Imagine Who We Can Be – We Can Embrace Samfundssind
Samfundssind is a Danish word that means “community-mindedness” or “our shared duty to each other.” Sarah Sophie Flicker describes how this concept of “shared responsibility became a moral and cultural anchor at a time when capitulation to Hitler’s fascist regime was the norm.”
Flicker explains how the Danes resisted fascism and how we can too in her article in The Nation titled, “The Danes Resisted Fascism, and So Can We.” She states that the Danes “rejected divisions of ‘us’ and ‘them’ that are historically endemic to atrocity.” She notes that the Danes used empathy politically. Historians often describe how “fascism cannot prosper where empathy exists.”
She concludes her article with this powerful perspective for us to embrace!
“As the fight against fascism commences in our homes and communities, each act of defiance is a grain of sand – enough grains of sand can bring the entire machine to a halt.”
“When asked to betray your integrity: hold fast to your ideals, gum up the works, disobey when able. Question everything…Leverage your advantages and harbor those who have none. Get in the way. Tell the story. Archive the truth.”
“Even in darkness, there is incandescence – the flicker flames of everyday people fixed on the side of morality. I want to recognize myself in the mirror when this ends.”
“Together we can build an America we believe in.”
As John Lewis tweeted a year before his death, “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way.”
To paraphrase Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, we must constantly ask ourselves, “How do I make sure I am standing on the right side of history?”
