Last month, I wrote about meat-axing my news consumption following the disastrous results of November’s presidential election. I remain broadly informed, but I’ve reduced the amount of US news I allow to capture my attention. More than I’d like makes it through, particularly in the form of headlines, but I’m doing what I can to disregard the less meaningful stupidities of Donald Trump’s presidency. I’m also avoiding writing about the monster assembled entirely from human flaws himself as much as I can. Still, it’s impossible and probably unwise to ignore this slow-motion train wreck entirely.

Last year, I read historian Timothy Snyder’s book “On Tyranny”. The brief tome contains 20 simple instructions for preserving freedom in a repressive regime, such as “Defend institutions”, “Learn from peers in other countries”, and “Contribute to good causes”. It was initially published during the first Trump presidency, and it seems even more relevant as we enter the depths of Trump’s second term.

The book has been on my mind recently because of its very first instruction: “Do not obey in advance”:

[Image credit: “On Tyranny” Kindle sample]

Companies including Meta to CNN have been sickeningly quick to demonstrate their fealty to Trump. This preemptive obedience is precisely what Snyder warns against. I hope world and business leaders can learn this lesson before it’s too late for all of us.