The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe and America by Timothy Snyder
Crown/Archetype 2018 368 pages
In the wake of the devastation of World War II, reconstruction of Europe (bankrolled by United States) designed to create economic stability and peace, lead to the institution of the European Economic Community, forerunner of the European Union. Democracy and democratic institutions established, European countries developed into vibrant societies underpinned by economic success and shared democratic values as evidenced by open societies, freedom of speech and rule of law. Seventy years on, and with the end of the Cold War, it appeared that peace and prosperity was well entrenched.
The speed with which authoritarianism has arisen and the current threat to democracy and its attendant freedoms, is cause for serious consternation. Snyder examines the growing authoritarian tendencies in Russia, parts of Europe (ie. Hungary) and America.
A timely and cogent analysis of a growing threat to the freedoms we take for granted. Intelligent, balanced, well-written and well-researched, this book is thought-provoking and an excellent read.
Highly recommended.
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A Warning by Anonymous
12 Publishers 2019 259 pages
In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association (APA) implemented the Goldwater Rule after 1189 psychiatrists, without ever having met him, pronounced then presidential candidate Barry Goldwater “a dangerous lunatic.” The Goldwater Rule prohibits psychiatrists from diagnosing public figures without having first examined them. In 2018, the APA reaffirmed its commitment to the Goldwater Rule.
Ethically, adherence to this Rule is vital to trusting psychiatry but, in the case of Donald Trump, it’s unfortunate they can’t give it a go… for in A Warning, a senior Trump administration official, aka Anonymous, paints a truly disturbing portrait of the sitting president.
Anonymous confirms what’s previously been reported, that many White House staff work at protecting the President from himself (and by extension, the rest of the world.) One expects that the most powerful person in the world, one who can start a war, would seek data and information, seek counsel from experts, thoughtfully consider the information and advice, be intelligent enough to discern the relevant from the irrelevant, and being wise do the right thing in the right way. The first step is securing and reviewing information. Startling, no, terrifying, is Donald Trump’s lack of curiosity, interest in, and inability to want to learn and to handle information. As the writer notes, the President informed his staff that he doesn’t read. In his own words, Trump says he “doesn’t need to read to make informed decisions because he acts ‘with very little knowledge…”
Staff were advised that in presenting information to the President (obviously material of great national and international import) they were to present only five points of information as that’s all that Trump can take in. Over time, that number was reduced to 4, then 3, then 2 and finally one point! The President, charged with making decisions of great consequence can only absorb one piece of information at a time! Informed decisions require input of a lot of information, not just one item!
Additionally, the writer discusses issues such as Trump’s character and his disregard for democracy. Having just won independence from a tyrannical British King, America’s Founding Fathers devised a political system able to restrain the power of the President (and the Executive Branch) through the counter-balancing legislative branches that are Congress and the Senate and through the judicial branch, the Courts. Every American President has respected the political system and the institutions that support American democracy except for Donald Trump. As Anonymous writes, “Donald Trump has abused his power to undermine all three branches of government…” The current President has attacked the civil service. He’s suspicious of any staffer he doesn’t know and when he wants to float an idea that’s unethical, he becomes furious if a staffer takes notes. To silence staffers who question his ideas, he threatens their employment. Angry at the power to stop the implementation of his wackier and malicious ideas, he had staff draft a bill to fire judges. ” A common refrain you hear in the Trump administration after the President cooks up an unwelcome scheme is ‘We’ll get enjoined by the courts immediately. His ideas veer toward impropriety and illegality so often that virtually every senior official has heard this phrase, or fears this phrase. ”
A terrifying read for the implications of the information imparted by Anonymous, every American eligible to vote, needs to read this book.
Reviewed December 20, 2019.
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