You are not imagining it. You are not overreacting. This moment is urgent. The institutions that have held American democracy together – our courts, our free press, our electoral system, our local governments – are being tested like never before. Those in power in Washington, who believe they can rule through fear, division, and control, are moving swiftly to dismantle and redefine decades of American consensus and progress.
Here’s what else is true: You are not powerless to stand up to it.
American democracy was built with guardrails: checks, balances, and institutional protections meant to withstand the ambitions of those who would consolidate power at the people’s expense. The rule of law, the separation of powers, and a free and independent press exist for moments like this.
But guardrails only hold if they are defended. When they are eroded or eliminated, they must be reinforced. And when they are ignored outright, it is up to us – the people – to step into the breach and protect our rare, exceptional, and precious way of life.
No single person, politician, public figure, or organization can stop surging authoritarianism by themselves. It has never worked that way: Democracy has always been protected by the people. People who refuse to sit back and wait, and insist that the government remain accountable to those it serves.
That means you. That means all of us.
The good news is that the steps against authoritarianism are not mysterious or out of reach. They are daily actions accessible to everyone, everywhere. In our 2021 book Reclaiming We: Twenty Everyday Acts to Strengthen the Common Good and Defend Democracy, we outlined ways average citizens could protect, defend, and expand a modern and robust democracy. Now, in 2025, here are five more specifically for our current era.
1. Stand up for our institutions.
Democracy is more than elections. It’s held together by institutions that provide transparency, fairness, and accountability. Those institutions are under attack, and fair-minded Americans’ role now is to protect them.
›› Support the free press. Subscribe to local newspapers. Share fact-based reporting. If you see misinformation, challenge it – not by arguing endlessly online, but by countering it with credible sources in your circles. In Nebraska, outlets like the Nebraska Journalism Trust, the Nebraska Examiner, and Omaha Documenters are doing crucial work to expose corruption, highlight partisan power grabs, and hold power to account. Help them thrive.
›› Stand with our public servants. Election officials, librarians, teachers, and civil servants are being pressured, threatened, and driven out for simply doing their jobs. If your local election office is under attack, write letters of support. If a librarian stands up against censorship, show up to back them. Your voice and presence mean dedicated public servants don’t have to stand alone.
›› Use your local influence. Every City Council meeting, school board hearing, and state legislative session is a battleground for democratic values. Authoritarians count on low public engagement at the local level to push through harmful policies. Make them count wrong.
2. Engage in local and state elections.
Authoritarians don’t just need the power of the federal government to dismantle American democracy. They can also do it through our state legislatures, governors, attorneys general, and secretaries of state, who are willing to manipulate our state and local systems for narrow, partisan, anti-democratic goals. You can help stop them at the ballot box.
›› Vote in every election. Presidential elections get outsized attention and see the highest turnout. Still, local and state elections decide who controls voting access, education policy, law enforcement, and civil rights protections in our communities. Many of these elections often come down to just a few hundred or a few thousand votes. Make yours count.
›› Support pro-democracy candidates. You don’t have to run for office to make a difference, but you can volunteer, donate, or talk to others about why certain races matter. If there’s an effort to restrict voting rights, to gerrymander districts, or to consolidate power unfairly, the people pushing it are usually on the ballot.
›› Pressure elected officials before it’s too late. If lawmakers believe they can get away with suppressing votes, banning books, or rolling back civil liberties without public backlash, they will. Call. Email. Show up. Hold them publicly accountable before their bad ideas become bad laws.
3. Protect the right to vote for yourself and others.
The single biggest obstacle to suppressing democracy is high voter participation. That’s why those in power try so hard to make voting more difficult.
›› Know your voting rights. Laws are changing quickly, and hard-liners have even more ideas to restrict ballot access. Stay informed about what’s happening at the Legislature with voter ID mandates, early voting options, voting rights restoration, and registration deadlines. Don’t let confusion created by legislative, legal, or administrative maneuvering keep you or anyone you know from casting a ballot.
›› Help others access the vote. The best way to counteract voter suppression is through direct action. Volunteer to register voters. Offer rides to polling places. Be the person in your community who helps people turn out on Election Day.
›› Monitor elections. Become a nonpartisan election observer in every federal, state, and local election. Voter intimidation and election subversion efforts increase when fewer eyes are watching. Be there.
4. Challenge every effort to weaken democracy.
When laws are unjust, rules are ignored, and constitutional rights are trampled, they must be challenged legally and publicly.
›› Support legal challenges to anti-democratic laws. The courts can slow or block unconstitutional policies, but only if lawsuits are filed. Groups like the ACLU and Protect Democracy are already in the fight. Support them however you can.
›› Hold officials accountable. Last year, when Nebraska’s secretary of state and attorney general refused to enforce the law prescribed by LB20 – denying Nebraskans with past felonies their right to vote – Civic Nebraska took them to court and won. That’s how power is checked. And that’s why public pressure matters. Public silence is what allows extremism to take root.
5. Resist division and despair.
Authoritarian movements thrive on division, exhaustion, and a sense of hopelessness. If people believe democracy is already lost, they stop fighting for it. That’s the real danger.
›› Don’t let cynicism take hold. No moment in history has ever been changed by people who decided it was too late to act. If you’re angry, frustrated, or afraid, put that energy into something productive. Even small actions, like attending a meeting, talking to a neighbor, or correcting a falsehood, help strengthen democracy.
›› Strengthen your community. Democracy is a system of government, but more so, it’s a way of living together. When people know their neighbors, engage in civic life, and feel a stake in their communities, authoritarianism has less space to grow. Be part of that civic fabric.
›› Stay engaged for the long haul. This is not a fight that will be won in a single election, lawsuit, or moment. Democracy is a constant effort. Make engagement a habit, not just a reaction to a crisis.
Collectively, we can be the difference between democracy surviving and expanding or slipping away into vague memory. The people pushing for control and division count on ordinary citizens feeling overwhelmed. They hope people will give up, burn out, or check out. Don’t give them what they want.
Instead, do what they fear most: Show up. Speak out. Stay engaged. And bring others with you. Democracy has always belonged to those who stand up for it. Now is the time to rise.
