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2) It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about – a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union – and take its side. [But, in the age of increasingly extremist CONservativism and amoral Libertarianism beware of politically-conservative +/- deceptively-named think tanks and institutions (eg Freedom Foundation, Heritage Foundation, Discovery Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Heartland Institute, Acton Institute, Claremont Institute, Lexington Institute) created with the long-term goal of undermining democracy.]
3) The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections. Vote in local and state elections while you can. Consider running for office.
9) Avoid pronouncing regurgiquoting the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books.
17) Be alert to the use of the words "extremism" and "terrorism". Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary. [And be alert to media empires that specialize in peddling politically-expedient LIES to credulous, poorly-educated, violence-prone, overly-emotional IDIOTS.]
> > Authoritarianism > >
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Resisting Authoritarianism - Bonum V. Mālum >> .
1) Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do. [Foolish RWAs support dangerous SDOs.]
4) The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so. [On the other hand, mobs' ripping down statues reminiscent of long-defunct colonialism achieve nothing other than a petulant display of pique.]
5) When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.
6) When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.
7) If you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. [When malcontents can easily purchase arsenals of handguns, semi-automatic rifles and bump-stocks, society is in danger of usurpation by thugs.]
8) Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow. [Unfortunately, such advice also promotes the mob-rule of moralistic, intolerant, neo-bigotry, power-mongering "cancel culture".]
10) To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights. [Sometimes the big wallet belongs to enemy states.]
11) Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.
12) This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.
13) 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. [Jan 6, 2021 illustrates the problem with this suggestion. Credulous malcontents, who fancied themselves "patriots", treasonously attempted to overthrow a legitimate election.]
14) Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware on a regular basis. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve and legal trouble. Tyrants seek the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have hooks. [In other words, learn to distinguish between self-promoting emotional "populist" hooks versus rational policy.]
15) Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay. Then you will have made a free choice that supports civil society and helps others to do good. [Supporting only causes that are dedicated to promoting socially-supportive, rational policy.]
16) Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends in other countries. The present difficulties in the [tRUMPist] United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.
17) Be alert to the use of the words "extremism" and "terrorism". Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary. [And be alert to media empires that specialize in peddling politically-expedient LIES to credulous, poorly-educated, violence-prone, overly-emotional IDIOTS.]
18) Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit [terrorist incidents] in order to consolidate power. The sudden disaster that requires the end of checks and balances, the dissolution of opposition parties, the suspension of freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Do not fall for it. [This is particularly the case in the USA, where wrong-wing terrorism and gun ownership present far greater threats than foreign terrorism and "wokist" snowflakery.]
19) Set a good example for what America means for the generations to come. They will need it. " [True, alas. For significant subsections, America is a failed experiment in which malevolent Americans lust for power over out-group others, instead of upholding democratic values and supporting noble founding ideals.]
20) If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.
Understanding Libertarian Morality: The Psychological Dispositions of Self-Identified Libertarians:
Libertarians [narcissism and sociopathy relabeled?] are an increasingly prominent ideological group in U.S. politics, yet they have been largely unstudied. Across 16 measures in a large web-based sample that included 11,994 self-identified libertarians, we sought to understand the moral and psychological characteristics of self-described libertarians. Based on an intuitionist view of moral judgment, we focused on the underlying affective and cognitive dispositions that accompany this unique worldview. Compared to self-identified liberals and conservatives, libertarians showed 1) stronger endorsement of individual liberty as their foremost guiding principle, and weaker endorsement of all other moral principles; 2) a relatively cerebral as opposed to emotional cognitive style; and 3) lower interdependence and social relatedness. As predicted by intuitionist theories concerning the origins of moral reasoning, libertarian values showed convergent relationships with libertarian emotional dispositions and social preferences. Our findings add to a growing recognition of the role of personality differences in the organization of political attitudes.
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