https://www.lwv.org/blog/independence-day-democracy-needs-defenders-not-cheerleaders
This Independence Day, Americans will likely gather for parades, fireworks, and barbeques, celebrating our democracy with familiar traditions. But while many will spend the holiday waving flags, the Trump administration and its allies are attempting to systematically dismantle the very reason for this holiday and put our country and the people in it, Americans, in harm's way.
As CEO of the League of Women Voters of the US, it’s my professional and patriotic duty today to issue an urgent call. And while this is a rare move for our century-old organization, it is necessary.
It is not an overstatement to say that we are in a constitutional crisis. While celebrating July 4 is part of our culture and tradition, we are in a new age, requiring us to not only pay attention but find ways to fight back — now.
The signs are unmistakable. We've witnessed an administration that defies federal court orders, amplifies voter fraud disinformation while restricting ballot access, allows innocent people to be snatched off the streets in broad daylight without any due process, and uses government power to silence dissent. Courts have rolled back voting protections and civil rights while operating with no accountability to the public they serve.
This isn't temporary turbulence that we can white-knuckle our way through. This is methodical erosion of our democratic values and policies. And there has been little resistance on either side of the aisle in Congress. And quite frankly, the more we stand by just watching, the more we hand over our democracy day by day.
Ok, so what are we going to do about it? Can we, as individuals, still do something about this? The short answer is we have to act, and yes, there is plenty still to do.
It’s time for a revolution in how Americans think about civic engagement. For too long, we've treated democracy like a spectator sport, showing up every few years to vote and then retreating to passive observation.
That approach is no longer sufficient. There are no bystanders in democracy. We all will feel the detrimental impacts if democracy is undermined and undone, regardless of whether we are citizens or noncitizens.
For too long, we've treated democracy like a spectator sport, showing up every few years to vote and then retreating to passive observation.
Real patriotism today means confronting uncomfortable truths. We must acknowledge that we are all watching the second coming of slavery with the deportations and exiles happening in our communities. We must face the fact that even our elected officials are unwilling to do their part in saving our country. And we must face that America cannot be stuck in an exceptionalist mindset — one that holds on to hope that we will just be alright in the end. There is no cavalry coming; we, the people, are the cavalry of this moment.
These aren't features of democracy. They're fractures that need to be fixed.
That's why the League has launched Unite & Rise 8.5, an initiative to mobilize 8.5 million Americans to defend democracy and be part of the solution to saving our republic. This number isn't arbitrary. Research shows that when 3.5 percent of a population engages in sustained, nonviolent resistance, systemic change becomes inevitable. As a voting rights organization, we are focused on the voting population of 245 million, and we know that it will take our work plus more to save democracy. We will need systemic change and people power to ensure we have freedom, liberty, and justice for all.
Our movement draws inspiration from the suffragists who founded the League over a century ago. They understood that democracy isn't self-sustaining — it must be actively defended by each generation, because threats emerge in every generation.
They didn't win the right to vote by asking nicely. They organized, protested, demonstrated, and refused to cooperate or accept second-class citizenship.
Today's threats demand equal commitment — and even more importantly, action.
[D]emocracy isn't self-sustaining—it must be actively defended by each generation, because threats emerge in every generation.
We're asking Americans to join us in showing up in the streets, actively participating in nonviolent civil resistance to change the course of our history in this moment, and holding our elected representatives accountable through sustained advocacy at all levels — local, county, state, and federal. None of us have to do everything, but we all must do something.
We must challenge these failing systems. When courts ignore precedent in favor of ideological agendas, voter suppression becomes a routine strategy, and disinformation shapes policy, working within the system becomes complicit with its breakdown. We must show up to protest and set the record straight.
The founders understood that democracy requires constant vigilance. They built mechanisms for change because power, once concentrated, fights to maintain itself. The question facing Americans is whether we'll use those mechanisms to keep our democracy alive or stand by and watch them weaken and die.
Democracy isn't dying from external threats. It's being killed by our willingness to treat it as spectators rather than participants. Thousands of League members across the country are choosing action over complacency. And with hundreds of thousands of supporters, we need you to choose action too.
This Independence Day, instead of celebrating our way of life and taking on the mantra “All is well,” let's be honest with ourselves about what is happening, and commit to saving our democracy. Join a local League chapter. Sign up to commit to action. Register voters. Attend town halls. Run for office. Dispel mis- and disinformation. Show up at a demonstration or protest. Participate in economic boycotts.
This Independence Day, make defending democracy as routine as checking social media.
This Independence Day, we must choose: accept the comfortable fiction that our democracy is business as usual, or acknowledge that nothing is usual about the time we are in, and respond with urgency.
This Independence Day, don't just celebrate democracy. Take action to defend it.
