Episode 17

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Published on:

15th May 2025

We Are Standing at Democracy's Crossroads

Take Action:

1. Become Information Guardians

2. Make Power Feel Your Presence

  • Contact representatives strategically: Use 5calls.org for proven scripts and direct numbers
  • Show up in person: Attend town halls (even empty chair townhalls)
  • Program democracy into your phone: Save your House Rep, Senators, and Congressional Switchboard (202-224-3121)
  • Vote in every election: Register, verify your status, and make a voting plan for all elections

3. Document and Report Violations

  • Witness and Create Evidence that cannot be denied: Use ProofMode app to add verification data to photos/videos, making them usable as evidence. Send footage to the ACLU, National Immigration Law Center, trusted journalists, and secure cloud storage that you control.
  • Report abuses to proper channels: Report civil rights violations to the ACLU by phone (212-549-2500), election issues (866-OUR-VOTE), hate crimes (1-844-9-NO-HATE), and immigration abuses to independent organizations like the National Immigration Law Center (213-639-3900) or RAICES (210-226-7722).
  • Create community witness networks: Form neighborhood text groups using Signal for secure communications, ready to document ICE or police activities

4. Know and Exercise Your Rights

  • Learn your rights thoroughly: Study the ACLU's Know Your Rights resources for police encounters, protests, and immigration interactions
  • Practice rights assertions: Role-play scenarios with friends so responses become automatic in stressful situations
  • Build a rights network: Connect with legal observers and National Lawyers Guild members in your area
  • Use FOIA strategically: Request documents through FOIA.gov about policies affecting your community

5. Apply Economic Pressure

  • Move money to aligned institutions: Switch to community banks or credit unions
  • Direct consumer power strategically: Use the Goods Unite Us app to see which companies fund authoritarianism and which fund freedom
  • Build financial resilience: Create emergency funds that allow you to take principled stands
  • Support targeted businesses: Shop at immigrant-owned and democracy-supporting businesses

6. Join Forces with Others

  • Connect with established organizations: Join Indivisible, Movement for Black Lives, or United We Dream
  • Sign your strike card: Visit generalstrikeus.com to join this grassroots network of regular people who know our greatest power is our labor and our right to refuse it (even if you are a retiree or student)
  • Schedule regular action: Use Mobilize to find and commit to democracy-defending events
  • Prepare for direct action: Have bail money, legal contacts, water, medication for 48 hours, and emergency contact numbers ready


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Sources

Government Reports and Data

  • Government Accountability Office. (2025, January). Analysis of executive order implementation and legislative productivity: 2021-2025. GAO-25-173.
  • Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (2025). Annual report on aircraft safety incidents and regulatory oversight. U.S. Department of Transportation.
  • Office of the Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security. (2025, April). Review of recent immigration enforcement tactics and community impact. OIG-DHS-25-47.
  • Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General. (2025). Report on rollbacks of environmental protections and their public health impacts. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  • U.S. Congressional Research Service. (2025, March). Executive orders and their impact on the legislative process: A historical perspective (Report No. RS25-178). U.S. Government Printing Office.
  • Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. (2025). Immigration enforcement data: Deportations without hearings 2021-2025. Syracuse University.

Academic Sources

  • Barton, S., & McKenzie, J. (2025). Circumventing judicial review: Third-country deportations and the erosion of due process. Yale Law Journal, 134(3), 765-812.
  • Chenoweth, E., & Stephan, M. J. (2011). Why civil resistance works: The strategic logic of nonviolent conflict. Columbia University Press.
  • Harcourt, B. E., & Williams, P. J. (2024). Due process in crisis: Immigration enforcement and constitutional rights. Harvard Law Review, 137(5), 1211-1267.
  • Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2018). How democracies die. Crown.
  • Snyder, T. (2017). On tyranny: Twenty lessons from the twentieth century. Tim Duggan Books.
  • Sunstein, C. R. (Ed.). (2024). Can it happen here? Authoritarianism in America (2nd ed.). Dey Street Books.

Independent Organizations and Research Institutions

  • American Civil Liberties Union. (2025). Report on judicial independence and executive branch interference in immigration courts. ACLU Press.
  • Center for Public Integrity. (2024). The dismantling of the administrative state: Federal agencies under the Trump administration 2021-2025. CPI Press.
  • Human Rights Watch. (2025, February). Beyond borders, beyond oversight: U.S. deportation practices and international detention agreements. Human Rights Watch.
  • Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. (2025). Global state of democracy report. International IDEA.
  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2025). The state of scientific expertise in federal agencies: 2021-2025. National Academies Press.
  • V-Dem Institute. (2025). Democracy report 2025: Autocratization changing nature? University of Gothenburg.

Polling and Public Opinion Research

  • Gallup. (2025, March). Public trust in government institutions survey. Gallup Polling.
  • Pew Research Center. (2025, January). Public perceptions of democratic institutions and processes. Pew Research Center.

Tools and Resources

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About the Podcast

Bigger Than Me Democracy Project
Where headlines meet history—and we stand united.
Bigger Than Me is a rapid-response audio blog from the Bigger Than Me Democracy Project.

Hosted by Bonnie Ross, this blog helps listeners make sense of the moments that don’t just make news — they challenge democratic norms. Each episode breaks down what happened, why it matters, and how it fits into the authoritarian playbook described in On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder.

Here are the 20 lessons we return to again and again:
1. Do not obey in advance.
Authoritarianism thrives when people preemptively conform. Refuse to teach power what it can get away with.

2. Defend institutions.
Institutions don’t protect themselves. Pick one you care about — a court, a library, a newsroom — and take its side.

3. Beware the one-party state.
Support multiparty democracy and fair elections while you still can. Vote in every election. Consider running for office.

4. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
Symbols matter. Hate spreads when we get used to seeing it. Don’t look away. Don’t let it stand.

5. Remember professional ethics.
When leaders set bad examples, ethical commitments matter more. Rule of law needs defenders in every field.

6. Be wary of paramilitaries.
When the men with guns claim to protect the nation, watch who they march with. The merging of unofficial militias and official forces signals real danger.

7. Be reflective if you must be armed.
If you serve in uniform, be ready to say no when something isn't right.

8. Stand out.
The moment you do, others will follow. Nothing breaks the spell of the status quo like someone brave enough to go first.

9. Be kind to our language.
Avoid political clichés and empty slogans. Speak clearly. Read deeply. Think for yourself.

10. Believe in truth.
If nothing is true, power wins. Reality matters. Truth is the foundation of freedom.

11. Investigate.
Don’t just consume headlines. Subscribe to trustworthy journalism. Learn how propaganda works.

12. Make eye contact and small talk.
It’s more than polite — it’s civic glue. In times of fear and distrust, human connection is resistance.

13. Practice corporeal politics.
Get off the screen. Show up in person. Join others in physical, public acts of civic life.

14. Establish a private life.
Protect your digital life. Keep some conversations offline. Tyrants exploit what they learn about you.

15. Contribute to good causes.
Support organizations that reflect your values. Help sustain civil society with your time and money.

16. Learn from peers in other countries.
Authoritarianism is a global trend. Stay connected beyond borders. Have a passport. Use it.

17. Listen for dangerous words.
“Emergency.” “Terrorism.” “Extremism.” Authoritarians exploit these words to justify taking power.

18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
Crises are used to break democracy. Don’t trade freedom for false promises of safety.

19. Be a patriot.
Model the kind of America you want future generations to inherit.

20. Be as courageous as you can.
No one wants to be a hero. But if we’re not willing to risk for freedom, we all risk losing it.

About your host

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Bonnie Ross