On Complacency and Resistance

Over the past 23 tumultuous days, I’ve found myself repeatedly reaching into the past to re-read speeches, essays, and articles by figures who stood against an authority. I believe many Americans are currently grappling with a similar set of fundamental and universal questions. When is it time to resist? At what point am I obligated to object? How will I know? And just as importantly, how does one do it? Some are considering these issues consciously, but many have a foreboding instinct preventing them from explicitly asking the question. Something in them suggests that they would rather not know the answer. It’s precisely that instinct which I hope to draw out into the light for examination.

I offer this as an inoculation against a growing epidemic of complacency, and I've fast-tracked it via an all too necessary “emergency use authorization.” I offer a handful of powerful statements from Alexei Navalny, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Henry David Thoreau. Together, they offer a blueprint for recognizing injustice, choosing integrity, and knowing when to act.

On Complacency and Collective Inaction

In 2014, Russian dissident and political prisoner, Alexei Navalny, was hauled before a panel of judges to face fabricated charges of fraud. His nearly lifelong resistance of the Putin administration would eventually lead to his death in prison, one year ago next week. Under the weight of this overwhelming pressure, he delivered a speech to the courtroom which still resonates with me.

“I call you ‘people who look the other way’… [Speaking to the Presiding Judge] - Elena Sergeevna, what is the phrase you keep repeating to me? All of the people I deal with: investigators, prosecutors, prison wardens, civil and criminal judges—you all keep saying the same thing to me: ‘Alexei, you understand the situation’. It’s true: I understand the situation but what I don’t understand is why do you keep looking the other way?”

Navalny’s words cut straight to the heart of the matter. He exposes how injustice is maintained not only by oppressive laws and leaders but by the quiet acquiescence of those who choose to ignore it. When officials and everyday people turn a blind eye, they become active participants in sustaining a system that inflicts harm. His address is a call to wake up: inaction is not neutrality, it is complicity.

Every time we ignore wrongdoing, we smooth the way for the machinery of oppression. The “people who look the other way” are not innocent bystanders; their silence creates an environment where injustice can thrive. Navalny forces us to confront the uncomfortable truth: if we truly understand the situation, why do we continue to allow it by standing idly by?

The Power of Personal Integrity

Another Russian dissident, and Nobel Prize winning writer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, offers a clear counterpoint to the problem of societal cowardice.

“You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.”

Solzhenitsyn’s message is uncompromising. Here is a man who has seen the worst that totalitarian regimes can inflict—and he refuses to be part of the machinery that spreads falsehood and injustice. His statement is not a call for passive resistance but a demand for active personal integrity. By choosing to live with integrity, you refuse to let the system’s lies define you or your actions.

His words mean that when pressure mounts to conform, when the system demands that you participate in spreading falsehoods, you must stand firm. Even if falsehoods spread, they must not be advanced through your actions. Personal integrity is your shield against complicity. Solzhenitsyn challenges you to conduct a personal audit of your values: will you allow yourself to be a link in the chain, or will you break it by refusing to participate? He offers us personal character and integrity as an antidote to Navalny’s conundrum.

Civil Disobedience and the Moment to Act

Long before Navalny and Solzhenitsyn, Henry David Thoreau codified his own, similar, standard for resistance in his famous and influential essay “On Civil Disobedience.”

“If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it will wear smooth—certainly the machine will wear out… but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.”

Thoreau’s writing is a direct call to examine our own complicity. His words inspired both Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., and his message remains as clear as ever. He lays out a simple test: if the system forces you to become an agent of injustice—if following the law means harming another—then you have no choice but to resist. For Thoreau, resistance isn’t a matter of opinion; it’s a moral duty.

His insight is both a diagnosis and a prescription. Thoreau tells us that there comes a point when the friction between personal conscience and state-imposed injustice becomes intolerable. That moment demands action, even if it means breaking the law. His concept of “counter-friction” is a powerful call to be the force that slows down, or stops, the relentless machine of oppression. When the price of compliance is the betrayal of your values, resistance is not optional, it’s required.

The Slippery Slope of Inaction

Consider these words from Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago:

“At what point, then, should one resist? When one's belt is taken away? When one is ordered to face into a corner? When one crosses the threshold of one's home? An arrest consists of a series of incidental irrelevancies, of a multitude of things that do not matter, and there seems no point in arguing about one of them individually...and yet all these incidental irrelevancies taken together implacably constitute the arrest.”

This passage warns us about the danger of ignoring small, seemingly insignificant injustices. Each minor compromise might appear harmless on its own, but when combined, they create a chain reaction that leads to total loss of freedom and dignity. Inaction in the face of minor wrongs gradually builds a fortress of oppression around us, a fortress we may not notice until it is too late.

Solzhenitsyn’s words drive home the point that the path to complicity is paved with incremental steps. It is not the major, headline-grabbing injustices that destroy us; it is the accumulation of incidental irrelevancies that, together, become the arrest. This quote is a stark reminder of why it is critical to think about these issues in advance. We must be vigilant, assessing every small concession and recognizing how each one contributes to a larger system of control. Only by acknowledging and resisting even the minor infringements can we hope to maintain our freedom and integrity.

Practical Steps for Personal Resistance

Given the gravity of these messages, it is imperative to prepare for the moment when you must act. Here are some concrete steps to ensure you are ready:

1. Define Your Boundaries: Reflect deeply on your values. Identify the actions or policies that are morally unacceptable to you. Decide in advance what lines you are unwilling to cross. This clarity will guide you when you face tough moral choices.
2. Assess Your Daily Choices: Examine your routines and the systems you participate in. Ask yourself if your actions, even indirectly, support injustice. Look for ways to align your behavior with your principles—at work, in your community, and in your political life.
3. Educate Yourself: Stay informed about the policies and practices that shape your community and nation. Knowledge is a critical tool against complacency. Understanding how power operates enables you to spot the early signs of systemic wrongdoing.
4. Build a Network: Change rarely happens alone. Connect with others who share your commitment to integrity and resistance. Whether through community groups, online forums, or civic organizations, having allies reinforces your resolve and makes collective action possible when the time comes.
5. Practice Reflective Resistance: Regularly engage in self-reflection. Consider hypothetical scenarios where you might be pressured to compromise your values, and plan how you would respond. Preparation builds confidence, ensuring you’re not caught off guard when the moment arrives.
6. Hold Yourself Accountable: Commit to speaking out when you witness injustice. Keep a personal record of your decisions and review them periodically. Holding yourself accountable strengthens your commitment to never be a passive bystander.

A Final Call to Action

The time to reflect on these issues is now. Our silence fuels the machinery; our resolve can dismantle it. The words of Navalny warn us against the ease of looking the other way, while Solzhenitsyn challenges us to live by unwavering principles. Thoreau, with unmistakable clarity, tells us that when the system forces us to act against our values, resistance is not optional, it is a duty. One final quote from Solzhenitsyn warns us of the temptation inherent in our own psyche: “Every man always has handy a dozen glib little reasons why he is right not to sacrifice himself.” It will be incredibly easy to slip unthinkingly into the same rationalizations as the judges seated before Navalny, unable to make eye contact. It turns out, resistance always starts within our own minds. Courage is not a default state, but it can be learned and nurtured. Ask yourself now, what are my glib little reasons? Work to make them a little less handy, every day.

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