Life on Ten
Dr. Vanessa Walker and Angela Trapp discuss how to live your life to your fullest and various issues that may get in the way of living a Life on Ten.
Life on Ten
When Freedom Depends On What You Do Next
The temperature is rising, and not just in the headlines. We’re feeling the squeeze of creeping authoritarian habits—self-censorship, apathy, and the slow erosion of institutions we once took for granted—so we decided to do something about it. Using Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” as our guide, we break down the clearest warning signs and turn them into practical, human-scale actions that anyone can take today.
We start with anticipatory obedience and why “checking out” quietly teaches power what it can get away with. From there, we get concrete about defending institutions: courts, universities, local newspapers, unions. When politics and funding pressures force mission drift, talent leaves and public trust thins. We also talk about the fight over civic symbols, like the American flag, and how reclaiming shared meaning beats surrendering the public square to spectacle. Along the way we confront the danger of paramilitary blurring—when unofficial armed groups, law enforcement, and loyalty to a leader begin to overlap—and why that threatens lawful dissent.
Truth sits at the center of it all. We make the case for slow information: long-form reading, verified sources, and supporting investigative journalism that keeps facts anchored. Then we pivot to the smallest big moves—eye contact with a stranger, a kind question in the produce aisle, simple conversations that remind us we’re neighbors before we’re rivals. A recent moment of raw solidarity, strangers lifting a crashed helicopter to save a life, becomes our proof that community is still our default setting. We close with direct steps: call your representatives to oppose militarization of cities, support local reporting, teach kids to vet claims, and be the second mover who normalizes courage.
If this resonates, follow the show, share this episode with a friend who needs fuel for action, and leave a quick review to help others find it. Your voice keeps this community strong.
Hello and welcome to Life on 10. Hello, friends. Hello, family. Hello, world. It is Angela and Vanessa. How is everybody doing out there?
SPEAKER_00:I think we are all doing varying shades of, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:Like that. Yeah. But we are doing.
SPEAKER_00:We're we're moving around. We're we're walking. We're waking up. We're going to work and school and we're surviving.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, there you go. Yeah. I think survival mode. Maybe that's what we're we're in. I don't want to speak to everybody because obviously some people may not be impacted. Um I like to think.
SPEAKER_00:Everybody is impacted. Oh, really? Everybody's impacted. Okay. Right? It's degrees of that impact. It's degrees and an understanding of what they're what is it has been impacted. Because some people don't, your rights have been taken away from you, whether you're aware of it or not.
SPEAKER_01:100%. Right?
SPEAKER_00:So I think that's one thing that we have to understand is like there are people out there that are just not aware that they have been impacted. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. They've been assaulted. They've exactly. They don't even know they've been assaulted.
SPEAKER_00:They don't know it. And and or they're embracing it.
SPEAKER_01:One of, or they're in denial. Yeah. One of the things that um we're well, we're wait, let me back up. Today we are going to talk about this wonderful book that someone recommended to me because I'm a fighter. I was born that way. And I and I realize that everybody's not like me. Yeah. And um that's something that I've I had to like work to understand, if that makes any sense. Because it's like if you're you have this personality, these characteristics, and and you, it's like who you are, it's your very essence. It's hard when you see other people who put their head down when other people are suffering. Yeah. So like that drives me in. I allow that to I allow that to really get to me. And so I'm working on myself in this process, in this journey, on this journey that we're all on to not judge those people. I try not to judge. I really do. I try to be curious versus being judgmental. And that's something I really have to work on because I am a fighter. And when I see someone being mistreated, and this is beyond mistreatment, that's what's going on right now. Obviously, you already know what we're talking about, audience. Um, I just like struggle to understand that. And my son is just like me. He is like, oh, you know, it's so my husband is like, hmm. So you just kind of imagine Jalen and I are like overboiling always on beyond 10. Yeah. And and then there's this calm kind of thing. Um, but anyway, so what I decided to do because I needed help to um just kind of process all the many different things that's going on. And so someone recommended this book to me because again, as a fighter, I want to take action. I cannot possibly sit down and just wish something would happen or people would gain their sanity and stop um, you know, doing all the horrible things that are being done. So the book is called Um On Tyranny, right? 20. It's um by Timothy Snyder and his 20 lessons on tyranny.
SPEAKER_00:And I thought I'm just I'm sorry, this is an audio check, folks. I need Angela to talk more directly into the microphone because I'm hearing too much echo. Okay, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01:I'm so I'm so excited. It's okay. Um, so I thought what we would do, is that better? Yes. I'll calm down. I was I had a lot of hand um motion.
SPEAKER_00:I was very animated. Um we're we're remember, we are not professional podcasters, so you always have to forgive us, even though we've done like a million episodes, it feels like. I know, but sometimes it's can't be it can't be animated.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. So what I thought we would do is go through the 20 steps that lead a country to tyranny and see exactly where we are in that process.
SPEAKER_00:We're gonna take an inventory on successful moves towards tyranny.
SPEAKER_01:So we're we're basically we're taking a temperature, we're we're we're measuring how far are we or how close are we toward to tyranny? Okay. So Mr. Snyder, Timothy Snyder says the first one, first step is do not obey in advance. Number one, okay, I love that. What does he mean by that? Well, he says most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do. I think though that I need an example. Anticipatory obedience is a political tragedy.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, I'll give you an example. That's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_00:Let's let's get an example of somebody doing that.
SPEAKER_01:So the last sentence a citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do. I can think of friends um around me who are saying things like, oh, this is too much. I can't watch it.
SPEAKER_00:So checking out checking out. Exactly. And and it's like the whole ostrich head down or turtle in the shell, whatever you want to say, just checking out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Totally doing all the things as if none of this is happening, as if mass men are not walking the streets of different states pulling people um away from their children. Um if our cities are not being militarized. It's like, how do you do that?
SPEAKER_00:So to and and not just not ever because I can think of quite a few cities across the country that are much more violent than Oregon. Right? Like, so when when when they start with things like LA, Chicago, if you're somebody who is trying, is really struggling with not making this a partisan thing, you could be like, Well, Chicago and LA, those are really dangerous cities. Right?
SPEAKER_01:Well, blue states, though, but go ahead.
SPEAKER_00:But yeah, but like you, I could see somebody doing that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:When you go to Portland, Oregon. I mean, I I I just I can't. I just it is so comical. It is, it is, it's I mean, it's not funny. But it's like I it literally, I feel like I'm watching a Saturday night live skit. Uh right, like that's what I feel when I watch it. That's what I feel like. I'm like, this is so surreal. Like, this is not real. Portland, Oregon? Yes.
SPEAKER_01:So that is a perfect example. Exactly. Number two, he says, defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Uh, do not speak of our institutions unless you make them yours by by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves, they fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you care about, a court, a newspaper, a law firm, a labor union, a university side. Yes. So we've already seen this. Yeah. This has already happened. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Harvard. I mean, there are some universities that capitulated, but also fighting back. You know, if Harvard has a great deal of funds, which why would they capitulate anyway?
SPEAKER_01:Their endowment is insane.
SPEAKER_00:It's insane. Um, but there are so many institutions across the country that are absolutely relying upon government funding in order to do day-to-day operations. Um, and they are folding or changing their core values on what they do, services they provide, a variety of things. And um they have to because once again, they're beholden to government funding. Um, and while some people can say, uh, you know, you can you can have a variety of opinions. I will say all those people, the talent that we're losing at all those institutions, they're not just sitting in their empty labs waiting for a new job. Folks, they're going. They're going to China, they're going to Germany, they're going to other countries to make them more prosperous, to make their scientific discoveries occur faster, to leave America behind. All of these amazing minds are not just sitting waiting for their funding to come back. They're going to go where the funding is, and that is outside of the United States of America. How does a country who was once lauded as just the epitome of science and growth and discovery losing some of our best minds because we don't want to fund them for political purposes? Yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Um, someone was saying to me the other day, what is happening is going to take years or decades to recover. To recover from. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so number four, um, I'm not going to read them all. I'm going to read the ones that I feel are most important. I highly recommend the book though. Um, number four is take responsibility for the face of the world. What does he mean? The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Move them yourself and set an example for others to do so.
SPEAKER_00:You know what's been happening recently that I actually love. Um, the American flag, in my opinion, has kind of been commandeered by, and and you can I've asked people from uh that are conservatives, and I've asked people on that are liberal. I've asked soldiers, I've asked airmen, I have asked people who are actively fighting for our country right now. Um, they do not appreciate the fact that the American flag has been literally taken and shown as a symbol of hate, not as a symbol of freedom, which it had always been intended, right? But I will say that some of this trolling that is occurring by Governor Newsom, where I saw where there was a picture of a truck that had all the things. Oh, yeah. It was a massive four-wheel drive, dually truck, covered in massive, huge American flags and Governor Newsom flags. Like it, and I'm like, that's how you do it. Like, that's how you take it back, right? You take something that someone has commandeered and said, no, this is no, it's not. The American flag is for everybody. The American flag should be for everyone. So we need to take it back. It can't just mean hate.
SPEAKER_01:I'll be very honest. Um, when I see an American flag hanging um in someone's front yard, I instantly get like, ugh.
SPEAKER_00:It doesn't have the same it no, that's what I'm saying. Think back to 20 years ago. When you would see an American flag in a yard, you'd you'd I would I would be filled with pride. Yes. Like I said, it has been commandeered.
SPEAKER_01:So I what for what he's saying is take that back. Take it back. Yeah, take that back.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Um, yeah. And and absolutely agree. Look away from all the not look away, but you need to uh uh address the typical or the known symbols of hatred that have been well recognized through history. Um we can't allow them to propagate.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, exactly. Yeah. Here is another one I think is important. Be wary of parliamentaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against a system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is near. When the pro-leader parliamentary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come. I know exactly. That we're living that. We are living that. So for me, that's ice. I'm gonna read it again. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is near. When the pro-leader parliamentary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come. All of that is going on right now in this present moment. You have ICE, you have the National Guard.
SPEAKER_00:And if and if he is somehow able to invoke the Insurrection Act, you will have the military, United States military able to act on American soil.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Because right now it's just limited to National Guard. He cannot use military against its own citizens.
SPEAKER_01:Right. But the thought, the thought, and you're right, and the thought is um, some is that all this is designed to agitate the people to push them towards a place where they fight back.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And then he'll, oh now, look at what I've he. Of course, he's not gonna say, look at the shit show I've created that I now have to go and clean up. It's like badgering a bully or badgering a child until they've lost their mind and then they fight back, and then saying, nope, now now you're grounded. Now you don't get your freedom because you acted like that.
SPEAKER_01:So he says, to to that to your point, he says most governments, most of the time, seek to monopolize violence. If only the government can legitimately use force, and this use is constrained by law, then the forms of politics that we take for granted become possible. It is impossible to carry out democratic elections, try cases at court, design and enforce laws, or indeed manage any of the other quiet business of government. So I feel like that's already here. I I feel I'm going through a checklist. Check. Okay. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different, but without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken and others will follow.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm I mean, to so I I I was in some classes today and someone mentioned a video where, and I think a lot of people have seen it, where somebody goes out in the middle of like a grassy area and just starts dancing wild and crazy, and everyone just stares at them. And then the second person goes out there and starts dancing wild and crazy. And as soon as that second person goes out there, the rest follow. Yes. Right. And it's like, so the the first person isn't necessarily the leader. The leader is the one who was the second. The second person out there was the one that everybody followed. So the leader was the second person. So a lot of times we as Americans, or it's just general, we watch the people like you, Angela. I will call you the first person that's out there, right? Because you're the one, like you said, you've always been a fighter. You've always been the one. You and Jalen, you're, you know, you guys are always the ones that are out there first. We need the people who are gonna be the next out there so that we can have everybody follow. So it's kind of like that call of be that second person, be the person that shows everybody else, hey, it's okay to do this. Right. And like you said, not everybody's gonna feel, and we've mentioned this before in previous podcasts, not everybody's gonna feel comfortable doing protests or various things for a variety of reasons. What can we do? What can we do?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. What is yours to do? I I feel like, you know, at the end of the podcast, that was going to be my question. Like, what what can you do? Like, what is yours to do? Because this is not this is different from anything I have ever experienced in my life. Anything people older than me are saying, I have never in my life thought so it's different and it's not going to just go away. Uh let me let me do another one. Yeah, believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.
SPEAKER_00:I have one word. Right? I mean, I I I can there's been so much, you know, stuff, and we've talked about it, guys, on the show. We've talked about it and we've discussed all the ways in which various vaccines or other stuff. But watching that press conference where they marched people out there, not people, they marched some of the some of the so-called leaders of health out there to absolutely what I'm going to say, attack and ravage women, because that's what that was. That was mom, this is another way in which you made a mistake. You are because the men aren't responsible for it. It's the women who were pregnant who had a headache, who had joint pain. Just tough it out. Just tough it out, who had a fever, who had whatever, and they took Tylenol. Rightly so. Because you know what? A mom super stressed with a headache can get her blood pressure up, hurt the baby. A mom super in in with really high fevers from getting the flu can hurt the baby. There are so many things where the mother's health is directly linked to the human being growing inside of her. So if you want, if you care about the baby, you've got to also care about the mom. And the mom's health and comfort and stress levels and fevers and all these things actually play a part. And yes, would the best thing in the world be for anybody to never, ever, ever take any chemical substance in their whole life? Of course, yes, all natural, everything is it would be just the best, but that's not how the world works. No, and we have medications that we have created out of our amazing genius, wherever you want to say it came from, right, that helps humankind fight cancer.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Kill bacteria that have been killing and maiming people for years. Right. Think of all the amazing, you want to call you want to call something a miracle. I'm gonna call medicine the way in which God, if you believe in God, is acting through human hands. I definitely medicine absolutely is a perfect example. I definitely agree.
SPEAKER_01:Right. I did not um see when I when I saw that, um, I did not immediately go to um what you're saying. Like that women that was like first thing that I went to. So interesting. Another assault. When I text you and you said that, then I was like, wow.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I had that aha. As if women didn't feel bad enough about all the things that they might have done wrong in their pregnancy, and especially a woman who has a child with autism. Yes. And you know what? There are plenty of people out there with autism living amazing lives, wonderful lives. And, you know, so this whole concept of like, if you have autism, all is lost. That is garbage. Right. The reason why there's more autism is because we're doing a really good job at identifying people so that they can get the resources that they need to live successful and happy and productive lives. Oh my gosh, I just had um a flashback. Remember we had a guest on? We did. My my good friend Dina. Yes, and she talked about her wonderful son.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. We should circle back with her. It's we totally can. We totally can't see doing. Yeah. Um, this is this one's super important to me. How much we're how are we doing? We got a another couple minutes. Okay. Yeah. Investigate. Yes. Number 11. Figure things out on your own. Spend more time with long articles, subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns, some of which come from abroad. But anyway, take responsibility, is what he's saying. Take responsibility for what you communicate to others as well. Yeah. Take responsibility to what you're reading.
SPEAKER_00:And teach your children how to do the same. Critical thinking. Critical thinking. Independent thought.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. I feel like there are many different things that led us to where we are right now in this present time. Two of those things is the lack of critical thinking and independent thought.
SPEAKER_00:Yep. And group. And in my opinion, social media.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, 100%.
SPEAKER_00:This is a direct reflection of the rapid fire spread of information that is wholly insubstantiated, incorrect, and the the expansive nature of the opinion sphere, which you know, Angela and I are a part of, folks, right? We are giving you our opinion, right?
SPEAKER_01:We are we are, and you know what? Our opinion is good and kind and loving and compassionate. It is.
SPEAKER_00:It however is still exactly it is still our opinion. And so there are there because of social media and podcasting and all the various things, there are so many ways for people to get out there and tell others what they think and and what they think is important. And we are not telling you to listen to what we say blindly. No, we just like Angela said, anything that we ever say, please go and look it up and do a fact check and find credible resources and and verify what we say. There it and and and the reason why we have zero problem saying that is because we've already done that. Yes. So we know what you're gonna find.
SPEAKER_01:And so I I love this. This sums that that um point up. He says it's your ability to discern facts that makes you an individual. Yep. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, let's so go ahead. I we we've gotta we've gotta button this all up with, you know, obviously a lot of this is anxiety provoking, saddening, scary, right? All the things. So what can we do about it? Because that's where we're at now. We got we gotta we gotta let people know what we can do about it.
SPEAKER_01:This one is so I feel like this is one mo one thing that you can do, and I feel like this is powerful, and and it may not sound like it when I say it, but it is. So it's a beginning because we can do many different things, but this is a beginning. Make eye contact and small talk. Why is that powerful? Why could that be the beginning of healing this?
SPEAKER_00:Because you see other people as people and not as others. Yes, you connect with them one-on-one. Yes. If we walked around, if you walked into a grocery store and you had absolutely no idea what anybody's political opinion was, and you stood and you looked at a banana and you started picking and you said, Sir, do you think this bunch of bananas is ripe? And I don't know, what do you think? You could talk for a while and have a very nice conversation without knowing anybody's a political opinion or whatever, and you could be kind and cordial. We can do that every day, yes, all day.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So to me, that is that's not a superpower, but that could be our greatest um not weapon, because I don't want to call it a weapon, but our greatest response to this is the beginning of reconnecting with each other, seeing each other um as valuable people who deserve respect and deserve a place in this world. Yes, yeah, because we all, no matter who we are, no matter race, culture, creed, sexual orientation, we're human beings and human beings. The number one thing we want is to know that we have value. So we all seek to be seen, heard, valued. We've disconnected. We have we have unplugged from each other. Yeah, and while we've done that, we've created this gigantic gap that really in truth does not exist. We are all interconnected, yeah. We need to be reminded of that constantly, especially during this time. Again, many reasons why we are in the state that we are in. One of the contributing reasons is that we feel that we are disconnected from each other, that there's this great, great, big difference between me and my neighbor and the other person.
SPEAKER_00:One of the most beautiful examples of that, just recently, local to Angela and I was a couple of days ago, there was a helicopter crash right onto one of our freeways. And one of the passengers in the air in the helicopter was pinned underneath the helicopter. And watching the videos from the dash cam of cars that were in the area watched it crash. People instantly, without hesitation for life, limb, jumped out of their cars and ran over to that site, not knowing if it was going to catch on fire, explode. No, no concern to the danger, only thinking about helping those people who they didn't know, that could have voted with them, against them, who could have hated them, who could have loved them. They didn't know and they didn't care. And they ran and I watched 15 people line up against that helicopter and lift it up into the air so that the first responders could pull the person out from underneath it. And that imagery that's what made me go, like, that is what we are about, people. Yes, that, and like you said, the divide is not there that they want us to feel that way. It's not there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I feel like that was the universe giving us, not just Californian, because they that was shown all over the the United States, the sign that there's still hope, yeah, reminding us of our true nature. Exactly. So, all right, we're gonna wrap it up. Um Lean hard into that. Lean hard into being compassionate, practicing empathy, trying to see the other person on the other side, remembering it. They hurt just like you. They are in fear just like you. Let's let's let's do this thing together. That's all I can say. This is this is the only way we're going to survive this if we come together.
SPEAKER_00:And contact your representatives and tell them that we do not want military in our cities. They don't belong. There is no war. Nothing is going on. There is civil disobedience, which is what this country was founded on. Let freedom ring, let us have our rights that were given to us in our U.S. Constitution. Ask, not ask, demand that they do their jobs.
SPEAKER_01:And we will have the name of the book and the author on the um description of the podcast. Okay, everyone, live your life on 10, your 10. Bye bye.