Obey

Obeying in Advance

It began with two morning cable hosts vociferously opposed to a second term of Donald Trump. For months, they (rightly) called out Trump’s sheer unfitness, his autocratic tendencies, and the dangerous plans he had in store, especially for punishing anyone (including journalists) who didn’t support him.

Then Trump won.

About 10 days after the election, they came on air to announce that they’d traveled to Mar-a-Lago to “re-establish communication” (meaning: meekly bend the knee). So much for Principled Outrage.

This team was among the first to do a 180 to protect their own interests. Jeff Bezos of Amazon posted a congratulatory note (even as his newspaper, The Washington Post, had historically skipped endorsing a candidate). Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook traveled to meet his new overlord. After being publicly silent (but privately opposing him), many other corporate leaders and politicians released gushing statements about their newfound support for Trump. Don’t even get me started on Elon Musk.

Experts on autocracy call this “obeying in advance,” getting ahead of potential punishments by cozying up to Dear Leader. Or as Bob Dylan sang, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

Autocrats and dictators routinely use intimidation to keep people in line. It’s how they retain power – not with the government or the military, but through our own fears and self-interest. However, NOT obeying in advance is one tool we each have to push back against the worst of Trump’s decrees.

We recently saw this work in real time, when the president of South Korea declared martial law as a way to hold onto power. At three in the morning, citizens of both parties gathered outside the parliament, helping their representatives get inside the barricaded building to vote against the president’s plans. They shut that undemocratic nonsense down in hours. They did not obey in advance.

Yes, it’s scary. But refusing to just go along to get along has been at the heart of every pivotal moment in our history, from the Revolutionary War to Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus. In the coming years, when you hear or see evidence of an undemocratic, unconstitutional, or plain unfair move from the Trump administration, fight back. Whether it’s a letter to the editor or a call to your local representative, do something. Do not obey in advance.

Cindy Grogan is a writer, lover of history and "Star Trek" (TOS), and hardcore politics junkie. There was that one time she campaigned for Gerald Ford (yikes), but ever since, she's been devoted to Democratic and progressive policies.