Molineaux is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and president/CEO of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
I believe in the sovereignty of each individual. Except when (fill in your favorite opinion).
This is how I’ve come to recognize my inner authoritarian. There’s a part of me that wishes people would do things my way, because I’m the obvious authority. That’s a laugh!
My inner authoritarian pops up when I feel unsafe by the choices others make for their own lives. I believe their actions might harm or negatively impact me — often accompanied by an authoritative opinion of mine they need to hear. I want them to make different choices or have different beliefs. Behind all those machinations, I want to feel safe with a sense of belonging. Of course, when others voice authoritative opinions about what I should do, I am irritated. And resistant. Don’t tell me what to do!
My internal struggle is one of humanity’s struggles. We see it on display today on ( name your issue). And so the never-ending tension between individual rights and community responsibility continues. Enshrined in the Pledge of Allegiance are these closing words: “With liberty and justice, for all.” This sentiment is representative of our tension between individuals (freedom) and community (justice). It is our ability to navigate between the individual and collective that keeps the authoritarians outside of our government. Authoritarians are rigid, dogmatic and thrive by creating an enemy of anyone or anything not aligned with “their way.”
Governing in our democratic republic requires negotiation, compromise, acknowledgement of other’s perspectives as valid and a willingness to be uncomfortable throughout the entire process. It requires an openness to being changed by another person, too.
And yet, when we see our priorities or our way of life threatened by calls to change the status quo, we turn to the authoritarian who promises to NOT compromise. Governing becomes difficult, and then impossible without compromise. We’ve lived this in real time. Governing takes a backseat to politicking for votes. And more and more of us are rewarding authoritarian behavior with our votes.
I see authoritarian tendencies gaining power amongst the individual rights advocates who refuse to accept any responsibility for the community. And I see these same tendencies amongst the community responsibility advocates when they demand compliance from all.
Think about your favorite person at 2 years old. At times, every 2-year-old demands their way, throws tantrums and exhibits rigidity. They are learning about themselves as an individual. That 2-year-old’s feeling of wanting “my way!” is screaming in the United States today.
Given the divergent ideas about how we proceed as a nation, we are all shouting at each other to wake up, get the accurate information and make the right choice. And then we’ll all feel safe. Except we won’t. Even if (or when) we comply, we will harbor resentment and other hard feelings.
Here are some real-life statements from my friends and family that concern me:
- Everyone should be forced to get vaccinated because I’m tired of having to stay home and they are only thinking of themselves.
- When I was in the military, they just told you to line up and they vaccinated you. You didn’t have a say in the matter. Why is there a discussion on this?
- I should have a choice over what happens to my body — whether it’s a vaccination or an abortion.
- I hope that they don’t decide to take my retirement and give it to other people.
- The riots were an assault on democracy. (Offered by two different people, one talking about the Black Lives Matters protests of 2020, the other about the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol.)
- No compromise with fascists is possible. (Offered by a liberal friend, but similar in tone to a conservative friend calling the Democrats tyrants.)
I offer a path out of this mess.
Let’s agree to grow emotionally. To acknowledge the need for both individual rights and community responsibility. Let’s acknowledge there are many conflicting facts and even more conflicting opinions. Let’s act with kindness towards one another, recognizing that under most of our disputes is fear due to feeling a loss of control.
We are the authority in our own lives, but our control stops there. The rest of life is a series of relationships, compromise and choices. Here’s my list to stop my inner authoritarian in its tracks:
- Accept that I can only choose for myself.
- Other people can make choices for themselves and I don’t have to agree with them.
- Call a friend who listens well; share what deeply matters to you, and why.
- Return the favor, and listen to your friend as they talk about what matters to them. Don’t offer opinions or advice.
- Engage in conversations that result in building trust and a sense of belonging.
- Spend no more than 30 minutes on social media, daily.
- Vote for people who work well with others.
- Stop paying attention to the conflict entrepreneurs. They are not worth our time or energy.
Our government is a reflection of our collective will. Politics are a reflection of our collective behavior. If we want anti-authoritarian people to be elected, we have to recruit them, raise money and vote for them. We need to withhold what we control — our votes and our donations — to minimize the influence and power of authoritarians.
Together, we can ensure that our nation survives, thrives and represents us all. Individuals make up the community, after all. E pluribus unum.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
McConnell and Platner both feel entitled
The two men could not be more different. One, a Republican, octogenarian, seven-term Southern senator, the other a progressive, millennial Maine oysterman who’s never spent a day in elected office.
But Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky who’s been MIA for the past few weeks and Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate who’s facing calls to drop out of his race against Sen. Susan Collins, apparently do have something in common: an outsized sense of entitlement.
McConnell, who is 84 and not running for reelection, has been hospitalized for three weeks, and yet we still don’t fully know what he was admitted for or what his condition is. Per CNN, “his office has not disclosed a medical reason for the hospitalization or provided specifics on his health status beyond saying last week that he ‘continues to improve’ and ‘is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters.’ ”
While several legislators have said they’ve talked to him and insist he sounds strong, others have said they are completely in the dark. One MAGA influencer, Laura Loomer, posted ”High level source close to the White House tells me ‘Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He’s not coming back.’ ”
Meanwhile, up in Maine, Platner has been artfully dodging calls from his own party to drop out of his race after several allegations of misconduct from women, including a sexual assault allegation from a former girlfriend, came to light. While Platner, who has managed to survive a Nazi-tattoo scandal, a sexting scandal, and several old tweets scandals, denies the allegations, he has not quit.
High-profile Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, the latter of whom had unsuccessfully hand-selected Maine Gov. Janet Mills to face Collins instead of Platner, have urged Platner to drop out, while other Dems have accused him of trying to influence the picking of his replacement.
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a statement Tuesday, which said in part:
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate nor in determining what this process looks like.”
Both incidents show a deep lack of accountability to voters, who in one case deserve to know whether their senator is capable of performing his duties, and in another deserve a candidate who isn’t being accused of crimes, bigotry and deception.
The offensive and odious entitlement of both McConnell and Platner stands out not because it is particularly unique among today’s political class. Tom Kean, the New Jersey GOP congressman, missed more than 100 votes, only sharing after a three-month mystery absence that he was dealing with depression.
Former President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to disclose a hospitalization for prostate cancer surgery, flouting the established rules for Cabinet members and senior U.S. officials.
From Biden’s insistence on running for reelection despite his obvious cognitive and political weaknesses to Trump’s brazen flouting of laws and norms, few politicians seem to appreciate that their public service job comes with responsibilities to constituents, including transparency and honesty.
But both parties increasingly justify the chicanery, because the stakes of winning elections and keeping power are simply too high. But that’s no excuse. If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that character and accountability do, in fact, matter. And when we, the voters, stop caring about it, well, so do they.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.