I finally got around to reading On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder. It is a pretty quick read — I knocked it out in one sitting. And it vaguely made me feel… better? I mean, don’t get me wrong: I do not feel good today. But I think that I’d been getting the advice from On Tyranny and trying to follow it in preparation for this whole-new-world era already.
So when I finally decided it was time to bite the bullet and read the specific advice about what to do if you’re living during the rise of fascism, it felt vaguely comforting that I’m already following a lot of it. I’ve been feeling very–weirdly, maybe–intentional about how my Empty Nest life is going to be, and what I want it to look like. Oh, in fact, my sister showed me this List of Values from Brené Brown that someone used in a class she’s in: the idea was, instead of making a new year’s resolution, pick the five values that you want to focus on for this year. I think it’s a fun little exercise: go look and think up yours before scrolling down for mine.
I went with: community, creativity, growth, openness, and joy.
Anyway, I’ve been trying to establish new creative hobbies, build relationships and community, and travel, and all of those are on Snyder’s anti-authoritarian “to do” list. One example he mentions is that Czech dissident Václav Havel was into brewing beer. All of the anxiety and fear that I thought his book would stir up in me was already there, anyway, and instead, I was rewarded with the lovely revelation that being open and joyful and creative in times like this is itself an act of resistance. Yes, there will be protests and phone calls and boycotts ahead, and it will be upsetting and exhausting.
But for now, read a good book, make something with your hands, visit a new place, or get together with friends. Congratulations: you’re on Team Freedom.
