Sing the Song of Democracy

A Letter to Citizens of the World

I’ve had a number of international subscribers ask more about what they can do. I thought a letter on my reflections that can be passed around could be useful.

Dear Citizens of the World,

As you know, American democracy is in real danger.

We have already seen the betrayal of Ukraine, the menacing of our closest neighbors, the chilling of dissent, threats against lawyers and judges, lawsuits against media, the purging of the FBI and Department of Justice, the removal of independent military leaders, the dismantlement of wings of our government, attacks on universities, overt acts of corruption, and a rise in brutality and illegality. All are signs of rapid democratic decay and the potential rise of an American dictatorship. More and more people are sounding the alarm that we are in a constitutional crisis.

Clearly the recent economic turmoil around tariffs is another symptom of the same mindset that prioritizes aggression over collaboration, domination over partnership.

How far we go down this path is the question. That we are on the path to an American version of authoritarianism is no longer a real question among people who are not caught in partisan spin.

I am saddened that we have reached this point. I am sorry that the collective efforts of Americans who saw the risks of a second Trump presidency failed to prevent it. We not only let ourselves down but we let you down. For you have counted on a relatively healthy American democracy and the economic stability that provided to our world. Our failure to prevent what is unfolding will likely cause you harm as well as the Trump tariff wars have already demonstrated.

As an American who dearly loves this country, I am deeply saddened by what our government is doing, much of which is appallingly cruel. Please do remember that most Americans are good, that part of what is happening is a result of collective mind manipulation, and that there are tens of millions here who fully understand what is happening and are working to stop it.

With that said, I do want to ask for your help. It is clear is that the people who are holding the levers of power in our country are not responsive to reason. They are opposed to empathy. They respond only to power. You can think of their mentality as a form of sociopathy writ large. A sociopath is determined to maximize self-interest, engaging whatever deceptions, misdeeds, and even crimes are required to get what they want. Our government is now run with that mindset.

That is why you are hearing that Trump intends to seize Greenland, take the Panama Canal, colonize Gaza or annex Canada. When sociopaths see something they want, they try to take it, without regard to morality, empathy, or the needs of the other. They have to be stopped with power, not appeals to reason.

Much of our country is only just beginning to feel the pain of what is coming and remains in denial. It’s likely going to take more dramatic economic shocks, which are already roiling the markets, for the mobilization of our citizenry that will be required to stop what is underway.

The question then is, what can you do to help?

First, you will need to sing the song of democracy for us as we grapple with this force of authoritarianism. The people of the world need to remember that democracy works, that it is noble and empowering, and it produces happiness, wealth, and well-being. We need you to carry the light of governance by the people and for the people while we take on people who wish to have governance by a minority for the benefit of that minority alone. We have inspired others to achieve democracy in the past but now we are providing a more cautionary tale of what happens when a democracy degrades. That means that we have to pass the torch of democracy to you for we are can no longer claim, in this dark night of our democracy, to be its rightful steward.

Second, you can help us see our situation more clearly. You can be a mirror to the citizens of our country as to what is truly going on. Write illuminating articles. Make powerful podcasts. Share actively on social media. Outreach to your friends in America with your concerns. Highlight journalism we might have otherwise missed. Some of the most powerful and viral articles on social media have been written by those from Europe, Canada and beyond. It’s helpful to have you amplify the stories of those whose lives are impacted by our abdication of global leadership and the mounting cruelty of our policies. Moments of conscience, clarity, and conviction can penetrate the veil of deception, making it more likely that our country undergoes its necessary political awakening.

As you can see from afar, Trump is masterful at convincing people of lies. Many good people have fallen into the web he spins. He actively uses well-established techniques of mind control. We are doing everything we know how to help people see the truth of the situation, which is that they have surrendered their power to a con man who is abusing their trust and stealing from their future. But we need your help in this work of deprogramming a good portion of our culture. As the mirror of the world increasingly reflects a version of ourselves that we do not want to be, it can help catalyze the awakening in America that is required. Please also help to empower important independent media voices in the United States, including through your subscriptions, which will become ever more vital as more traditional media are chilled in their ability to report the truth through threats and lawsuits.

Third, I encourage you to keep forging a powerful new alliance of democracies worldwide, something like a Global Democratic Alliance that no longer invites the U.S.A into its membership. We are too compromised now to participate in such an alliance. It needs to be an alliance of nation states who recognize that the combination of an expansionist America plus an unfettered Russia and unchecked China promises a dangerous situation for democracies around the world. If you remain separated and uncoordinated as nations, you may well be bullied into submission whether through trade wars or actual wars. You need to join together as a unified global alliance of democracies that can create an economic and military defense against the potential assaults that are in the works. The Ukraines, Canadas, and Taiwans of the world cannot be left to fend for themselves against bigger powers, whether that is in trade wars or actual wars. This alliance needs to go beyond just Europe or what remains of NATO because America, Russia and China can overwhelm smaller regional alliances. You need a larger, more unified economic market free from tariffs and a military alliance committed to the shared defense of democracies. There is power in numbers. For example, there are more than 600 million in the Latin American market outside of the U.S.A., it could become a powerhouse if more unified. More integration of markets and defenses can create a stronger bulwark against American aggression, either economic or military.

Fourth, you can collectively exert pressure via U.S. government debt. It is clear that the only reason that Trump backed off the more draconian version of his Liberation Day tariffs was the rapid increase in the yield for U.S. Treasuries. Basically, foreign governments and investors started to slowly sell them, reflecting a decrease in confidence globally in being the creditors for America. The deflation of American economic power is an important component in stopping Trump, which happens through removal of investment. I believe that strong, unified stances here can prevent more damaging behavior down the road. If the U.S. government risks insolvency sooner, it will be more difficult to engage in later stages of authoritarianism.

Fifth, you can continue to help us to diminish a key alliance for Trump, which is with Elon Musk. As the richest man in the world and the most influential actor in the administration, Musk has been powerful but the truth is that he is vulnerable. A further crash in Tesla sales globally, which is already well underway, can lead the stock to plummet and for him to face financial challenges since he has leveraged the Tesla wealth into loans for other businesses. It is clear that his ambitions are global and he is actively undermining democracies elsewhere. He is in regular dialogue with Putin and closely aligned with China, in addition to his relationship with Trump. His business empire needs to be undermined in order to remove the funding stream that is the ultimate source of his power in the United States and beyond. You, in the rest of the world, can help that to happen in myriad ways: Tesla boycotts. Tesla tariffs. Removal of the media license for Twitter/X to operate in your countries. Petitions that commit to never use Grok. Divestment from government contracts with any of his businesses. If world democracies can isolate Musk’s businesses, they can be reduced to a fraction of their economic power. We honor that you are already doing this, with plummeting European sales for Tesla and all of Europe’s journalists stepping away from Twitter/X. He and his businesses need to be treated as if they were an anti-democratic rogue nation state that is at war with democracy itself.

Sixth, you can increase pressure on American companies to not bend the knee and support Trump. Make a point of learning which companies are giving money and support to Trump and which are remaining independent or actively resisting. Give your business to companies standing for freedom, independence, and democracy. Remove your support from those companies that have capitulated or are active collaborators. Businesses that resist will be under increasing economic pressure to submit. If they see that there is an equal or perhaps greater peril for them if they economically support Trump, it will help them do the right thing and at least remain neutral. Truly they should not be made to choose sides at all but the pressure keeps mounting to do so ranging from lawsuits, unfavorable government rulings, to retaliation against leaders. Witness what is happening with elite law firms, who are increasingly less willing to take on clients targeted by the administration because of retaliation.

Seventh, you can break stories that are difficult to break in the United States right now and encourage your governments to divulge key information that needs to be known. Perhaps the most important is the story of the mounting evidence that we did not actually have a free and fair election in 2024 and that the results appear to have been manipulated. In short, Trump may not have even won. Smart Elections.us has meticulously showed that the rate of “drop off” voting was vastly different in swing states vs. non-swing states. In swing states, Republican drop-off was 5.58% and Democratic was -1.48%. In non-swing states it was only 2% to 1.37%. Those are impossible results statistically. Nevada also has highly suspicious statistical irregularities, which the Election Truth Alliance chronicled on Roland Martin’s show. Trump publicly thanked Elon Musk for his work on the election and said that “He knows those computers better than anybody. All those computers. Those vote-counting computers. And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide." Elon Musk also knew that Trump had won the election four hours before the election was called, which was announced by Joe Rogan on his show here. Right now, the story of a corrupted election is not breaking in the United States but it could more easily in the media ecosystem of other democracies. It would be particularly valuable to have global political leaders turn it into a global story so that US media has to report on it.

Eighth, you can hold the vision with those of us who are resisting Trump for a harmonious, peaceful, and collaborative world that can, I believe, emerge in the aftermath of his reign. However long it takes to complete the path we are now on, in the aftermath humanity can unite as never before. The aftermath of Hitler’s Third Reich led to a peaceful, prosperous, and unified Europe. The aftermath of Trump could well lead to a more peaceful, prosperous, and unified world. Holding that vision in your mind and holding all of humanity in your heart can support the unification of peoples that will, I believe, propel us into the better future that we know is possible.

Unfortunately, it seems we’re not going to be able to simply leap into that future. We have to learn the lessons and face the hardships the destructive power of authoritarianism is catalyzing. But I do believe America will reach the point of saying, “never again” and end this Trump chapter.

I believe that we are one human family and that it is time to leave the era of oppression, war, and violence behind. This time of democratic decay could lead to a blossoming of peace on the other side.

Please hold that vision with us as we rise to defend the freedom of America and champion the flourishing of the whole world.

with love,
Stephen