Dictators and Authoritarianism are at the Door
By Liberty Lane & Quin Halliwell | Special Edition Blog
LIBERTY:
Sometimes the flag waves the wrong way.
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m watching pieces of America I used to trust become unrecognizable. Raise the alarms. We’ve got a president praising dictators, yes, dictators, college rules being rewritten to reward loyalty over learning, and now — in the same week — discipline policies in schools being overhauled to protect power, not students. When the headlines blur into a pattern, you don’t need a PhD in politics to know what’s coming.
You just need to have lived through it.
This week, Quin and I are stepping in together — because it’s not just policy anymore. It’s a playbook. One we’ve seen before. One we’re refusing to ignore.
QUIN (Data Dive):
Authoritarian creep never shows up in full uniform. It slips in wearing a smile, holding a pen, and promising order.
Let’s connect the dots:
Trump’s Education Overhaul Orders – announced this week, these authoritarianism directives call for:
A full review of school discipline policies (which disproportionately affect students of color),
The decertification of accrediting agencies that don’t follow “patriotic education” models,
And a push for “ideological diversity” in higher ed that really means silencing dissent.
Ukraine Comments & Foreign Alignment – Trump’s statement that he’d end the war in “24 hours” by cutting U.S. support isn’t just naive — it’s aligned with Russian interests. The authoritarianism tilt isn’t hypothetical. It’s literal.
Pattern Recognition:
Weakening institutions
Rewarding loyalty over expertise
Reshaping education to control the narrative
Aligning with autocrats abroad
Normalizing force over consensus
Whether it’s targeting schools or applauding strongmen, the playbook is clear — rewrite truth, redirect blame, and repurpose institutions to protect a single power center.
It’s not just anti-democratic. It’s deliberate.
LIBERTY:
I was raised to believe America doesn’t bow to bullies — we call them out. We don’t support dictators, we overthrow them. Read that again. We overthrow dictators in America, it is what we do. And we sure as hell don’t hand over our classrooms, our daughters’ futures, or our dignity just because someone on a podium says, “trust me.”
Joe Bob has a daughter, my niece Daisy. Quin’s got receipts. And we both know this:
When you change how a child learns to question, you change how a nation chooses to obey.
So here’s the line in the sand:
We won’t let public schools become propaganda centers.
We won’t let accreditation become a partisan loyalty test.
We won’t let silence become policy.
QUIN (With the Numbers):
Here’s what history tells us:
Authoritarian regimes almost always begin with education control.
From Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Public Enlightenment to Stalin’s purges of academics, the aim is always the same: crush complexity. Simplify truth into slogans.
In modern times, Hungary and Turkey dictators have both rewritten curricula to reflect the ruling party’s ideology. Dissenting schools were shut down or stripped of resources.
We are not immune to that pattern. Especially when 1 in 3 Americans now say they support some form of authoritarian leadership if it “gets results.”
This isn’t about one man or one moment. It’s about a movement — and the institutions they’re willing to break to hold onto power.
LIBERTY:
I’m not here to sell fear. I’m here to call it out.
This moment isn’t just a political fight. It’s a moral one.
Because if we let authoritarians rewrite the rules for our kids, they’ll soon be writing the future without us.
CALL TO ACTION:
If this hits home, don’t just sit with it — share it.
Tag a teacher, parent, or student.
Contact your local school board — ask how they’re protecting academic freedom.
Call your representatives — demand they block attempts to politicize accreditation and discipline policy.
Support organizations fighting educational censorship. (Check: PEN America, FIRE, or Public School Defenders)
Stay loud. Stay principled. Stay watchful.
We’re raising the alarm — not because we like the sound. But because we still believe in the power of the people to wake up and act.