Fighting fascism means protecting democracy at home

I will never forget the faces of the people I met during my time in the Peace Corps. They were resilient, hopeful and deeply committed to building better lives for their families. Yet, beneath that hope was a shadow of governments that no longer represented their people, of leaders who clung to power by silencing voices and rewriting the rules.

I watched countries lose their democratic footing not in one sudden collapse, but in a slow erosion: freedom of the press curtailed, judicial independence undermined, voting rights restricted and communities divided against themselves. These were not abstract political shifts; they were lived realities that weakened economies, stifled opportunity and destroyed trust in institutions.

That experience stays with me because today, in Indiana and acros