Cataloging the March to Authoritarianism

Amy Siskind
Amy Siskind
After Donald Trump’s election millions of Americans figuratively, if not literally, hid under their beds, hoping it was all a bad dream.

Amy Siskind did not hide. She took action. She started making a list.

Specifically, Siskind — the president and co-founder of The New Agenda, a nonprofit that advocates for women’s issues — began cataloging the Trump administration’s efforts to demolish American democracy, item by item and week by week.

Siskind told the Washington Post that she got the idea from reading up on the methods authoritarian governments use to seize control. One tactic is to start by making incremental changes that are “shocking at first but quickly become normalized.” When the citizenry becomes inured to the shocks, the regime quietly and systematically lays the groundwork for seizing control.

Each post begins with: “Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.”

You’ll find the list on Facebook, Twitter and Medium. Here’s her entry for last week, Week 24:

There were signs this week that our democracy is fading. The unusual process undertaken by McConnell in attempting to pass AHCA without Senate input or public support. Alarming evidence that Russia may have tampered with 2016 Election Day results, and possibly with help from the Trump campaign. The Trump regime taking steps to shut down access for the media, while our country burns in bigotry and hate.

What’s Siskind’s endgame? “I don’t have a grand plan,” she told the Post. “I just want to be able to trace our way back.”

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