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This is an adapted excerpt from the May 24 episode of “Velshi.”
In the wake of Donald Trump’s second term, more and more Americans are asking a critical question: “What can I do to defend democracy in America?”
That question marks a shift away from the comforting illusion that courts, politicians or institutions will save America’s democracy on their own. They won’t. Institutions have failed us repeatedly, as we have learned that what we thought were guardrails are merely suggestions, reliant on goodwill, decency and the honor system.
All rulers — even the most oppressive — rely on the cooperation of the people. Through fear, apathy or consent, they maintain power.
Real political change in America doesn’t come from the top; it never has. It comes from the bottom, from ordinary people resisting in big and small ways. That’s the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.
The political scientist Gene Sharp, nicknamed the “dictator slayer,” wrote something of a playbook for resisting authoritarian regimes. He didn’t invent these strategies, but he observed them. For decades, Sharp studied how ordinary people challenged brutal regimes around the world, and what he found was simple, yet powerful: All rulers — even the most oppressive — rely on the cooperation of the people. Through fear, apathy or consent, they maintain power. But when people refuse to cooperate, when they disobey, that’s when authoritarian systems begin to crack.
That’s why historian Timothy Snyder begins his book titled “On Tyranny” with this warning: “Do not obey in advance.” Because it’s in those first, often invisible, acts of surrender that authoritarianism takes root. As we face creeping authoritarianism here at home, Snyder’s advice stands as a call to action for Americans confronting Trump.
History shows that the courage to stand up to authority and hold power to account has helped sustain our democracy and other democracies around the world.
The historian Drew Gilpin Faust, a former president of Harvard University, captured that spirit in a powerful essay for The New York Times about the Union soldiers of the Civil War. She wrote:
I have read dozens of these men’s letters and diaries, windows into why they fought, into what and whom they loved and what they hoped for at the end of a war they knew they might not survive. Together they did save the Union … These men made our lives possible. They were impelled to risk all by a sense of obligation to the future. We possess a reciprocal obligation to the past. We must not squander what they bequeathed to us.
We owe it to them, and every generation that came after them: women who won the right to vote, students who walked into newly desegregated schools under armed guard, trade unionists who faced violence for fighting for the rights of workers, those who fought for voting rights, reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ dignity.
They didn’t wait for permission. They disobeyed in advance. They withdrew their cooperation from injustice. Oftentimes, they blatantly and openly broke the law, as TV cameras rolled.
Which brings us back to Sharp’s basic premise, a very Gandhian premise. He believed that noncooperation, the deliberate refusal to obey or comply, is one of the most powerful ways to disrupt oppressive systems. Because when enough people stop participating in the machinery of control, that very system begins to break down.
So, if you’re wondering what you can do, here are some ideas that draw from proven strategies of resistance — adapted for today’s world.
Overload administrative systems
In Missouri, a government-run tip line targeting the trans community was flooded with thousands of fake reports, including the entire movie script of “The Bee Movie” submitted over and over again. The result? Total system collapse. Utah and Texas faced similar backlashes, with Utah shutting down its own surveillance hotline under the weight of memes and mass trolling.
Civil disobedience of illegitimate laws
This, of course, is what undergirded the Civil Rights Movement in America, but here’s a more recent example: In Idaho, a middle school teacher refused to remove a sign that read “Everyone Is Welcome Here.” It didn’t mention politics, race or gender, but was still deemed too controversial. After a monthslong battle, she resigned two weeks ago in protest.
Political noncooperation
This can include using the opposition’s own tools against them. In 2024, Oklahoma’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law allowing parents to opt their children out of “harmful” educational material. Now, a group of parents has turned that law on its head.
In response to Superintendent of Public Education Ryan Walters’ new curriculum, which includes conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and Christian nationalist ideology, a parent group called We’re Oklahoma Education, or WOKE, is fighting back. They’ve created an opt-out form allowing families to withdraw their children from lessons on “Judeo-Christian concepts of ethics and government” and “discrepancies in 2020 election results.”
Their approach is not only bold but legally savvy since the group is using the very law that conservatives passed, which was designed to shield students from so-called progressive content. The opt-out letter warns schools that failure to comply could result in legal action.
Economic noncooperation
This one, of course, is close to my heart. When Target pulled Pride merchandise and scaled back diversity, equity and inclusion commitments, thousands of Americans launched a boycott campaign on TikTok, Facebook and other platforms. The result? Target’s quarterly profits dropped and the company admitted that backlash from both sides had harmed its bottom line.
Nonviolent intervention
In Worcester, Massachusetts, viral footage of an aggressive U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid showed federal agents detaining a woman as her daughters clung to the car, one of them holding a baby. Bystanders, including a city councilor and a school board candidate, intervened. The video sparked immediate outrage and protests across the state. In response, Worcester officials released bodycam footage and then took action: The city issued an executive order barring city employees from cooperating with ICE or inquiring about immigration status.
Humor
This is the final, and perhaps my favorite, form of disruption. Civil rights activist Bruce Hartford noted that humor and audacity go hand in hand: “You can weaken, unbalance, and ultimately overthrow the king quicker by laughing at him than by futilely screaming fury at him.”
Groups like the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and The Satanic Temple have used satire to expose religious favoritism in public institutions. The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose adherents refer to themselves as “Pastafarians,” mocked efforts to teach intelligent design in public schools by proposing a noodle-based deity, highlighting the dangers of blurring church and state.
The Satanic Temple, which is not to be confused with the Church of Satan and does not promote devil worship, took similar action, demanding equal representation when governments promoted religious symbols like Ten Commandments monuments or sanctioned prayer in public schools. Their logic forced officials to either accommodate all religions or retract their policies altogether.
So if you’re asking yourself what one person can do, these are ideas to hopefully get you thinking. And remember this final piece of advice from Snyder: “Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.”