Benjamin Franklin’s Advice on Defending Against Tyranny
We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately
In 1776, as the fragile experiment of American democracy was born, Benjamin Franklin famously quipped to his fellow revolutionaries, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” It was gallows humor rooted in deadly seriousness — a recognition that only unity could fend off the very real threat of tyranny.
Nearly 250 years later, that warning feels painfully relevant. America once again finds itself facing a dangerous challenge — not from a foreign king, but from a domestic strongman cloaked in the trappings of democratic legitimacy. Trumpism is not merely a political brand. It is a corrosive force aimed directly at the heart of the American civic compact and the institutions that uphold it.
A civilizational achievement under siege
Our republic was built in reaction to arbitrary rule and brute force. Through determined effort, we forged legal systems, a Constitution, international alliances, universities, scientific institutions, and civic organizations to contain power and elevate the human spirit. These institutions are far from perfect, but they represent an evolving commitment to fairness, reason, discovery, and justice.
Trumpism, however, is a rejection of that effort and accomplishment. It celebrates power for its own sake. It prizes dominance over deliberation, spectacle over substance, loyalty over law. It views the safeguards of civilization — legal norms, academic integrity, scientific independence — not as accomplishments to be treasured, but as obstacles to be bulldozed.
This is not normal partisanship. This is not about tax rates or judicial philosophies. It is a direct assault on the foundations of a free society. And it is succeeding because it is systematic, strategic, and shameless — while the forces defending democratic institutions are fragmented, timid, and not fully awakened.
Against a united assault, a fractured response
Trump and his allies have executed a coordinated offensive against the pillars of American civic life. They have weaponized political power to punish disobedient law firms, bend universities to their will, hollow out international alliances like NATO, and shred long-standing trade agreements. Scientific agencies have been politicized. The State Department gutted. The civil service attacked as a “deep state.” Even local election boards have become battlegrounds in this relentless quest to erase institutional independence.
But the responses to these attacks have largely been piecemeal. Universities defend themselves alone. Law firms circle wagons — sometimes. Scientific organizations issue carefully worded statements. Media outlets sound the alarm, only to be dismissed as partisan players. In each case, the defense has been limited, too specific, and cautious.
And in each case, Trumpism wins another inch of ground.
This divide-and-conquer strategy works because it pits threatened institutions against one another rather than uniting them in common cause. A civil society under siege cannot afford the luxury of isolated self-defense. What’s needed now is not a thousand separate fires fought in isolation, but a single coordinated civic resistance.
The desperate need for a united civic front
What Franklin understood in 1776 remains true today: disunity invites defeat. America needs a broad, inclusive, coordinated movement — one that brings together academics, lawyers, civil servants, journalists, scientists, business leaders, and ordinary citizens to say: Enough!!!
This movement must be nonpartisan in spirit, even if it opposes a partisan threat. It must stand not for a political party, but for the rule of law, democratic norms, and institutional integrity. It must challenge Trump not merely as a man, but as a symbol of anti-democratic ambition.
History offers a playbook. Successful nonviolent resistance movements use a wide range of tactics — mass rallies, lawsuits, strikes, boycotts, and work slowdowns. They begin locally, then scale. They develop broad messaging that unites rather than divides. And they seize the moral high ground, forcing authoritarian actors to reveal the brute nature of their ambitions.
This kind of resistance doesn’t require a single charismatic leader. But it does demand coordination. A central theme and organization. A coalition-building engine. A commitment to the long haul.
A movement that must reform as it resists
But unity alone isn’t enough. If this civic uprising is to succeed, it must not only defend institutions — it must also reform them. Trumpism did not emerge in a vacuum. It fed on real grievances: institutional arrogance, economic exclusion, political elitism, cultural condescension. Universities that favor the wealthy, law firms that protect the powerful, media outlets that speak only to the coasts — these are not just incidental flaws. They are cracks in the democratic foundation.
If the opposition party is to join the revolution — as it must — it needs to awaken and purge itself of the arrogance, intellectual elitism, and allegiance to big donors that helped to fuel the angst that Trumpism feeds on.
Defending American institutions cannot mean defending the status quo. To rebuild trust, those institutions must open themselves to honest self-examination and change. They must show — not just say — that they belong to the whole nation, not just a privileged slice of it.
A university that reforms its admissions to better serve the broader working and middle classes. A corporation that prioritizes ethical governance over political expediency. A law firm that takes pro bono cases defending democratic rights. These are not symbolic gestures. They are essential steps toward re-earning public trust.
Short-term urgency with long-term vision
This movement must operate on two timelines at once. In the short term, it must resist Trump’s power grabs — through lawsuits, public pressure, whistleblowing, and relentless truth-telling. But in the long term, it must articulate a compelling alternative vision: a democracy that works, institutions that listen, a society that includes.
We cannot go back to 2015 and pretend the escalator never came down. We must go forward — toward a stronger, fairer, more resilient republic. One that learns from its failures and reclaims its better angels.
What we stand to lose — and gain
At stake is not just the next election, but the character of American civilization. If Trumpism continues unchecked, we risk becoming a nation where might makes right, where public service is servitude, where truth is whatever flatters the powerful.
But we are not there yet. The American experiment has survived worse. It has endured civil wars and depressions, corruption and assassination, demagogues and demoralization. What pulled us through was always the same: a stubborn belief in liberty, and a refusal to surrender it quietly.
Now is one of those moments.
Benjamin Franklin’s gallows joke was more than a punchline. It was a moral imperative. Americans must hang together again — not to preserve any one institution, but to defend the principle that no one is above the law, and that power must always answer to the people.
The storm is here. But the republic is not yet lost.
