This piece was originally published in the Chautauquan Daily.

Celina Stewart, chief executive officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States, wants Americans to be a flood of democracy against the fire of authoritarianism.

In a lecture at 10:45 a.m. Monday in the Amphitheater, Stewart kicked off Chautauqua Lecture Series’ Week Six theme “The Global Rise in Authoritarianism” by recognizing the presence of authoritarianism in the United States and offering an agenda for actions to preserve and protect democracy. She centered her lecture around three action steps falling under one purpose of defending democracy: educate, agitate and act.

“This week, we are exploring the global rise of authoritarianism, not as a distant threat but as a present and pressing reality,” Stewart said.

The inundation of headlines — from U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) being thrown to the ground and forcibly removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, to the fatal shooting of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband — reflect that authoritarianism has its hold on the United States, Stewart said.

“These events are here. They are now. And they are very real,” Stewart said. “… Democratic backsliding rarely announces itself loudly. It creeps in, headline by headline, right by right, until silence becomes complicity.”

With trust in institutions plummeting, Stewart said she wanted to highlight the many ways that democracy is in retreat, from classrooms to courts to the silence of citizens. The foundation upon which the League was formed remains central to its defense of democracy.

“The League is a 105-year-old movement with more than 700 leagues strong, 1 million members and supporters fighting every day for democracy and to make it real for everyone. We are non-partisan, but we ain’t neutral, y’all,” Stewart said.

As America faces a “constitutional crisis,” Stewart highlighted the power of the people.

“The power that each of us holds is essential. Now more than ever. Movements don’t start with policy papers,” Stewart said. “They begin when people are willing to name what’s broken and imagine what’s possible.” 

Beginning with education, as all movements do, Stewart highlighted key facts about the League’s work. In 2024, the League reached more than 30 million voters with essential election information, registered 400,000 people and hosted over 3,000 debates.

“This dedication fuels the quiet, persistent work that comes across in democracy, in every state and every community,” Stewart said.

She distinguished nonpartisanship from passivity in the League’s enduring mission and its greatest strength.

“We are rooted in principle, not parties, empowering voters with facts that strengthen their voice and not tell them what to think, but to help them make informed choices,” Stewart said.

Without endorsing particular candidates, Stewart said, the League stands on issues that defend democracy such as reproductive health, election integrity and voting rights. Working to build trust by centering issues rather than affiliations, the League endures in the defense of fundamental rights.

“Our commitment to nonpartisanship is a moral imperative because democracy itself should never be a partisan issue,” Stewart said.

Rather than sway right or left, the League focuses on right and wrong, Stewart said. Women’s suffrage in the 1920s did not grant every woman suffrage.

“The League’s formation was not just about gaining access — it was about building power in a democracy that was struggling to live up to its promise,” Stewart said, “By the way, does any of that sound familiar?”

At the height of the political hysteria of McCarthyism in 1952, the League established a freedom agenda to promote the defense of democracy and commitment to transparency.

“The League opposed loyalty oaths for public employees, defended the right to have legal representation before congressional committees and stood against blacklisting of creative professionals if it was based on political association,” Stewart said.

At the expense of a decline in membership and increased pressure faced by local chapters, the League stuck by its core value — if members were committed to the democratic process, they were welcome — during a time in which that was viewed as radical.

“In Westchester, New York, the local American Legion Chapter went so far as to brand the League as un-American,” Stewart said.

By standing its ground, the League turned the McCarthy Era into a defining chapter of its legacy.

“The League’s strategy succeeded because it grasped a fundamental truth,” Stewart said. “Authoritarianism thrives when citizens are convinced that liberty is too risky to protect. Refusing to bow to fear or conformity, the League upheld open debate and inclusive participation, sustaining the democratic habits necessary to resist tyranny.”

Seventy years later, Stewart said, the truth is still under siege.

“The forces that the League was born to confront have never quite disappeared. They have just evolved. And again, we are called to rise,” Stewart said.

As strategies of suppression emerge in new costumes, Stewart reminded the audience that democracy is chipped away when laws are passed to suppress the vote, disinformation spreads like wildfire, and the truth seems optional. While the fight is not unfamiliar, Stewart said, the League cannot do it alone.

“Reclaiming democracy is not a solo act. It requires orchestrated movement,” Stewart said.

The process of agitation requires a clear understanding of what voters are up against. Stewart highlighted that authoritarianism doesn’t often come with tanks in the street, although, she said, June 14, 2025, may have been a “warning shot.”

“When military parades take over Washington streets not to honor people, but to project control, that’s not patriotism. That’s intimidation,” Stewart said.

Incidents like the military parade and federal troops descending upon cities like Los Angeles are not isolated, Stewart said, but instead a signal of a pattern.

“Crush dissent, ignore local voices and twist democratic symbols into tools of fear. This is authoritarianism draped in red, white and blue,” Stewart said.

Stewart made a clear case  of the dehumanization occurring in modern America, from immigrant families living in fear, to Black history being erased from curriculums.

“This time that we’re in, this is the second coming of slavery. And I don’t say that lightly. I say it because I see the patterns. I see the fear, the control, the dehumanization of people,” Stewart said. “…. (Authoritarianism) is happening to all of us. When one group’s rights are stripped away, everyone else’s rights are at risk.”

This crisis did not start with a single president or administration. Instead, Stewart said the problem has compounded with years of gerrymandering and voter suppression. President Donald Trump defying a Supreme Court order to return the wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States, Stewart said, reinforces the crisis Americans face.

“This is a five-alarm fire,” Stewart said. “And the question is, are you going to watch it burn, or are you going to be the water that puts it out?”

While everyone agrees democracy is under threat, Stewart said, few people consider themselves part of the solution. Through campaigns such as the Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative, Stewart said the League aims to mobilize a fraction of the U.S. population to affect change for the entire population.

“We just need that amount to engage in nonviolent, civil resistance to stand up against what’s going on in America today. If we do that, we will bring meaningful change to the country,” Stewart said.

Stewart concluded with a metaphor comparing Americans to water, changing the landscape around them through collective persistence.

“A single drop may seem so small, but the drops together can sustain cities and wildlife and change landscapes. That’s who we are,” she said. “Think about people’s power as that quelling force to the flames. Simply put, I want us to be the flood for democracy.” 

Stewart offered the audience an action plan that included joining the League, registering voters and educating their community.

“Speak the truth even when it’s uncomfortable. Silence is the oxygen of authoritarianism and truth is its anecdote. Show up to meetings, to the hearings, to the polls, to the streets,” she said. “Your presence is your protest, and your body is your ballot,” Stewart said. 

Stewart remind the audience to be present, unyielding and collective as water. Rather than suffer from indifference, Stewart called Chautauquans to action.

“Don’t just admire the League — join its future,” she said. “Wake up, rise up and let’s build the democracy we deserve, arm-in-arm, side-by-side, together.”