On Tyranny, and the Importance of Personal Connections
By Sophia Pechaty
If, like me, you are concerned about the direction of political and cultural developments in the US and globally, you might also have been recommended a small, insight-packed book by professor and historian Timothy Snyder. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century draws from historical (but not so distant) examples of descent into totalitarianism, in the hope that we can learn from the experiences of those who successfully — or unsuccessfully — resisted oppressive states and fought to preserve their freedoms.
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Each chapter of On Tyranny explores a different piece of wisdom: “Don’t Obey in Advance,” “Be Kind to Our Language,” etc. All are well-worth reflecting on, but for the sake of a brief post, I want to draw our attention to chapters 12 and 13: “Make Eye Contact and Small Talk,” and “Practice Corporeal Politics”.
Chapter 12, “Make Eye Contact and Small Talk,” asserts that these practices are “not just polite. [They are] part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society…a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and….know the psychological landscape of your daily life.”
Chapter 13, “Practice corporeal politics,” is a call to action. “Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.”
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These chapters stood out to me in the context of our work in nonviolence because of their attention to personalizing relationships. Here at the Metta Center, we’ve defined a 5-step approach to cultivating your nonviolent capacity, or person power:
Out with the old: get media savvy, and interact critically with mass media
In with the new: learn all you can about nonviolence
Take up (or deepen) a spiritual practice
Prioritize personal relationships
Be the new story
The fourth point, “prioritize personal relationships,” resists contemporary trends to isolate us from one another, such as technological substitutes for face-to-face connections, and deeper cultural messaging that teaches us we exist in a state of zero-sum competition that makes power imbalances inevitable. An essential part of a nonviolent lifestyle is intentionally practicing the opposite habit of reaching out to others around us in trust and service. In On Tyranny, Snyder points out that this is also an asset in dangerous political moments:
“Tyrannical regimes arose at different times and places in the Europe of the twentieth century, but memoirs of their victims all share a single tender moment. Whether the recollection of fascist Italy in the 1920s, of Nazi Germany of the 1930s, of the Soviet Union during the Great Terror of 1937-38, or of the purges in communist eastern Europe in the 1940s and ‘50s, people who were living in fear of repression remembered how their neighbors treated them. A smile, a handshake, or a word of greeting–banal gestures in a normal situation–took on great significance. When friends, colleagues, and acquaintances looked away or crossed the street to avoid contact, fear grew. 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.” (Chapter 12)
“For resistance to succeed, two boundaries must be crossed. First, ideas about change must engage people of various backgrounds who do not agree about everything. Second, people must find themselves in places that are not their homes, and among groups who were not previously their friends. Protests can be organized through social media, but nothing is real that does not end on the streets.” (Chapter 13)
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This humanizing resistance is particularly important now as more and more of our systems are being designed to prioritize convenience, efficiency, and ease over thoughtful presence and organic interactions with other people. It can be easy to avoid closeness with others as we tread further into uncertain times, and differences or disagreements can be uncomfortable and tense. We are surrounded by encouragement to fear or even hate the “other,” whoever that may be (immigrants, people with different political beliefs, etc.). "Divide and conquer" works as a tool of political violence, when we are made to believe that others are fundamentally different in their humanity and needs. To examine and challenge difference and dehumanization is a keystone of active and principled nonviolence. On Tyranny offers as an example the Polish Solidarity labor movement of 1980-81, which united “workers and professionals, elements of the Roman Catholic Church, and secular groups”:
“In 1968, the regime mobilized workers against students who protested. In 1970, when a strike in Gdansk on the Baltic coast was bloodily suppressed, it was the workers’ turn to feel isolated. In 1976, however, intellectuals and professionals formed a group to assist workers who had been abused by the government. These were people from both the Right and the Left, believers and atheists, who created trust among workers–people whom they would not otherwise have met. When Polish workers on the Baltic coast went on strike again in 1980, they were joined by lawyers, scholars, and others who helped them make their case. The result was the creation of a free labor union, as well as government guarantees to observe human rights. During the sixteen months that Solidarity was legal, ten million people joined, and countless new friendships were created amid strikes, marches, and demonstrations. The Polish communist regime put down the movement with martial law in 1981. Yet eight years later, in 1989, when they needed negotiating partners, the communists had to turn to Solidarity. The labor union insisted on elections, which it then won. This was the beginning of the end of communism in Poland, Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union.” (Chapter 13)
I encourage you to check out On Tyranny and explore the other chapters. We’ve only scratched the surface in terms of connections to nonviolence, and the current political moment calls for us all to be responsible for our communities and relationships.
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This week, be mindful of when during the day you interact with another person (or perhaps when an interaction has been removed from your daily life). How can we make these interactions more connected? More present? More curious? More open?
