History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes. Mark Twain probably didn't actually say that, but it's the kind of quote people love to throw around when they're scared about the state of the world. Honestly, looking at the news these days, it’s hard not to feel a little jittery. That’s why Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny 20 lessons list became such a massive deal. It wasn't some dry academic paper buried in a Yale library. It started as a Facebook post in late 2016. It was raw. It was urgent. People felt like they were watching the foundations of democracy shake, and they needed a manual.
Snyder is a big deal in the world of history. He’s a Yale professor who spent his life studying the "bloodlands" of Eastern Europe—the places where Hitler and Stalin did their worst work. He knows what the end of a Republic looks like. When he wrote these twenty points, he wasn't just guessing. He was looking at the 20th century and saying, "Hey, look, these are the red flags we missed before." It's basically a survival guide for citizens who want to keep their freedom before things get too far gone.
The Lessons That Hit the Hardest Right Now
The first lesson in the On Tyranny 20 lessons list is "Do not obey in advance." It sounds simple, right? But Snyder argues that most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. People start guessing what a repressive government wants and then they just start doing it. They adapt before they're even forced to. Think about how people censor themselves on social media because they’re worried about "the algorithm" or future backlash. That’s a soft version of obeying in advance. In 1930s Germany, it was much more literal. People started wearing uniforms or using specific greetings because they thought it was the "safe" thing to do. By doing that, they taught the regime what they could get away with.
Then there’s the bit about professional ethics. This is huge. If lawyers follow the law, if doctors care for their patients, and if journalists stick to the facts, a dictator has a much harder time breaking the system. When professionals give up their standards for political convenience, the whole thing collapses. It’s a sobering thought. You’ve got to wonder how many institutions are actually as strong as we think they are.
Truth and the "Post-Truth" Trap
One of the most terrifying sections of the book is about truth. Snyder says that to abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there’s no basis upon which to do it. If you can't agree on basic reality, you can't have a conversation. You just have a shouting match.
He talks about "procreative fascists" and "the cult of the leader." It gets pretty dark. Basically, if you stop believing in truth, you end up believing in "the one." The guy who says, "Only I can fix it." We see this all over the world today. It’s not just a U.S. thing or a European thing. It’s a human thing. We’re wired to want a hero, but Snyder warns that the "hero" is usually the one holding the handcuffs.
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The Small Stuff Matters More Than You Think
A lot of the On Tyranny 20 lessons list focuses on small, everyday actions. Take "Lesson 4: Take responsibility for the face of the world." This sounds kinda poetic, but it’s actually about physical reality. It’s about not letting hate symbols become normal. If someone sprays a swastika or a hateful slur on a wall, and no one scrubs it off, that wall becomes a billboard for a new reality.
Snyder also pushes for old-school habits. He wants you to read books. Long books. Not just scrolling through 280-character outbursts. He thinks the internet is a bit of a trap—it makes us reactive rather than reflective. By reading deeply, we reclaim our attention. We start thinking for ourselves again. It’s basically intellectual cardio.
Breaking Down the 20 Lessons Without the Fluff
Let’s be real, reading a whole book—even a tiny one like On Tyranny—is a big ask for some people. But the list itself is pretty punchy. Here is how some of the most critical points shake out in practice:
Defend institutions. Don't assume they'll protect themselves. Courts, newspapers, and labor unions only work if people stand up for them. If you treat them like they're invincible, you're making a mistake. They're actually quite fragile.
Believe in truth. As mentioned before, this is the big one. If you stop caring about facts, you're basically inviting a tyrant into your living room.
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Practice corporeal politics. Get off your phone. Go outside. Talk to people in person. Authoritarians love it when we’re isolated behind screens. It’s much harder to hate your neighbor when you’re actually looking them in the eye.
Be kind to our language. Avoid using the phrases everyone else uses. Think for yourself. When we all use the same slogans, we stop thinking. We just become parrots for whatever "side" we’re on.
Investigate. If you can, support investigative journalism. It’s expensive and dangerous, but it’s the only thing that keeps power in check.
Why People Get Snyder Wrong
Some critics say Snyder is being an alarmist. They argue that the 21st century is nothing like the 1930s. We have the internet, we have global trade, and we have a much more educated populace. But Snyder’s point is that human nature hasn't changed. Our brains are the same ones our ancestors had when they were cheering for dictators in public squares.
The tech has changed, sure. Now, instead of a secret police knocking on your door, you might just get "canceled" or lose your bank access or be targeted by a bot farm. The methods are cleaner, but the goal is the same: total control. Snyder isn't saying we're in 1938. He's saying we're in the period before the disaster, and that's the only time you can actually stop it.
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He also gets flak for being "partisan." Some folks on the right think he's just talking about them. Some folks on the left think he's a "liberal hawk." Honestly, if you read the book carefully, he’s critiquing everyone. Any side that prioritizes "the cause" over "the truth" is part of the problem. That’s a tough pill for most people to swallow because we all like to think our side is the "good" one.
Practical Steps for the Modern Citizen
If you're looking at the On Tyranny 20 lessons list and wondering, "Okay, but what do I actually do today?"—there are some very specific takeaways. It’s not just about voting every four years. It’s about how you live your life on a Tuesday afternoon.
- Diversify your news. If you only read stuff that makes you feel righteous and angry, you're being manipulated. Find a source that challenges you. Read a physical newspaper once in a while.
- Put down the phone. Seriously. Snyder emphasizes that tyranny feeds on the frantic, 24/7 news cycle. Give your brain some space to breathe.
- Support local business. This seems weird for a list about tyranny, but it's about social fabric. Local businesses are places where people meet and talk. When those disappear and everything goes to a giant global corporation, that social glue dries up.
- Be a patriot, not a nationalist. Snyder makes a huge distinction here. A nationalist tells you that your country is perfect and everyone else is trash. A patriot wants the country to live up to its highest ideals and admits when it falls short.
- Make eye contact and small talk. It sounds cheesy, but it’s about recognizing the humanity in others. Tyranny thrives on "the other." It’s hard to "other" the guy who tells you a joke at the coffee shop.
The Reality of Standing Out
One of the last lessons is "Be as courageous as you can." This is the hardest one. It’s easy to talk about freedom when it’s cheap. It’s much harder when it might cost you a job, a friendship, or your safety. Snyder isn't asking everyone to be a martyr. He's just asking us to be a little bit braver than we were yesterday.
If everyone is a little bit braver, the cost of being a dissenter goes down. If everyone stays quiet, the cost for the one person who speaks up is terminal. It's a collective action problem.
The On Tyranny 20 lessons list isn't a guarantee of success. You can do everything right and still lose. But as Snyder points out, if we don't do these things, we've already lost. We’re just waiting for the paperwork to go through.
Actionable Insights for Protecting Democracy:
- Audit your information intake. Spend thirty minutes today reading a long-form article from a reputable, fact-checked source like The Atlantic, The New Yorker, or ProPublica instead of scrolling social media.
- Verify before you share. If a headline makes you feel an intense "aha!" moment of rage, it's probably bait. Check two other sources before hitting that share button.
- Engage in "corporeal politics" this week. Attend a town hall, join a local community group, or even just volunteer for a few hours. Rebuild the face-to-face connections that keep societies stable.
- Practice "not obeying in advance" in small ways. Question unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles at work or in your community. Ask "why" instead of just "how."
- Build a library. Start collecting physical books that matter to you. Digital information can be edited or deleted; a physical book is a permanent record of an idea.