I swore an oath to defend the Constitution. I believed that threat would come from outside. That we as a people who were so united even 10 years ago, have become so divided; I am beside myself everyday with this suddeness. I don’t think we are at each other’s throats yet. Yet.
Today, I see the most profound danger comes from within. The foundation of our republic is cracking under the weight of our own division, and too few are willing to talk about it honestly. That somewhere along the line, some started to be left behind; felt left alone to face the world by themselves. And many of them are angry. I should know, I was one of those.
We as a society need to return to what we once were. Better than this, is so many ways. We were strong, indivisible, racist, intolerant, selfish, sociable, mentally unstable, spiritual, and hateful while being so proud to call each other brothers and sisters in defense of our country, our communities; our homes.
I grew up in a time where doors were unlocked, no parents at home, and no ability to go home when parents were there. And even I can see and feel the good in others.
Its those who are motivated by what they need or want who we all should worry about and for. I only hope they remember what their oath is to. And that they remember there are others like them who are going to deal with their families, friends, loved ones. And while they may feel malicious and motivated for that which they sought, they will see, all of them, that they also will be directly affected. And so, this isn’t to call them out, its to say, I see you.
I see your motivation and pain. Not to make you feel bad. But to make you feel seen and understood. From a service member and first responder to all those who will listen, I see you. You can come back anytime to where you know you belong. For some I speak to, my words will fall silent, and I also understand.
This isn’t a partisan alarm. It’s a call back to the center. It’s an appeal to have a difficult but necessary conversation about the path we are on—a path that quietly dismantles our freedoms in a predictable order.
Step 1: Silence the Conversation.
First, they make it impossible to talk. The First Amendment wasn’t written to protect popular opinions; it was written to protect the ones that challenge us. Yet today, if you question the accepted narrative, you aren’t debated—you’re deplatformed, discredited, and labeled as dangerous. The goal is no longer to win the argument, but to prevent it from ever happening. When we become afraid to speak, we lose the ability to think.
Step 2: Control the Narrative.
Next, they control what you’re allowed to know. Trust between a government and its people is built on transparency. But when official channels—from the DoD to the media—insist on a single story, and treat all questions as threats, that trust dies. We are told that information is being withheld for our own good, for “national security.” But when you can’t question the storyteller, you eventually stop trusting the story. A population kept in the dark cannot self-govern; it can only be managed.
Step 3: Remove the Final Safeguard.
Finally, after speech is stifled and trust is broken, they come for the final backstop. The debate over the Second Amendment has never really been about guns. It’s about the final check on power in a society that has lost faith in all other checks. It’s the last resort for a citizenry that fears it can no longer be heard and no longer believes it is being told the truth. This is the last step on the road, taken only when a government fundamentally distrusts its own people.
This Isn’t a Prophecy. It’s a Choice.
This three-step slide into soft tyranny isn’t inevitable. It is a choice we are making every day through our silence and our contempt for one another.
We can choose a different path. It requires us to abandon the need to be right in favor of the need to understand. It means defending the right of people we disagree with to speak their mind. It means choosing empathy over outrage, and tolerance over compliance.
We don’t have to agree on everything. But we must agree that the foundation is worth saving.
The conversation starts now, with us.
With people who look, talk, sound, believe in ways that are different to you and yours. Relationships that feel uncomfortable for days or weeks at first, those same differences celebrated for years to come.
And then you need to talk with those who think exactly like you once did.