They are signals that the politics of fear and division are being met with something more enduring: community, courage and participation.
At Antioch College, our work reflects this same truth. Students grow food on our farm, curate art confronting injustice, and serve alongside community partners—all while learning that democracy isn’t something that happens every four years. It happens every day, whenever someone chooses to engage rather than withdraw.
The November election victories were the result of a broad multi-racial, multi-class coalition that showed up for candidates who stand for the people. Voters elected Zohran Mamdani in New York City who will be the city’s first Muslim mayor and a powerful symbol of new‑generation leadership. In neighboring New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill defeated a Trump‑endorsed opponent, marking a clear rebuke of authoritarian appeals in a key battleground state. And in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger was elected governor—the first woman to hold that office in the state—on a platform that rejected fear‑based politics.
These aren’t isolated results. Political scientists note that this wave reflects a centrist‑progressive coalition and a broader backlash to fear‑driven politics.
Fear Is Still at Work
Make no mistake—the forces of fear remain formidable. In addition to anti-science bills, at least 123 anti-trans bills have been passed in the states this year, with over 1,000 introduced or pending. The federal landscape has also put academic freedom under assault, threatened college curricula, banned DEI, and put public health studies in jeopardy. What’s more, the long-term stability of SNAP benefits and premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act remains uncertain as Congress continues to negotiate what comes next.
When Congress does not act, when the Trump Administration tries to control the courts, when teachers are punished for telling the truth, scientists silenced, and difference becomes a political weapon to hurt people—democracy falters. We cannot allow this to happen.
Participation: The Antidote
Yet the antidote to authoritarianism is not retreat — it is engagement. Across the country, voters chose school boards that support inclusion, upheld protections for reproductive rights, and elected leaders committed to science and community. These victories are moral affirmations: truth, dignity and care still matter in public life.
I see these affirmations at our college every day. Our students debate how to build a more just world, organize food drives, register their peers to vote, and refuse to accept cynicism as wisdom. For them, participation is not only about casting a ballot—it’s about believing democracy is something we make together, one act of courage at a time
Hope is not naïve; it is defiant. Every act of truth-telling, organizing and care is a defense of democracy: the scientist who resists distorting data for politics, the teacher who continues to teach honest history, the citizen who votes even when the odds seem steep.
Americans are strongest when we reject fear and choose one another. Democracy survives not through perfection but through participation—through the daily courage to act in hope rather than fear.
Jane Fernandes is president of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
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