On Tyranny Lesson 15: Contribute to Good Causes

It's been a minute since I put up another video in this series. If you have not ready On Tyranny, I would ask why not? It's a book that can be read in a single sitting and it's written by a professor who actually knows how to write like a regular person. You'll learn a lot along the way. Now on to our next video:

This is a useful lesson. Find a cause or some causes that you value and contribute. Depending on your time and skill set, maybe you'll donate money. Maybe you can give some of your time. None of us can be everywhere at once. So we donate time when and where we can, and otherwise spare some change when we can. 

I love the concept of civil society. I probably saw or heard the term civil society used around the late 1990s. I had no idea of its eastern European origins. Dr. Snyder can tell the story better than I can, so I hope you check out the video. Basically civil society includes various organizations (some political) made up of people who share some common interest and wish to work to achieve some desired change. Sometimes we can contribute by going to meetings or participating in events. Sometimes we wish simply to acknowledge their value and contribute money. Civil society can put a government's feet to the fire to change some facet of the system that needs changing. Civil society can also prevent a government from going off the rails and doing something bad. Think of the organizations that countered Trump's coup attempt after he lost the 2020 election. I'll let Dr. Snyder tell you that story too.

I thought it might be helpful to understand how I participate in civil society. I am not nearly as active as I used to be or would like to be, I am involved with a few local groups. One is my county's Democratic Party. I try to attend its meetings each month. I've been thrilled to see the membership grow so much in the last eight years. The last couple years have been a bit more of a challenge for me, but when I can show up I do. I have occasionally gone precinct walking (basically means I knock on doors and maybe get to talk to some folks). And I do try to give money as I can. I spoke at a Democratic meeting in my county a few years ago on stress, as we were going through what was a very stressful electoral cycle in our county. I do what I can, because I value what the Democratic Party can do at its best. 

I got involved in my area's freethinkers organization about a decade ago. For those unfamiliar, freethinkers is a broad term that includes agnostics and atheists - basically anyone who is non-religious. I've been an atheist for a long time. There is a story behind my atheism, but for now that is not so important. The more important thing is that those of us who are agnostics and atheists have a space where we can meet monthly, perhaps enjoy a few beers, and talk about local, national, and global events. So mostly our organization is for socialization. We've done some charitable work in the past, and we've hosted events open to the public. But we are not a political organization. Politically, we're probably all over the map, if one were to be honest about it. I loved the few years we hosted a Skepticamp. I spoke at a couple of those, which was fun. There is something comforting in finding fellowship among other members of my community who share the same skepticism about the existence of a man in the sky in a part of the world where one is bombarded with religious messaging. 

If being part of an advocacy union is of meaning, I am a member of the AAUP at my current university.  My chapter is fairly new, but has a stable group of members and is fairly active. I could not have become who I am today without professors who knew they could speak freely on the topics that they studied and just freely more generally. To be honest, my peers shaped me more, but my professors provided me information, notes, conversations outside of class during breaks or during office hours. They offered a variety of worldviews that I could accept or reject if I so chose. I would want to be someone who meant the same for some other person who goes to college and then finds their path in life. That is possible only because I have the same freedoms (for now) as my mentors from back in the day. I want to keep it that way, and so does AAUP.

I donate to a number of organizations on a rotating basis, depending on what my financial situation looks like. Most years it's pretty bleak, but I do what I can. I see plenty of value in Oxfam. I have donated to the ACLU on numerous occasions, as well as Planned Parenthood. Habitat for Humanity is another one I value. There is an overlapping thread among these organizations and it is that in some way they value the importance of human freedom and dignity. Find what you value and contribute what you can.