebook page. Vigilance to such hate and mobilization of resistance to such acts are crucial to impeding descent down the road of which Professor Snyder warns.

Adam Spivack

Guilford