Hi all, I have taken a long break from writing Democracy OTL and I have considered wrapping it up, but I have decided to keep it going for now. I may not post all the time but I want to keep this line of communication open.
The stakes for 2024 are absolutely clear. Your personal freedom is on the line. Vote like it. Thank you to messaging expert Anat Shenker-Osorio for giving us this framing on a recent episode of The New Abnormal podcast. (Shenker-Osorio also hosts her own Words to Win By podcast, but she happened to stop me in my tracks with her message shared on The New Abnormal with Danielle Moodie.)
We have a two-party system in the USA and that means that I encourage you to vote for Democrats in every office. Don’t throw your vote away in protest. The stakes are too high. Whether or not you “like” Joe Biden or other Democratic candidates, I believe that in order for American democracy to survive, we need to vote out the crumbling, corrupt, cruel Republican party—up and down the ballot.
I started writing Democracy OTL when the stakes were still coming into focus. Now it is glaringly obvious, especially in North Carolina, now that the primaries are over. And this fact is finally starting to go mainstream.
I encourage you to:
Read or re-read historian Timothy Snyder’s slim and wise book: On Tyranny. “Don’t obey in advance.”
Read historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s book Strongmen and subscribe to her Lucid Substack. Her Friday 1-2 pm ET live zoom discussions for her subscribers are essential listening & community each week. Happy 3rd birthday to Lucid! I believe that Professor Ben-Ghiat wrote the first book that included Trump in the dictator hall of shame lineage from Mussolini to the present.
Read David Pepper’s book Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American and come up with your own personal action plan to mobilize your network, building on your existing “footprint.” Help people register to vote and make sure they know the stakes. Some people are not yet paying attention and as hard as it is to believe, they may not know how bad and extreme MAGA candidates are including Trump, Mark Robinson for NC Governor, and Michelle Morrow for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction (Schools).
Pick a few sources of local and national media to follow regularly. I have come to admire Deadline White House host Nicolle Wallace, especially her American Autocracy series. Her first of these recurring segments featured Professors Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Anthea Butler as experts. Did you know that you access get Deadline White House and other MSNBC shows as free podcasts even if you don’t have a TV subscription to MSNBC?
(And yes, I will be turning off any MSNBC/NBC News episode that includes Ronna Romney McDaniel on as paid talent—reportedly around $300,000 a year when contributors like Elie Mystal are unpaid!!—you can be sure of that.)