On Tyranny - Lesson 9: Be Kind to Our Language

 Lesson 9 of 20 from the 20th Century On Tyranny: be kind to our language. This one might be a love/hate situation. You'll either agree completely, or you'll want to tell me to fork off and that there's no way you're doing it.

Read books. Snyder asserts that we can use language against itself when would-be authoritarian leaders attempt to manipulate the masses by way of the language they use. When Hitler said "the people" he always meant some people and not others. When he spoke about encounters in the world he called them "struggles". And anyone daring to think in a different way than he was demanding were "defaming" his leadership. Words have power, and can easily be used to manipulate emotional responses from those listening. 

But when we arm ourselves with language, especially by the act of reading (and by the way, audiobooks and e-books count too), we can not only resist that manipulation, but we can refute it out loud for others to hear as well. Snyder recommends a whole slew of books, all of which deal with authoritarianism. You might be surprised where dictatorial themes show up in pop-culture. But honestly, you can read whatever you want as long as it's making you think. Reading is good for critical thinking skills, empathy, and vocabulary. Read thoughtful classics on authoritarianism like 1989 or Fahrenheit 451, or YA adventure novels, or fan-fic.

The point is, instead of turning our minds off and letting big-money-media or political leaders draw the narratives all the time, we should be arming ourselves with the language we need to engage in the systems and processes, and question the garbage being force-fed down our throats. We should be able to describe things in our own words, rather than reciting what we're told. Sure, we all need to re-boot sometimes. Let your mind rest, tend to yourself in any ways you need, but don't let propaganda machines dictate your reality. Language can be used as a weapon to manipulate us, but it can also be used to fight back.