The death of Russian anti-corruption activist and political prisoner Alexei Navalny should (again) wake us all up to the death sentences wrought by authoritarian governments — attacking, even killing critics or anyone in their way; consolidating state power at the barrel of a gun (literal or figurative); undermining and destroying democracy, free speech, the free press, and pluralism; interfering in and restricting our private lives, our health decisions, even what we read; criminalizing our relationships and our families; and mocking, circumventing, and outlawing principles of diversity and equity that have brought progress. Horrifying to see it elsewhere, and terrifying to watch it happening here in the U.S. For all the talk of “liberty,” some folks are all-too-comfortable with ceding their rights and livelihoods to wannabe dictators. It’s all good for those proponents of authoritarianism, I guess, as long as the dictator and the restrictions and interferences that they support seem to align with their views of what they want to force other people to do or not do with their lives. But trying to control others and supporting leaders who want to amass unchecked power is not liberty, and it’s not freedom. I like my free speech, my privacy, my personal dignity. I value liberty, and I understand what it means and what it takes to preserve it. I will defend my right and ability to manage my own body and decisions, and I stand with all those fighting for the same.
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