“…the history of modern democracy is also one of decline and fall,” he notes in his foreword.

“Americans today are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy fall to fascism, Nazism, or communism in the twentieth century. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so.”

The first warning is the most presicient:

“Do not obey in advance.”

“Most 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 offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”

Then there’s:

“Defend institutions.”

“The mistake is to assume that rulers who came to power through institutions cannot change or destroy those very institutions – even when that is exactly what they have announced they will do.”

“… when the less popular of the two parties suppresses voting, claims fraud when it loses elections, and controls the majority of statehouses. The party that exercises such control proposes few policies that are popular with society at large, and several that are unpopular – and thus must either fear democracy or weaken it.“

Later, Snyder writes, “The most intelligent of the Nazis, the legal theorist Carl Schmitt, explained in clear language the essence of fascist governance. The way to destroy all rules, he explained, was to focus on the idea of the exception. A Nazi leader outmaneuvers his opponents by manufacturing a general conviction that the present moment is exceptional, and then transforming that state of exception into a permanent emergency. Citizens then trade real freedoms for false safety.”

For all the warnings, there is some helpful advice, such as:

“Stand out.”

“Someone has to. It’s easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.”

Snyder is also adamant that every American must have a passport. This resonated with me as the morning after Shitler won re-election, I applied for (and have received) my passport. I hope I won’t have to use it, but I am sleep better with it.

You can get your copy of “On Tyranny” at one of my new favorite sites, bookshop.org – a wonderful bookseller that plows its profits right back to independent book stores. And unlike Amazon, they ship books with love and care. Say goodbye to dinged covers and ripped pages.

Clocking in under 130 pages, “On Tyranny” is a quick read, but it will stay with you.

We have no idea what hell we face for the next four years, and we need all the help we can get.