As the United States drifts deeper into democratic instability, our allies are quietly preparing for a world that no longer depends on us.

While democracy wobbles, Americans are waiting for DoorDash

That sounds flippant, maybe even unfair—but look around. The political ground beneath this country is shifting in ways that would have sent citizens pouring into the streets in many democracies.
Here, the reaction has mostly been a weary shrug, a few anxious headlines, and then back to whatever was already streaming.

We are not angry enough.

That’s the quiet truth humming underneath everything right now. The world that once looked to the United States for leadership is slowly turning the corner, learning how to operate without us. And the more I think about it, the more I wonder if they’ll ever bother looking back.

For months, I’ve been comforting myself with a kind of polite delusion—that in three years, when this national fever finally breaks, the world will welcome us back with open arms. That our allies will smile, pat us on the shoulder, and say something like, “Don’t worry about it, America. Happens to the best of us.” But what if the nightmare doesn’t end? What if, after everything—after the lies, the chaos, the corrosion—we elect another MAGA avatar? Maybe a smoother one.

Maybe a younger one. Maybe one who can pronounce the words “democratic norms” while quietly dismantling them. And if that happens, what exactly are our allies supposed to think? That this was all just a brief lapse in judgment? A quirky national phase like cargo shorts or New Coke?

Legislation like the SAVE Act should make everyone pause. Hopefully, it never passes. But the fact that it’s even on the table tells us something important: Congress does not fear the people nearly enough. The scariest part of democratic decline isn’t the extremists pushing it; it’s the millions of people watching it happen and assuming the guardrails will somehow hold. Because if it did, they would know what happens in functioning democracies when citizens believe their system is being manipulated.

Look at France. The French don’t politely wait for the consequences. They don’t sit at home posting concerned paragraphs about the future of democratic norms. When they think the government is drifting toward something dangerous, they flood the streets. Trains stop. Boulevards clog. Entire cities grind to a halt until someone in power remembers who actually runs the place.

The French show up before the catastrophe.

Americans, apparently, prefer to wait until the house is fully on fire and then hold a thoughtful panel discussion about the historical significance of flames. But let’s imagine the best-case scenario. Suppose that in three years, we do elect a sane and rational leader. Suppose the fever breaks and the adults finally return to the room.

What then?

Does the rest of the democratic world just shrug and say, “All good, America—welcome back to the steering wheel”? Why would they? Trust isn’t a light switch. It’s more like a bridge, and we’ve spent the last several years gleefully driving heavy machinery into the support beams.
There should be consequences. There have to be consequences. A slap on the wrist would barely qualify as accountability. If anything, we’d deserve something closer to probation—regular check-ins, assignments due at the end of the semester, and a requirement to show our work. Please demonstrate, in clear and complete sentences, that you understand why flirting with authoritarianism is a bad idea.

And what will the world even look like in three years? That’s the question that should be keeping people up at night. Because if you’re not at least a little terrified by the trajectory we’re on, there are really only two explanations left. Either you’re not paying attention, or you are willfully ignoring what’s happening right in front of you.

One possibility is ignorance. The other is that the indoctrination worked. And if that’s the case, then the real tragedy isn’t just that American democracy is wobbling. It’s that millions of Americans are watching it happen with the emotional urgency of someone tracking a food delivery on their phone.

Democracy may be wobbling, but don’t worry—the pad thai is almost here.

Ann Developer Siegle, Administrator

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