The aspiring tyrants of today have not forgotten the lesson of 1933: that acts of terror - real or fake, provoked or accidental - can provide the occasion to deal a death blow to democracy. Timothy D. Snyder More Quotes by Timothy D. Snyder More Quotes From Timothy D. Snyder Very often, when leaders repeat things over and over, they are preparing you for when that meme actually emerges in reality. Timothy D. Snyder memethingsyoureality If we don't have access to facts, we can't trust each other. Without trust, there's no law. Without law, there's no democracy. Timothy D. Snyder trustdemocracylawfacts Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Timothy D. Snyder wiserexperiencedemocracycommunism People who lived in the 1920s and '30s and '40s were not so different from us. In some ways, they were probably better citizens than we are. They had longer attention spans, for example. Educated people tended to read a bit more than we did. Timothy D. Snyder somebetterattentionpeople When a terrorist attack comes, you will not necessarily know who did it. What you can know is that certain kinds of leaders will use that to suspend your rights. Timothy D. Snyder yourwillknowyou What we ended up with, from Bill Clinton onward, is a status quo party and an 'undo the system' party, where the Democrats became the status quo party and the Republicans became the 'undo the system' party. Timothy D. Snyder statussystemupparty In rhetoric and action, the Trump administration has aggrandized 'radical Islamic terror,' thus making what Madison called a 'favorable emergency' more likely. Timothy D. Snyder emergencymorerhetoricaction Fascism says what you and I experience as facts or what reporters experience as facts are irrelevant. All that matters are impressions and emotions and myths. Timothy D. Snyder emotionsyouexperiencefacts If you want to avoid criticism, then you shouldn't be a historian, because historians are trying to understand and explain. If you're trying to please people, then you should go into the fashion business, or the candy business. Timothy D. Snyder youfashionbusinesspeople Every day you don't do something, it makes it less likely that you will ever do something. So you've got to get started right away. Timothy D. Snyder every-daywilldayyou The 20th century shows that the form of government that we take for granted, a constitutional democratic republic with checks and balances and a rule of law - that form of government is usually temporary. Timothy D. Snyder rule-of-lawgovernmenttemporarylaw We can only see as much and we can only go as far as our languages take us. Timothy D. Snyder usonlygosee When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look out for the expansive use of 'terrorism' and 'extremism.' Be alive to the fatal notions of 'exception' and 'emergency.' Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary. Timothy D. Snyder wordslookangryterrorism The minor choices we make are themselves a kind of vote. Our words and gestures, or their absence, count very much. Timothy D. Snyder wordsvotechoicesabsence To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. Timothy D. Snyder truenothingfreedomfacts Republics, like other forms of government, exist in history and can rise and fall. Timothy D. Snyder risegovernmenthistoryfall The Constitution is worth saving, the rule of law is worth saving, democracy is worth saving, but these things can and will be lost if everyone waits around for someone else. Timothy D. Snyder someoneconstitutiondemocracylaw Trump's Twitter flood of late-night mendacity is an unhindered celebration of fragile manhood, a ceaseless summons to the millions for affirmation, a proclamation to vulnerable men across the land that endless preening and stroking is a normal and imitable way of life. Timothy D. Snyder floodmenlifeway Americans do not want to think that there is an alternative to what we have. Therefore, as soon as you say 'fascism' or whatever it might be, then the American response is to say 'no' because we lack the categories that allow us to think outside of the box that we are no longer in. Timothy D. Snyder saythinkyouwant Mr. Trump is primarily a television personality. As such, he is judged by that standard. This means that a scandal does not call forth a response; it calls forth the desire for a bigger scandal. Timothy D. Snyder hepersonalitydesiretelevision
