A star-studded cast released a reading of Timothy Snyder’s popular anti-propagandist book “On Tyranny” as counterprogramming to the White House-led celebrations for America’s 250th on Saturday.
The video, which was narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker, featured celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Joan Baez, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Margaret Atwood, Leslie Odom Jr., Ted Danson and others.
The stars read the book’s 20 points aloud, which provide advice for countering authoritarian systems of government. These points include ideas like “do not obey in advance,” “be wary of paramilitaries” and “practice corporeal politics.”
Snyder published the book in 2017, which advised readers to reflect and learn from past moments when America’s democratic republic system appeared imperiled.
“As I look ahead to this coming November, I see a turning point for our republic, a time where things could turn very well or they could turn very ill indeed,” the author said in the video. “The point of this book and its 20 lessons is to give us a chance to draw the best of what we have from our history so that we have the best chance for our future.”
A statement released with the footage said the reading “invites Americans to refuse complacency.” It is a pointed message toward President Trump, ahead of his Saturday evening speech on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
“The lesson of America is not that freedom was given,” Parker said in a statement, referring to the book. “It is that freedom was defended. Again and again. By people who refused to give up on one another.”
The “Sex and the City” star continued, “The next 250 years begin now. What happens next is not inevitable. It depends on us.”
In the video, the actress said the Founding Fathers used what they knew about tyranny to write the founding documents.
“Today, when our republic marks its 250th anniversary, we can look back at the founders, at our own history and draw our own conclusion,” she added.
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