"Most Americans conceptualize a hypothetical end of American democracy in Apocalyptic terms. But actually, you usually learn that you are no longer living in a democracy not because The Government Is Taking Away Your Rights, or passing laws that you oppose, or because there is a coup or a quisling. You know that you are no longer living in a democracy because the elections in which you are participating no longer can yield political change."
- Tom Pepinsky Associate Professor of Government, Cornell University
Read his insightful essay: Everyday Authoritarianism is Boring and Tolerable.