What gets me is how often people imagine authoritarianism arriving with one giant obvious moment, like tanks first and then the crackdown. A lot of the time it’s way pettier than that. A TV station gets bought by a friendly billionaire. A judge decides not to make trouble. A cop lies on paper and everyone in the room knows it. An editor spikes one story "just this once." Then after a while the public is supposed to accept poisoned tea, prison deaths, people falling out of windows, like weather. That’s why "I’m just staying out of politics" isn’t neutral to me. Politics will not stay out of your life. The country gets hollowed out by people who keep choosing convenience over courage, and by the time the horror looks undeniable, half the work is already done.