When We Accidentally Decided That Authoritarianism Is Okay

As a Gen X American, I grew up believing that authoritarian regimes—communism, dictatorships—were the enemies of everything we stood for. The Soviet Union, East Germany, Cuba—those were the cautionary tales. We learned that democracy meant something special: a government of the people, by the people, for the people. That was America’s promise, our core value.

But today, it feels like that lesson has been forgotten by a worrying number of Americans. Some have become convinced that Democrats have gone so far off track that the only solution is to embrace a different flavor of authoritarianism—a right-wing strongman who promises to restore order by force rather than consensus.

How did we get here?

I think it all traces back to when our news media stopped being accountable to truth. The pivotal moment came in 1987, when the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine, a rule that required broadcasters to present controversial issues of public importance in an honest, balanced way. Suddenly, news outlets could openly pick sides, prioritize profits, and turn journalism into entertainment or partisan propaganda.

Fast forward a few decades, and we have a polarized America, divided not by reality but by the media each side consumes. Many of us no longer agree on basic facts. Once truth is lost, authoritarianism starts looking tempting—especially if it promises to silence the “other side.”

But history has warned us again and again that authoritarianism never ends well. Not in East Germany. Not in Cuba. Not in the Soviet Union. And certainly not here.

We need to wake up and remember what we once knew instinctively: democracy isn’t perfect, but it’s infinitely better than the alternative. We have to reclaim the idea that government of the people, by the people, and for the people is still worth fighting for—even if we have to fight for it within our own borders.