On Tyranny Lessons 9-12 Summary & Analysis

9: Be kind to our language

Lesson 9 begins with the suggestion that people should avoid repeating popular phrases, and everyone should make an effort to detach from the Internet. This lesson encourages the reader to spend less time-consuming online content and more time reading books. The dystopian novels 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 are both referenced, as they both contain societies where ideas are regulated and citizens spend much of their time in front of a television screen. Snyder provides a list of recommended books, which includes the Bible. His idea is that reading leads one to expand one’s vocabulary and frame of reference, as well as to consider the importance of the truth.

10: Believe in the truth

Lesson 10 opens with the claim that facts are the foundation for freedom, since leaders and power cannot be criticized without an understanding of truth and facts. This lesson discusses how fascist dictators shift public opinion and undermine truth and facts. Referencing Victor Klemperer, a literary scholar who wrote about his experiences in Nazi Germany, the lesson describes the death of truth in four parts. The first is open hostility toward verifiable facts. The second is shamanistic incantation, the repetition of phrases and slogans to replace actual information. The third is magical thinking, which encourages contradictory thinking. The fourth is misplaced faith, where a political leader becomes a religious leader and can dictate facts based on divine knowledge. All four of these are illustrated with examples of Donald Trump’s first term as president. The subordination of facts to personal beliefs is called post-truth. “Post-truth is pre-fascism,” Snyder declares.

11: Investigate

Lesson 11 starts by advising the reader to be critical when consuming news media. One should read sites that investigate propaganda and be appropriately careful about accepting what others say. This lesson focuses on the shift from journalism to online news and opinions. Snyder describes Donald Trump, in 2016, attacking journalists who disagreed with him. Adolf Hitler similarly attacked news media that did not support him. Citizens have a responsibility to one another, and society, to verify information before they pass it on to others. Journalistic integrity involves research and verification of facts, whereas reposting online opinions does not. People should spend more time considering how their support and distribution of media will affect society’s sense of truth. Also, supporting outlets that maintain journalistic integrity will reinforce the value of journalistic integrity across all media.

12: Make eye contact and small talk

Lesson 12 begins by counseling the reader to interact on a human level with others. Personal interaction helps to break down social barriers and to teach people who they should (or should not) trust. This lesson states that people who lived under tyranny and oppression record in their diaries and memoirs how they were treated by their peers. Polite interaction affirms and encourages the oppressed, while avoidance and dismissal furthers oppression. People should try to affirm and treat everyone politely, especially if they are not fully aware of which groups feel threatened. This also reinforces the previous lesson, that one should endeavor to avoid the online cycle of opinions and misleading information.

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