The Plague of Silence
How Our Silence Drowns Democracy
Immediately after the Destroyer in the White House took office, a blanket of silence spread through my social media. It was like strolling through a desert. What was going on?
I wrote the observation that follows around early March of 2025.
“Many are afraid to talk. Afraid to post in social media. Afraid to stand up for what they believe. Afraid even to talk with friends about what is going on.
I sent an email letter to about 5 cultural leaders that I've known for years; some for decades. I requested an interview for them to help me feel out the pulse of the people.
Just one has responded and she asked me to call her so we could talk~ even though I invited her for a local or Zoom conversation and explained the purpose. It felt that she needed to scan the situation off the record before she could even agree to talk with me.
Today another responded. As to her perspective on what is going on, she shared that she became conscious that she did not feel safe to reply via email. (Though I did not ask for this. I asked her to give me a good time/day for meeting via Zoom.) Which may mean that she was not able to integrate the whole request because the fear got in the way. Or she does not trust any online environment.
These two friends are cultural leaders. One runs an organization and the other one is a leadership facilitator. This means that the fear that is contracting their trust, communication and networking multiplies exponentially.
This, when at this precise moment we need to create a wall of noncompliance to stop the regime. Every institution or leaders that agrees, stay silent or fails to mobilize people into noncompliance is unwittingly supporting the regime and facilitating its installation. Since this are friends, I know them a bit and I know that they do not want to help this regime. But do they know the consequences of their reluctance? We urgently need to share these things with them.
The other day an old Facebook follower from France asked me what was going on that for months now people do not comment on my posts in a private group. She asked me if the Americans were scared to post.
So that's a huge challenge: the fear that leads to this self-censorship in the people is known to those familiar with this stage of a democratic backslide the ‘Plague of Silence.’”
Experts Reveal
How the Plague of Silence Works
The "plague of silence" during democratic backsliding refers to the quiet, incremental erosion of civil liberties where institutions, the press, and citizens self-censor out of fear of state retribution or social polarization. This gradual silencing is often categorized by political scientists into three distinct phases of democratic decay:
Self-censorship
Dissent is increasingly framed as disloyalty and scapegoats are made to intimidate the people. It involves two aspects:
- Institutional Silence
Independent bodies, such as universities, law firms and civil administration muzzle themselves to avoid de-funding, audits or structural reorganization. - Citizen Withdrawal
Individual retreat from public discourse, avoiding protests or open debates to escape targeted harrasment or legal targeting, especially when the regime uses national security as an excuse to attack dissenters
The Capture of Information Channels
Capture of the media and hijacking facts and instead disseminating authoritarian demagogy.
- Press degradation-
Oligarchy buys up the independent media and harasses critical journalists so that the press stops reporting facts, especially if they go against the regime and instead repeats the authoritarian promotional lies. - Information assymetry
The silence of the facts generates an absence of accountability, allowing the regime to operate without accountability checks. There is no balance, no reference to assess the truth, which makes it hard for people to make informed choices. This adds to the fear and topples it in favor of withdrawing, instead of mobilizing.
Normalization and Complicity
The ultimate danger of this silence is the normalization of anti-democratic behaviors, moving the public from active resistance to passive complicity.
Democratic decay
Elected leaders stack the court, election laws are altered, the regime defies oversight.
Lack of widespread public outcry signals that the democratic norms are in effect being discarded, paving the way for the success of the authoritarian regime.
Send to KindleAbout Maria Mar
Maria Mar is a Sacred Storyteller and shaman who champions you to change your old limiting story to create the new story of your brilliance illuminating the world. She helps you awaken your magic, express your creative genius, embody your purpose and live your potential now.