Navigating the Twilight of Liberty
Building support groups as we slide towards authoritarianism
The late Supreme Court Justice William Orville Douglas once wrote, “As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air—however slight—lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.” He could have been writing about our time.
I once worked on a legal case where the concept of twilight became important. I learned there are three stages to twilight: civil twilight when the sun has just slipped below the horizon but still illuminates the western sky; nautical twilight, when the brightest stars appear but the horizon still faintly glows; and at last, astronomical twilight, when there is no perceptible trace of the sun, and all but the dimmest of stars have emerged.
To extend Douglas's metaphor, I feel we are nearing the end of civil twilight in our descent to tyranny. In this phase, the authoritarian policies of the administration don't affect most of us directly—unless we are government workers, university deans, lawyers at prominent civil justice law firms, transgender, or immigrants (I'm sure I'm missing a few). As we transition to nautical twilight, we may see more judges face arrest for siding with laws in opposition to executive orders. We may see more punitive actions against universities that refuse to adopt the administration's mandates. We may see reprisals against media organizations that fail to report on the administration as the chief executive demands.
Eventually, I believe, we will all be affected.
Traditionally, nautical twilight is when sailors at sea could no longer navigate by the sun, and they relied instead on the positions of the stars. As our democracy darkens into nautical twilight, WE are the stars. You and me. Your friends and neighbors. Teachers and pastors. As darkness falls, we will count upon one another to maintain our bearings and navigate the difficult choices ahead.
That is why it is so important to build your resistance community now. The more trusted relationships you forge now, before the light disappears, the more stars you'll have to guide you through the night. If you don't already belong to a resistance group, gather a handful of like-minded people for an IN-PERSON meeting to discuss your feelings and plan small, local, peaceful acts to support justice and liberty in your community.
Note: I first learned of Justice Douglas’ twilight quote from this essay from former Washington Governor Jay Inslee.
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