My first foray into authoritarianism came as an undergraduate student in the USSR during the 1970s. Even then, the depths of cynicism, dissent and passive resistance to communism floored me. Yet nobody then (save for a single dissident mathematician named Andrei Amalrik) was predicting the regime’s demise. But it came, heralded by the disgust its own subjects had for it.
Since then, as a political scientist, I’ve studied state-society relationships under both left- and right-wing authoritarian regimes. What counts far more than most of us can know is the willingness of people to cooperate with what is happening to them.
Aspiring dictators and their cliques don't just seek to win plebiscites, but demand our acquiescence afterwards. They want as to accept as truth their upside-down world of lies and idiocies. They insist we use their tainted language in order to think like they do -- partly out of fear, partly out of laziness, but also to help them control us, and then compel us to to their dirty work for them.
The Nazis could never have risen to power, overrun most of Europe and murdered 2/3 its Jews and Roma (gypsies) without massive collaboration from people who didn’t call themselves Nazis. Most weren’t even German. The real story of those times was how a small group of brutal fanatics managed to turn millions upon millions of bystanders into willing accomplices.
So remember --- it is up to us to decide how we respond when they start demanding we conform and obey, not to them. Know your power, even as a regime tries to take it from you. Do not cooperate, especially as the cracks are starting to widen.
Thank you for pointing out how acquiescence and not understanding the horrors of autocracy lead to its rise. I just read "No Road Leading Back." It was a difficult read, and I had to skim parts of it; but it showed clearly that people who look the other way, either in disbelief or fear, provide railings for a stairway leading to autocracy, in this case allowing Nazism to brutally destroy so many lives. Today, many lives in America are being destroyed, not like in the 1930s, but through job and career loss, being unjustly deported, losing livelihoods through illegal tariffs, sexism, hunger for power, and hatred--all the opposite of what the right claim to be Christian values. (As I reread what I've written, it sounds rather harsh, but in my opinion these are harsh times.)
TY Corbin for sharing your story. Very true. Very scary. Look at Putin’s Russia now and see the union of soviet socialist republics’ bones attempting to reassemble themselves. And witness our own leader’s complicity in animating a zombie instead of supporting resistance to its misguided power. Wake-Up America. This is not a dream.
"And we urge every American to understand: This is not someone else’s fight. The Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to defend it." NYTimes Opinion piece 4.25.25 By Edward J. MarkeyJim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley
I'm standing up and saluting all of us standing together right now. We are strong, we are willing, and we have bold heroes in our midst. Thanks for the reminder, Jen. I count you among them.
The problem is just not them having to resign to get away from an unethical DOJ but that tRump has made it quite clear that government service is no longer a career path. Working to bring about the common good will only get you fired without warning. We are unlikely to see many honorable people who want such a precarious work environment. Without broad Constitutional reforms, tRump's depredations will scar our Country for a long time to come.
Brave soldiers put their lives on the line for democracy. Brave civilians put their jobs. Is one ever absolved of the duty to defend democracy in whatever form they can best serve?
We must always stand up for democracy--I've reminded myself throughout my life that millions have fought in varied ways so that democracy can thrive. We can do no less.
So very well thought and written Jennifer Rubin. I used to think that we live in interesting times but unfortunately we live in DANGEROUS times where thugs are trying to destroy our democracy. Your identification and explanation of how a few ROGUE individuals are our greatest enemies is most appreciated.
The individuals are kicking the bricks out of Trump's "wall". We now have the departure of Joe Kasper at the Pentagon who refused to work for/with Pete Hegseth. Does the expression 'death by a thousand cuts' come to mind? People are beginning to stand up and start kicking and cutting.
America will all look back at these days near the end of April 2025. We will be able to see who started the motion toward ending Trump's regime and who waited until the bandwagon really got rolling. I would say it is your post, Jennifer that we will be able to use as the watershed moment. We will be able to see who started the bandwagon and who got on after it was well rolling and the winds actually changed. It is the starters of the movement that make the difference. it is the starters of the snowball that are the most valuable to the making of the huge snowball. It is the starter of the snow avalanche who takes the risk and gets the thing going so it doesn't occur later and kill all in its path.
"Courage is contagious", and that's so true! Plus there's safety in numbers. I feel so encouraged and lit by Jen's and Norm's efforts. I'm 75, and for the first time in my life I'm constantly writing to my congressional house and senate reps, participating in Zooms with different resistance groups and preparing for next peaceful protest(s). It's so heartening to see the numbers growing!
Way to go! Keep the pressure on. Today so far I've called Sen. Cassidy about the need to get Bobby Jr in to testify again about his flip-flop on the childhood vaccine schedule, which he promised Cassidy in his confirmation not to touch. More importantly, he needs to explain his measles stance once and for all, and why he shut down the Women's Health Initiative longitudinal study, which will hurt both sexes. It was created in 1990 because women were sorely under-represented in clinical trials and there was a total paucity of data on women-specific diseases and conditions. Shame on him.
It's great what you're doing! I live across the country, and knew nothing about Louisiana politics until Mike Johnson became Majority Leader. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to resist in a state where Republicans control everything. And, there were even protests. I admire your courage and your resilience! Take care!
Thanks, but I live in Texas. If you call and don't email, they can't say you are not a constituent. Plus, I was addressing his role as chair of the committee Kennedy had to have his confirmation hearings in.
Sorry, I just assumed you lived there. I understand, and appreciate your positions regarding healthcare, and wasn't aware of the Women's Health Initiative, which I'll now research. With Abbott as your governor and Ted Cruz, and John Cornyn as your senators, and Ken Paxton, and so many more, you've undoubtedly had a lot to deal with as well.
Even toadying up to the orange felon doesn't get you anywhere. Last week Arkansas was hit with tornadoes, thunderstorms with torrential rains, flooding and more. I read somewhere (can't find it anymore) that 40 people died and the damage to property is in the millions.
After the orange felon turned down any help from FEMA, the infamous seven ass-kissers from Arkansas, starting with governor (Sarah Huckabee Sanders - former liar-in-chief of orange felon 1.0), going on with Senators Tom Cotton and John Boozeman, as well as all four US reps have written a joint letter to him BEGGING for federal help. Never mind that Cotton voted against any federal help when blue states were hit. Karma is a bitch, isn't it, Arkansas politicians?
Another great comment! Hope you you and yours are doing okay. Given your former governor, current one, senators, and voter patterns, I never have cared about Arkansas until I started reading your comments. And, I consider you a hero! Living in a blue state myself, I can't even imagine how difficult it is to not only resist, but to be so involved, and passionate about politics!
You are welcome. What's going on in this state is beyond anything believable and needs much airing out. I can't believe that this state produced a Senator Fulbright and President Clinton (no matter his failings, he was a great president for this country).
Keep highlighting the courageous!
What a good way to start today. Bravo and deep gratitude to the courageous, and thank you, Contrarians, for the work you do.
I appreciate the honesty that we’re still dealing with an autocratic regime, but resistance is so important.
As truth has been in short supply— the honesty is crucial.
My first foray into authoritarianism came as an undergraduate student in the USSR during the 1970s. Even then, the depths of cynicism, dissent and passive resistance to communism floored me. Yet nobody then (save for a single dissident mathematician named Andrei Amalrik) was predicting the regime’s demise. But it came, heralded by the disgust its own subjects had for it.
Since then, as a political scientist, I’ve studied state-society relationships under both left- and right-wing authoritarian regimes. What counts far more than most of us can know is the willingness of people to cooperate with what is happening to them.
Aspiring dictators and their cliques don't just seek to win plebiscites, but demand our acquiescence afterwards. They want as to accept as truth their upside-down world of lies and idiocies. They insist we use their tainted language in order to think like they do -- partly out of fear, partly out of laziness, but also to help them control us, and then compel us to to their dirty work for them.
The Nazis could never have risen to power, overrun most of Europe and murdered 2/3 its Jews and Roma (gypsies) without massive collaboration from people who didn’t call themselves Nazis. Most weren’t even German. The real story of those times was how a small group of brutal fanatics managed to turn millions upon millions of bystanders into willing accomplices.
So remember --- it is up to us to decide how we respond when they start demanding we conform and obey, not to them. Know your power, even as a regime tries to take it from you. Do not cooperate, especially as the cracks are starting to widen.
Thank you for pointing out how acquiescence and not understanding the horrors of autocracy lead to its rise. I just read "No Road Leading Back." It was a difficult read, and I had to skim parts of it; but it showed clearly that people who look the other way, either in disbelief or fear, provide railings for a stairway leading to autocracy, in this case allowing Nazism to brutally destroy so many lives. Today, many lives in America are being destroyed, not like in the 1930s, but through job and career loss, being unjustly deported, losing livelihoods through illegal tariffs, sexism, hunger for power, and hatred--all the opposite of what the right claim to be Christian values. (As I reread what I've written, it sounds rather harsh, but in my opinion these are harsh times.)
Harsh is the reality of what was going on in the 30s, and what is happening now in our own country. I would call what you wrote truth.
TY Corbin for sharing your story. Very true. Very scary. Look at Putin’s Russia now and see the union of soviet socialist republics’ bones attempting to reassemble themselves. And witness our own leader’s complicity in animating a zombie instead of supporting resistance to its misguided power. Wake-Up America. This is not a dream.
WAKE UP
WAKE UP AMERICA
keep repeating
These are some very principled individuals who are standing up to Trump for us.
And we must all stand up ( however we can) as well !
"And we urge every American to understand: This is not someone else’s fight. The Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to defend it." NYTimes Opinion piece 4.25.25 By Edward J. MarkeyJim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley
I'm standing up and saluting all of us standing together right now. We are strong, we are willing, and we have bold heroes in our midst. Thanks for the reminder, Jen. I count you among them.
Hooray for courage & bravery!
Kudos to these courageous heros!
The problem is just not them having to resign to get away from an unethical DOJ but that tRump has made it quite clear that government service is no longer a career path. Working to bring about the common good will only get you fired without warning. We are unlikely to see many honorable people who want such a precarious work environment. Without broad Constitutional reforms, tRump's depredations will scar our Country for a long time to come.
Brave soldiers put their lives on the line for democracy. Brave civilians put their jobs. Is one ever absolved of the duty to defend democracy in whatever form they can best serve?
We must always stand up for democracy--I've reminded myself throughout my life that millions have fought in varied ways so that democracy can thrive. We can do no less.
So very well thought and written Jennifer Rubin. I used to think that we live in interesting times but unfortunately we live in DANGEROUS times where thugs are trying to destroy our democracy. Your identification and explanation of how a few ROGUE individuals are our greatest enemies is most appreciated.
The individuals are kicking the bricks out of Trump's "wall". We now have the departure of Joe Kasper at the Pentagon who refused to work for/with Pete Hegseth. Does the expression 'death by a thousand cuts' come to mind? People are beginning to stand up and start kicking and cutting.
Albany NY first RushHour Resistance event held yesterday . Check it out.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TQ5Pre6kYLCbonh-NnaGv4kh3XAm0Stq
Amazing!!! Every city could do this!
America will all look back at these days near the end of April 2025. We will be able to see who started the motion toward ending Trump's regime and who waited until the bandwagon really got rolling. I would say it is your post, Jennifer that we will be able to use as the watershed moment. We will be able to see who started the bandwagon and who got on after it was well rolling and the winds actually changed. It is the starters of the movement that make the difference. it is the starters of the snowball that are the most valuable to the making of the huge snowball. It is the starter of the snow avalanche who takes the risk and gets the thing going so it doesn't occur later and kill all in its path.
"Courage is contagious", and that's so true! Plus there's safety in numbers. I feel so encouraged and lit by Jen's and Norm's efforts. I'm 75, and for the first time in my life I'm constantly writing to my congressional house and senate reps, participating in Zooms with different resistance groups and preparing for next peaceful protest(s). It's so heartening to see the numbers growing!
Way to go! Keep the pressure on. Today so far I've called Sen. Cassidy about the need to get Bobby Jr in to testify again about his flip-flop on the childhood vaccine schedule, which he promised Cassidy in his confirmation not to touch. More importantly, he needs to explain his measles stance once and for all, and why he shut down the Women's Health Initiative longitudinal study, which will hurt both sexes. It was created in 1990 because women were sorely under-represented in clinical trials and there was a total paucity of data on women-specific diseases and conditions. Shame on him.
It's great what you're doing! I live across the country, and knew nothing about Louisiana politics until Mike Johnson became Majority Leader. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to resist in a state where Republicans control everything. And, there were even protests. I admire your courage and your resilience! Take care!
Thanks, but I live in Texas. If you call and don't email, they can't say you are not a constituent. Plus, I was addressing his role as chair of the committee Kennedy had to have his confirmation hearings in.
Sorry, I just assumed you lived there. I understand, and appreciate your positions regarding healthcare, and wasn't aware of the Women's Health Initiative, which I'll now research. With Abbott as your governor and Ted Cruz, and John Cornyn as your senators, and Ken Paxton, and so many more, you've undoubtedly had a lot to deal with as well.
Gives me hope!
Kudos to those four brave individuals!
Even toadying up to the orange felon doesn't get you anywhere. Last week Arkansas was hit with tornadoes, thunderstorms with torrential rains, flooding and more. I read somewhere (can't find it anymore) that 40 people died and the damage to property is in the millions.
After the orange felon turned down any help from FEMA, the infamous seven ass-kissers from Arkansas, starting with governor (Sarah Huckabee Sanders - former liar-in-chief of orange felon 1.0), going on with Senators Tom Cotton and John Boozeman, as well as all four US reps have written a joint letter to him BEGGING for federal help. Never mind that Cotton voted against any federal help when blue states were hit. Karma is a bitch, isn't it, Arkansas politicians?
Here is the article:
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2025/04/22/congressmen-ask-trump-to-reconsider-after-disaster-relief-was-denied
Another great comment! Hope you you and yours are doing okay. Given your former governor, current one, senators, and voter patterns, I never have cared about Arkansas until I started reading your comments. And, I consider you a hero! Living in a blue state myself, I can't even imagine how difficult it is to not only resist, but to be so involved, and passionate about politics!
Oh boy, much too much praise, but thank you.
Wow. Thanks for sharing this.
You are welcome. What's going on in this state is beyond anything believable and needs much airing out. I can't believe that this state produced a Senator Fulbright and President Clinton (no matter his failings, he was a great president for this country).
I’m so sorry. I hope you and everyone will be okay.
Thank you, but luckily this time Little Rock was spared.