The Unraveling & the Reckoning: Love as Resistance in the Face of Authoritarian Collapse

In her Letters from an American newsletter (February 23, 2025), historian Heather Cox Richardson outlined the latest escalation in the unraveling of democracy. Trump and his allies, instead of adjusting course in response to public opposition, are doubling down on lawlessness.

🚨 What’s Happening?
✔️ Trump’s pardons of January 6 insurrectionists have expanded to include those convicted of unrelated gun and drug charges.
✔️ Violent extremists are emboldened. Freshly pardoned rioters held a press conference at the U.S. Capitol, retracing their attack route, chanting “Whose house? Our house!”
✔️ Elon Musk is now issuing government orders, demanding mass purges of federal employees—despite courts ruling he has no authority.
✔️ Threats of political violence are escalating. A pro-democracy conference featuring former law enforcement officers was evacuated after bomb threats claimed to be acting “in honor of Emperor Trump.”

Heather Cox Richardson warns that this is how authoritarianism cements power—through lawlessness, intimidation, and relentless escalation.

But she also points to something critical: The propaganda spell is breaking.

Scholar Timothy Snyder observed that Trump, Musk, and their allies are struggling to control the narrative. The courts are ruling against them. The public is rejecting their attacks on veterans, farmers, and medical research. Even Republican-leaning voters overwhelmingly oppose the January 6 pardons.

And history tells us something else: when the illusion of strength fades, resistance is most powerful.

What Do We Do Now?

This is not a time to retreat into despair. This is a time to stand firm, rise up, and act boldly.

🔥 Speak the truth, relentlessly. Lies crumble in the face of truth told often, loudly, and with courage. Support independent journalism.

🛡 Defend the Constitution. Military leaders, legal experts, government officials—your oath is to the people, not to a ruler. Hold the line.

📢 Mobilize in mass numbers. Protests, civil disobedience, direct action—power concedes nothing without demand.

💙 Build the world we deserve. Strengthen mutual aid networks. Organize locally. Cultivate radical belonging in the face of division.

🗳 Make democracy unstoppable. Every election, every seat, every policy decision matters. We cannot allow authoritarianism to take root through apathy.

We Were Made for This Moment

Heather Cox Richardson reminds us that democracy survives only when people refuse to surrender it. Senator Angus King warns that this is the most serious constitutional crisis in U.S. history.

We do not bow. We do not break. We rise.

🔥 What will you do today to be part of this movement? Drop a comment. Let’s build together.

📌 This post references reporting from historian Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American newsletter (February 23, 2025). Read her full analysis HERE.

With love & relentless resolve,
Mary