Timothy Snyder's on How to Avoid or Resist Tyranny: His quotes with my thoughts #17

I have written some about an orphanage in Baja that me and my family often visited because my husband’s brother worked there. He was eventually to marry a lovely Danish woman who also worked there. I at one time went to visit her when she was sick and by herself. I found myself in an uncomfortable position.

 I at that time was working in a ministry dedicated to apologetics and trying to help friends and families of what we then called cult members. My expertise was mostly working with those whose family members were involved in cultic and abusive churches who insisted they were Christians. I became aware while at the orphanage that just such a situation was developing there. A pastor was treating other workers as though they had no meaningful goal or purpose. They, in reality, were begging for freedom—they were not even allowed to have a key to a storage room where the equipment they used was kept.

 It seemed that most of those upset were the Mexicans who lived and worked there. One of my concerns was that during the meeting to sort out the problems, leaders, some Americans, kept insisting there must be unity because Mexico was being taken over by communist who were already coming near Baja. So the implication was all will be lost if you don’t all listen to your leaders and stay in unity. In such a situation the real problems don’t get discussed or taken care of, rather it is suggested that it is an exceptional time which must be addressed in a different way. 

 Over the years there were changes and the orphanage thrives. But this use of fear words can be used by leaders to gain power over others. Timothy Snyder in his book, On Tyranny puts it exactly right:

Listen for Dangerous Words: 

“Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.” Those words are very familiar to this time and this place. Yes, we do have extremist groups and we have experienced terrorism. But not to the extent President Trump and others keep pushing. For instance, in her book, Start With Welcome, Bri Stensrud writes: 

“President Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly emphasized, ‘The majority of the people that move illegally into the United States are not bad people. They’re not criminals. They’re not MS-13.’ Most immigrants come to the United States to pursue educational and economic opportunities and have little to gain by committing crimes.” 

 The United States, sadly, has a history of maligning and hurting immigrants. After the Chinese had worked at some of the most dangerous jobs on the railroad, particularly in California, they were banned from the United States. Both Catholics, the Irish and the Jewish people were discriminated against. The Japanese were, as most know, interned in camps during the second World War. Most of them lost their homes and business. And of course, just recently some Haitians in Ohio were falsely accused of eating their neighbor’s pets. It is too easy to pick on the vulnerable.

 Snyder points out the times authoritarian leaders and governments use the scare words to take away freedoms from their people. There was the Reichstag fire in Germany, for the next twelve years Germany was no longer a democracy because of the “emergency.” Putin used such “emergencies” to gain total power in Russia. The fear words will be used. Already we hear that millions of terror groups, gangs, have been sent into the United States, We are at war with them and it is an “emergency.”

 So where does the Christian stand in all of this? 

Under the cross which means for now speak the truth and as some are saying care for the weak, the hurt, the accused, the slandered and yes even the enemies. Honor rulers but with truth. It is not honor for rulers to allow them to lie and never refute the lies because Scripture tells the believer to both speak truth and honor rulers. And then there is this: 

The Lord is my shepherd. 

I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green

 pastures; 

He leads me beside quit 

waters. 

He restores my soul; 

He guides me in the path of 

righteousness 

For His name’s sake.  

Even though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, 

 I fear no evil, for you are with

 Me. 

Your rod and your staff they 

Comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in 

The presence of my enemies. 

You have anointed my head 

 With oil. 

My cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and 

Lovingkindness will follow me 

All the days of my life, 

And I will dwell in the house of  

The Lord forever.