Our Time is Now: Stand Against American Authoritarianism
The Threat of Authoritarianism Is No Longer Distant
The threat of authoritarianism is no longer a distant problem for other nations. It has taken root here in the United States.
What we once warned of in Hungary under Viktor Orbán, Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Russia under Vladimir Putin is now being mirrored at home—with alarming speed.
Donald Trump’s recent actions — including his promise to “be a dictator on day one,” his efforts to deploy the military against civilians, and his overt contempt for the Constitution and judicial authority — are not campaign bluster. They are our new reality.
I’ve Seen It Before — And I See It Now
When I traveled to Europe in 2022 as a Marshall Memorial Fellow, I engaged directly with the challenges of authoritarian regimes in Turkey and Hungary. At the time, I was focused on the importance of shared democratic values between Europe and the United States. But what has become undeniable since then is that the greatest threat to our democracy is no longer “out there.” It is here. It is now.
Authoritarianism – The Playbook in Action
What links regimes from Caracas to Moscow to Washington, D.C., is not just their disdain for democracy — it is their exploitation of chaos. Climate change, economic inequality, immigration and disinformation provide fertile ground for strongmen who promise to restore order while dismantling the foundations of democratic society. They use fear and nationalism to seize power — and then rewrite the rules to keep it.
We are not immune.
Since January 20, 2025
President Trump has systematically expanded executive power in ways that echo authoritarian playbooks. Since day one, he has signed over 160 executive orders — circumventing legislative oversight — and invoked emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs, brushing aside constitutional concerns.
He launched a direct assault on the independence of the judiciary, vilifying judges, threatening impeachment against those who ruled against him, and pushing legislative changes aimed at weakening court enforcement. His administration has ignored court orders, deported individuals without due process, and, in a dramatic escalation, deployed U.S. Marines and federalized National Guard troops to Los Angeles — over the governor’s objection and without a state request — to suppress protests triggered by ICE raids.
The Pattern Is Clear
These actions are not isolated incidents. They form a pattern: stacking executive power, undermining the courts, politicizing the military, and treating civil dissent as rebellion.
They are clear signals that the erosion of democratic norms is accelerating. We are teetering on the edge of profound political rupture.
This Saturday: No Kings Protests
That’s why this Saturday, June 14, people across the country are taking to the streets for the No Kings Protests. They are standing up for a foundational principle: that no president, of any party, should be above the law, immune to accountability, or empowered to rule by force. I will be among them.
This Is About the Republic — Not a Party
These protests are not about partisanship. They are about the republic itself.
Democracy is not self-sustaining. It requires our attention, courage, and action. And action means more than voting. It means showing up, speaking out, and refusing to normalize the unacceptable.
As a writer and speaker, I believe in the power of stories. However, the story of American democracy will only continue if we have the integrity to write the next chapter together — with clarity and resolve.
History isn’t behind us. It’s staring us in the face.
The future depends on what we do now.
One Choice. One Act.
So I ask you: Will you sit back while authoritarianism tightens its grip — or will you rise?
It takes all of us — one choice, one act, one person at a time.
Join us in the streets. Saturday, June 14, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Boulder Municipal Building, 900 Canyon Blvd. Because there are no kings in a democracy.
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