Taking Responsibility for the Face of the World

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
Penguin Random House, February 28, 2017

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Yale Historian Timothy Snyder’s book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, is an important reminder regarding the potential fragility of the American experiment. With a style evocative of a Thomas Paine pamphlet, this short work expands upon the following themes:

1. Do not obey in advance.
2. Defend an institution.
3. Recall professional ethics.
4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words.
5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
6. Be kind to our language.
7. Stand out. Someone has to.
8. Believe in truth.
9. Investigate.
10. Practice corporeal politics.
11. Make eye contact and small talk.
12. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
13. Hinder the one-party state.
14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can.
15. Establish a private life.
16. Learn from others in other countries.
17. Watch out for the paramilitaries.
18. Be reflective if you must be armed.
19. Be as courageous as you can.
20. Be a patriot.

These themes are drawn from Snyder’s career studying the Holocaust, the Cold War, and totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe, and they apply his considerable learning and real world experience to the current state of American politics. Snyder’s work provides some valuable lessons in thoughtful citizenship, regardless of one’s ideology, and it will be of interest to educators who are working with students to help them understand their responsibilities within our social contract. The work is especially suited for Upper School history classes, both European and American, and could be equally illuminating for student government or social justice initiatives in schools.