Amass Power by Constructing or Becoming Involved in Grass-Roots and Legal Coalitions

"The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy." - Montesquieu

"We've become, now, an oligarchy instead of a democracy. I think that's been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards to the American political system that I've ever seen in my life." - Jimmy Carter

"Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty." - Plato

To more effectively oppose autocratic or oligarchic state leaders, you must organize communities and construct coalitions.

You amass power by constructing or becoming involved in grass-roots and legal coalitions. You join, or become an ally of, civil liberties organizations like the ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation, or human rights networks in your local community; your allegiance upholds democratic freedoms and adds your collective voice.

You partner with constitutional lawyers, public interest lawyers, and legal monitors who can make use of the courts to challenge acts of authoritarianism. Above all, you mobilize coalitions of oppressed communities such as Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, immigrant, LGBTQ+, working-poor-class individuals whose voices are most likely silenced first or targeted first.

This is the kind of solidarity whose true strength yours is; it not only makes your visibility stronger but also transforms collective vulnerability into a collective strength.