Dear Friends,
LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM:
On this week’s Fallon Forum, Charles Goldman joins me to discuss:
(06:58) Sleepwalking into autocracy;
(18:40) Follow the money trail behind Hegseth’s confirmation;
(36:48) Where will the oligarchs go when the going gets rough?
(53:35) City of Des Moines threatens to ax sustainability, with Kathy Byrnes
Serbian activists kicked off a revolution by inviting people to whack a barrel featuring an image of Serbia’s dictator. Photo courtesy of Srdja Popovic.
We’re hearing a lot about “anticipatory obedience.” Terrified of what President Trump might do, some media, universities, corporations, and even individuals are choosing to censure themselves. One of the earliest examples happened last fall, when the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times (both owned by billionaires) chose NOT to endorse a candidate for President.
Historian Timothy Snyder has been warning people and institutions against caving in to authoritarian power in advance. Snyder was quoted in The Guardian, saying, “the major lesson of the Nazi takeover, and what was supposed to be one of the major lessons of the twentieth century: don’t hand over the power you have before you have to. Don’t protect yourself too early.”
Appearing last month on Democracy Now, Snyder warned that when institutions self censure, they’re essentially saying, “We’re going to be extremely careful not to say the kinds of things which might offend or which might be critical to this person who is now going to be the head of state.”
For democracy to survive, we need to push back against anticipatory obedience. Better yet, we need ANTICIPATORY DISOBEDIENCE. Let’s be clear-eyed about where the Trump administration is heading. Let’s be unafraid to speak truthfully about our hopes and fears for the future.
Though we shouldn’t expect much from the billionaire-owned corporate press, independent media need to double-down on calling out the President’s anti-democratic agenda.
Universities need to maintain the freedom-of-speech atmosphere that has been a hallmark of America’s higher education since its inception. (A tip of the cap to the American Association of University Professors for this recent publication.)
What about individuals? Each of us, especially when we work together, have more power than the media, academia, or corporations. I recommend you read Why Dictators Don’t Have a Sense of Humor, which examines the successful Serbian overthrow of an authoritarian government, led by a handful of committed, creative, and fearless students.
You’ll love the story of how the students took an old barrel, drew an image of dictator Slobodan Milosevic on it, placed the barrel in a prominent public place, and invited passersby to take a whack at it with a baseball bat.
The students organized this action because they realized Milosevic only ruled because people feared him. One student suggested that the best way to attack fear is with laughter, because humor doesn’t simply make you laugh, it makes you think. That’s what led to the barrel action.
Passersby approached the barrel timidly at first. Then one after another started hitting it with the bat. Very quickly, the image on the barrel became unrecognizable. After about 10-15 minutes of this, the police showed up, and since there was no clear perpetrator, they arrested the barrel!
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW WE CAN EMPLOY ANTICIPATORY DISOBEDIENCE?
I want to hear from you. And if you think I’m off the wall (bring it on, Gary), I want to hear from you, too.
Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. — Ed Fallon
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