Insights from Those Who Have Come Before

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases. -John Adams

Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time, and your government when it deserves it. -Mark Twain

When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful. -Malala Yousafzai

Inspirations

These two essays, written in the 1970s by well-known Soviet dissidents, helped bring down authoritarian regimes in Russia and Eastern Europe. I wonder--might some version of these ideas help prevent authoritarian regimes from taking root in the first place? Might they help guide civil society's actions in countries that could be at risk?

Live Not by Lies, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1974: https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/live-not-by-lies

The Power of the Powerless, Vaclav Havel, 1978: https://hac.bard.edu/amor-mundi/the-power-of-the-powerless-vaclav-havel-2011-12-23

This book was written in 1955, and I read it in November 2024.  Milton Mayer interviewed ten ordinary Germans--baker, tailor, tailor's apprentice, policeman, schoolteacher, bank clerk, student, cabinet maker, bill collector, salesman--about their perspectives and experiences before, during, and after, WWII.  I found it eloquent and edifying:

They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933 to 1945. Milton Mayer, 1955: https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.htm