World News

How the Government is Rewriting the Rules of Democracy 

By Vivi Orum ‘28 in Fall 2025

Democracy doesn’t collapse all at once; it dissolves quietly, one muted voice, one ignored warning at a time. Our generation grew up assuming democracy was guaranteed, but what if it is not? The expanding reach of government power, the militarization of our city streets, and the attempts to dictate coverage by the press over the past few years have made that question increasingly impossible to ignore.

By definition, authoritarian regimes concentrate power, repress opposition, and use coercion or intimidation to maintain authority. And honestly, some of what we have seen in our country doesn’t look that far off.

Trump deployed the National Guard across a number of U.S. jurisdictions, the majority being Democrat-controlled cities. His government declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., took direct control of troops within the city, and deployed hundreds of National Guard troops. The same deployments happened in cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, and Memphis.

Using the military in this way blurs the line between public safety and political intimidation. Democratic governments do not usually deploy troops in the streets because they can make force seem like a regular feature of civic life.

Equally alarming are attempts against media freedom. President Trump has suggested stripping the licenses of TV networks that contradict him. Such threats echo censorship tactics used by authoritarian regimes to silence contradicting opinions and control the narrative.

Whether or not these actions constitute a fascist regime by formal definitions, they repress freedom of speech, silence minority groups, create an environment of fear and self-censorship, even among high school students.

From my experience, many high school students hesitate to speak out against adversity out of fear of ostracism or misinterpretation. The pressure to fit in can discourage pushing back against biases. When hurtful and discriminatory comments go unchallenged, they become the standard.

Soon enough, many of us will be able to vote for the first time in the next presidential election. Yet, I can’t help but wonder: Will the next election be a democratic one? Will my vote even matter? These are exactly the kind of questions that authoritarian movements feed on; they make it feel futile to speak up, to vote, to make our voices heard. But that’s exactly what we must do.