On Tyranny Lesson 7: Be Reflective If You Must Be Armed

Our next installment in Timothy Snyder's videos to promote the 2021 edition of On Tyranny is about those who are bearing arms as police officers, military personnel, and other public servants who regularly carry firearms as part of their job. As you listen to the lesson, you'll notice that Dr. Snyder makes it clear that the burden does not just fall on those who are police officers or military personnel, but by the rest of us as well. His recommendations about the January 6th insurrection (remember this video was shot a few months after that failed coup attempt) went largely unheeded with the January 6th Commission and Jack Smith's work as Special Counsel duly noted. Dr. Snyder also notes the loss of local newspapers, which means a lack of reporters who could alert the public to abuses of power. At the end of the day, it is clear that not only do those who take on the responsibility of serving their country as soldiers or their communities as law enforcement officials need to have enough self-awareness of what abuses they could be asked or directed to participate in, so that they know when some ethical red line is being crossed and they can say no. And these individuals need us to provide them the psychological opening needed for them to disobey unconstitutional or unlawful orders. These are not normally things we think about in the US, but the last decade in particular has taught us that we need to think about precisely these issues.


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