This essay by David Brooks, is from The Atlantic 10/14/2025 and is worth reading. A synopsis follows below the links.
America Needs a Mass Movement— Now
To defeat an authoritarian (paraphrased):
you must build a counter social movement. And to do that, you need a different narrative about where we are and where we should be heading, a different set of values dictating what is admirable and what is disgraceful.
It must bring people from fear and stasis to hope and momentum.
Populists and Progressives needed each other—and still do. …. (with) the American dream—the core of its vision, … the Populist Progressive movement… launched a crusade against the concentration of corporate power that was crushing economic and social mobility. … The progressive valorizing of cultural diversity is balanced by populists’ emphasis on cultural cohesion.
If we fail to build such a movement, authoritarian strongmen around the globe will dominate indefinitely.”
David Brooks
The restoration of democracy in America will take planning, patience, perseverance, non-violence, and luck; it will not happen in 1-2 election cycles.
Hayward Zwerling 10/14/2025
Retirees For Democracy
