Of course, Bruce Springsteen found the words and wrote the anthem for these times. And the searing pain of his musical indictment is gut wrenching.

In October of 2015, I wrote The Paradox of Power after I visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. There, I had been struck by the exhibits displaying the indifference of people in Nazi Germany who were not themselves persecuted by the regime. In my blogpost I questioned the easy route of inaction, and when inaction becomes complicity. At that time, I referenced how the Syrian government was mistreating its citizenry and wondered what action or inaction unaffected people would take to help provide protection and guardrails for people being abused.

Eleven years ago, I didn’t think or imagine I would be asking myself the same questions in my home of the United States of America. Tyranny in Minneapolis, in Los Angeles, in Chicago, in Maine – all places we live, love, vacation, and work were not my frame of reference for tyranny. Sadly, they are now.

Last week I was chilled hearing Lawrence O’Donnell interview Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the books On Tyranny and On Freedom. Professor Snyder’s words resonated as accurate and indisputable- that what it takes to build tyranny is the creation of open zones where the law doesn’t apply, such as in concentration camps, or borders. Stalin did it in the 1930’s in the Soviet Union, Hitler did it in Germany in 1938, and the U.S. administration is doing it now by making “the border” become the pretext to undo the law so that they can use it against everyone at all times. Our government is using ICE to get border enforcement everywhere, and to get Americans used to the idea that anywhere at any time can be a zone of exception.

By denying victims their humanity, such as Steven Miller calling the ICE-murdered Alex Preti a terrorist and an extremist, the administration is attempting to dehumanize protesters who are simply asserting their constitutional right to free speech. ICE agents are not “law enforcement”, they are terror enforcers. They are not seeking to enforce laws, and we cannot afford to look away, to lose our sight, our hearing, and our common sense. When we see masked men assaulting, battering and murdering people, we can’t allow those acts to be characterized as law enforcement.  

• Professor Snyder reminds us that tyrants take what is special and particular about us and turn us into enemies.
• He reminds us that writing the word “no” is an act of resistance. Saying “no” says “this is not normal” and that is an act of resistance.

But saying “no” is also saying “yes.”

• It’s saying yes to recognizing the values for which we stand, for which we will stand with other people, and for which we will take some kind of a risk.

Last week on Holocaust Remembrance Day I went to the art opening of Who Will Draw Our History? Women’s Graphic Narratives of the Holocaust, 1944-1949.   The incredibly moving exhibit, comprised of drawings by women artists in or near the sites of Nazi persecution of Jews and non-Jews, is curated from museums around the world, and drawings only recently found in people’s homes, some stored unceremoniously under beds. The artists reveal stories of unspeakable humiliation and torture, physical and sexual abuse, suffering in the death camps, and the loss of families and loved ones.

More than once I walked by drawings and overheard “this looks like Minneapolis”.

The searing pain of their drawn indictment was gut wrenching.

Eleven years ago I didn’t think or imagine that in 2026 I’d hear comparisons drawn between Nazi Germany and the United States of America. I didn’t think current day Germany would be providing the U.S. with a moral compass.

Say “Yes” to saying “No.”  Yes to recognizing the values for which we stand. Yes for standing with other people. And yes to taking some kind of risk.