Living under authoritarian regimes is both relatively boring and normal AND incredibly corrosive to the human soul. These things can absolutely co-exist.
This is why everyone needs to resist authoritarians, even people who privately assume they’ll be just fine.
The damage this causes across generations (even if the regime is short lived!) is so hard to grasp if you haven’t lived with it. It touches every aspect of life. It makes trust impossible, and without some level of trust and a belief in the possibility of justice, *nothing in society works.*
I think ot was in the Book How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley where he talks about the things that fend it off.
We may be too late for that, but he mentioned the importance of normal, nonpolitical social groups to maintain ties.
You know, bird watching whatever...
That authoritarianism needs to destroy these normal social bonds and replace them with only the state, so idk. Start some knitting groups or some shit now maybe.
