We have spent 15 years traveling through countries where democracy collapsed, slowly at first, then all at once. We have walked through towns where people were tortured by regimes, heard stories of families silenced by propaganda, and visited places where freedom was stripped away one policy at a time.
From Cambodia to Hungary, Brazil to Russia, and the echoes of 1930s Germany, we have seen what happens when division prevails and truth is lost. Now, for the first time, we are starting to see those same warning signs at home. And it scares us.
What Democracy Looks Like, And How It Dies
Democracy is not just about casting a ballot. It is about a free press, transparency, the peaceful transfer of power, and the ability to criticize political leaders without fear. It is about protecting human rights and ensuring that political opposition can exist without being crushed.
Looking back at historical dictatorships, a clear pattern emerges. Democracies do not collapse overnight. They erode gradually through fear, division, and disinformation. From the fall of the Roman Republic to the rise of modern dictatorships, the lesson remains the same: once authoritarian rule takes hold, it is incredibly hard to reverse.
The Historical Warning Signs We’ve Witnessed Firsthand
The fragility of democracy is something we saw firsthand while visiting countries where people lived under totalitarian regimes. The cost of losing democratic freedoms is measured not only in political rights but in lives destroyed through widespread human rights abuses.
Myanmar
Myanmar is currently living under a brutal military dictatorship, following a coup in February 2021 that overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The military junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, has since ruled through fear and violence—jailing political leaders, silencing journalists, and killing thousands of civilians who dared to protest. Promises of future elections are widely seen as a facade to legitimize authoritarian rule. What was once a fragile democracy is now a country gripped by repression, resistance, and the daily struggle of its people to reclaim their freedom.
Cambodia: Rise of the Khmer Rouge
In Cambodia, we stood in the Killing Fields and walked through the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. We saw where the Khmer Rouge turned their country into a totalitarian state where personal power mattered more than life itself. Under the banner of equality, the communist party led by Pol Pot created a system where political opponents, intellectuals, and even children were brutally eliminated.
Between 1975 and 1979, nearly two million Cambodians died. It was a cultural revolution soaked in blood, where even wearing glasses could mark you for execution. People were stripped of their humanity, tortured and killed, all to maintain power for a tiny ruling elite.
Cambodia’s nightmare was not isolated. It followed the same chilling playbook used by other totalitarian states across history — the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, Mao’s China during the Cultural Revolution, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, and modern dictatorships like North Korea under Kim Jong Un.
Adolf Hitler and World War II Nazi Germany
In Germany, the collapse came after World War I left the country devastated. The Treaty of Versailles shattered Germany’s economy and national pride. Into that void stepped Adolf Hitler, a political leader who offered angry slogans instead of real solutions.
We walked the streets of Berlin and Nuremberg, where the Nazi Party rose from a fringe group to the dominant force in German politics. Hitler seized power not through violence, but through legal means, exploiting fear and division. After the Reichstag Fire, he demanded a temporary grant of emergency powers that quickly turned into totalitarian rule. Democracy was dead, and dictatorship had taken its place.
Political opponents were among the first targets. Dissenters disappeared into concentration camps, often after show trials or midnight arrests. The state glorified military uniforms and used mass rallies to create a cult of personality around Hitler. The world would soon pay the price during World War II, as the Axis powers unleashed devastation across Europe and beyond.
From Joseph Stalin to Putin’s Russia
In Russia, we saw the shadows of the Soviet Union still lingering today. Joseph Stalin created one of history’s most brutal totalitarian regimes, using purges, forced labor camps, and mass executions to eliminate any threat to his personal power. Millions died during the Great Purge, a terror campaign that wiped out political opposition and sowed fear across Eastern Europe.
Today, under Vladimir Putin, many of the same tactics have returned. Political opponents like Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny have been murdered or imprisoned. Independent media has been silenced. Elections are hollow rituals designed to legitimize a government that has already decided its own victories. Modern authoritarian rule in Russia is a chilling reminder that dictatorship can evolve without needing to announce itself.
Cold War Hungary
In Hungary, we saw how the dream of freedom was crushed under Soviet domination after World War II. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a desperate cry for democracy, led by students and workers who wanted to reclaim their country’s future. For a brief moment, it looked like they might succeed. But when the Soviet Union sent tanks into Budapest, the uprising was brutally crushed. Thousands were killed, and hundreds of thousands more fled the country. Hungary became another pawn in the Cold War chess game, another example of how totalitarian states use violence to suppress dissent and destroy the hope of political freedom.
Chile – Latin America
In Chile, we traced the bloody path of Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship. After overthrowing a democratically elected government in 1973, Pinochet ruled Chile with an iron fist for nearly two decades. His regime engaged in widespread human rights abuses, including torture, disappearances, and executions of political opponents. Chile’s economy was reshaped through neoliberal reforms, but the human cost was staggering. Under Pinochet’s military uniforms and carefully controlled propaganda, the country became a brutal reminder that Latin America, like other regions, was not immune to the seductive promises of strongman rule.
When you study military dictatorships, communist party-led regimes, or fascist movements, you start to recognize the familiar signs. It almost always begins after a crisis: a war, an economic collapse, or a massive cultural shift. In Latin America, we saw countries fall into authoritarian rule during the Cold War as military leaders seized power, promising stability.
Such leaders often emerge when public support for democracy has been weakened by fear and frustration. They promise quick solutions. They offer scapegoats. They use the language of patriotism while undermining the very institutions that protect freedom.
In central and eastern Europe, authoritarian regimes often arose by dismantling democratic structures from within. The one-party rule of the Soviet satellite states turned vibrant societies into gray, paranoid places where loyalty to the party mattered more than talent or truth.
Benito Mussolini
In Italy, Benito Mussolini set the stage for future dictators by combining nationalism with authoritarianism. As the first major European fascist, the Italian dictator showed how easily a democratic system could be manipulated when a country seeks a strongman instead of a government based on law.
The Roman Empire itself transitioned from a republic to dictatorship when Julius Caesar and later emperors concentrated absolute power into their own hands. Ancient dictators laid the groundwork for the oppressive rule we would see repeated across the centuries.
Kim Jong Un and North Korea
In modern times, totalitarian rule may take different forms, but its goals remain the same: total control. Party members are rewarded, dissenters are silenced, and military uniforms fill the streets. Whether it is the People’s Republic of China, North Korea under Kim Jong Un, or other authoritarian states, the patterns remain horrifyingly familiar.
The Dangerous Parallels We Are Seeing Today
Today, the Western Hemisphere is not immune. Looking south toward the United States, the warning signs are flashing red.
Donald Trump’s administration shows how easily democratic norms can be eroded. Through constant attacks on the media, loyalty tests, executive orders bypassing Congress, and personal glorification, he mirrors tactics we had seen before in dictatorships across history.
By calling journalists enemies of the people, praising dictators like Vladimir Putin, and undermining public trust, and encouraging rage instead of reason, he’s pushing America closer to authoritarian rule. His leadership style is less about serving the country and more about securing personal power.
In Canada, we are seeing echoes of this same playbook. Pierre Poilievre fuels division instead of unity, attacks trusted institutions, and dismisses facts when they are inconvenient. Danielle Smith’s flirtation with separatism and cozying up to right-wing American influencers is no accident. It is part of a strategy to break trust, just as other dictators have done in two countries after another.
Today, the Western Hemisphere is not immune. Looking south toward the United States, the warning signs are flashing red.
Donald Trump’s administration shows how easily democratic norms can be eroded. Through constant attacks on the media, loyalty tests, executive orders bypassing Congress, and personal glorification, he mirrors tactics we had seen before in dictatorships across history.
By calling journalists enemies of the people, praising dictators like Vladimir Putin, and undermining public trust, and encouraging rage instead of reason, he’s pushing America closer to authoritarian rule. His leadership style is less about serving the country and more about securing personal power.
In Canada, we are seeing echoes of this same playbook. Pierre Poilievre fuels division instead of unity, attacks trusted institutions, and dismisses facts when they are inconvenient. Danielle Smith’s flirtation with separatism and cozying up to right-wing American influencers is no accident. It is part of a strategy to break trust, just as other dictators have done in two countries after another.
We are watching the seeds of authoritarianism being sown, and if history has taught us anything, it is that waiting until it is obvious is far too late.
What We Can Do Before It’s Too Late
The good news is that we still have time. But democracy does not survive by accident. It demands public support, vigilance, and courage.
We must defend human rights, protect political opposition, and stay informed through reliable sources like the Washington Post and other real journalism. We must vote not just as an obligation, but as an act of hope. We must remember that democracy is fragile, that it requires maintenance, and that every time a dictator has risen to power — from ancient dictators in Rome to modern tyrants today — it happened because ordinary people stopped believing their voice mattered.
Democracy is not perfect, but the alternative is clear. The 20th century was scarred by the actions of dictators who caused untold suffering: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, and so many others.
The next chapter is ours to write. But if we do not act with urgency, we risk repeating the darkest chapters of history. Canada is still worth fighting for. And if we remember the lessons carved into the battlefields, graveyards, and broken cities of history, maybe this time, we can protect what others lost.
Read Next: We Asked AI The Truth About Trump – What it Said Will Shock You.
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