"People under a dictatorship, it has been well said, are condemned to a lifetime of enthusiasm." This quote is from an article written in 1937 by author Eugene Lyons, and begs the question, who keeps the enthusiasm going? Writers do. Throughout history, rulers have never been able to silence the social advocates, orators, or court jesters. In reality, jesters throughout history from countries like France, England, China and India have had the unique freedom to speak honestly, without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, other scribes throughout history, have not fared as well.
Take for instance the countries of Russia and Germany in 1937. In order to control the population, they put restrictions in place to control the flow of ideas and tagged anything they didn't want exposed as fake news. The similarities between now and then are astounding, and those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. As a public service, let's examine how it happened so we can prevent it from repeating itself.
In the 1937 article by Mr. Lyons, he writes,
"Censorship of the word is more rigid in Russia than anywhere in the world, with only Germany as a runner-up within hailing distance. Every book, before it is even considered by one of the government publishing organizations, must be read and passed by Glavlit, the literary censorship office. Ditto every play. Magazines and newspapers, besides being subject to a series of political checks and counter-checks to eek out possible heresy, have special persons on their staffs charged with the responsibility of detecting and casting out anything faintly off-color politically."
While this external censorship from the state was bad enough for a writer, the psychological toll was even more sinister. These controls lead to self-censorship, and as every writer knows, we are our own worst critics. But what about those writers who believed the propaganda?
The article explains,
"Censorship of course does not affect the writers whose views are identical with those of the censors. Certain Russian writers of my acquaintance have insisted that the pressure is so light they scarcely feel it. But these were, in every case, hundred-percenters for whom compliance with the official catechism was second nature. The relative freedom of press and conscience in any nation must be judged by those out of step rather than by the ardent goosesteppers."
Authors in Russia that towed the party line were well compensated. Their works were published by state sponsors of propaganda, earning the authors royalties in the neighborhood of 10-15 thousand rubles a month, compared to the average Russian citizen who earned a mere 200 rubles monthly . But alas, not all writers sold out. Many kindred scribes found writing the truth was much easier than keeping track of all of the lies that easily unraveled after one of the story's many threads was tugged upon. In 1937 Russia, authors who disagreed with the state were dissidents, many of whom were brutalized and imprisoned for speaking the truth, a truth that would be labeled as fake by the state. It is hard to wrap your head around the irony.
The history of how writers were brutalized under this regime is eerily similar to what is happening today. The following quote from Mr. Lyon's article was so close to today's reality that I had to double check to make sure it wasn't fake!
Read for yourself and see if you agree, remember, the following excerpt was written in 1937:
"For reasons of international diplomacy Russia, which is eager to be accepted into the company of democratic nations like France and England, is seeking to create the impression that it has accepted democracy. How any one-party system in which political thinking that deviates from the prescribed “Party line” is punished as treachery can be made democratic is a mystery."
This is a page out of Papa Putin's playbook for the love of all things holy. Russia has of course expanded their influence by attempting to control the thought process of writers on social media. Same principle as 1937, just a different mechanism by which to get there.
History allows us to put our present into focus while offering 20/20 hindsight. As historical oracles we possess the super power of knowing what happens next. Writers of the world unite, and remember, no lasting good has ever come from knowingly drinking the cool-aid.
@DorisKGoodwin, @jmeacham, @BeschlossDC, #historyrepeatingitself, #writers, #historians, #journalists