Maria Ressa doesn’t flinch.

She’s a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has faced arrest, harassment, and relentless attacks by an authoritarian regime. She’s been put on trial for doing what journalists are supposed to do—telling the truth. But when I watched her appear on the recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, she wasn’t asking for pity. She wasn’t seeking protection. She was sounding the alarm—and issuing a call to action.

She was issuing a call to action:

“Don’t voluntarily give up your rights. This is the moment when we are strongest.”

Let that echo in your mind for a moment.

This is the moment when we are strongest.

Because this is when authoritarianism expects us to retreat.

Because later will be too late—by then, they’ll have seized control.

The Last Week Tonight segment walked us through Trump’s escalating war on the media—how his tactics mirror the strategies used by autocrats the world over. Delegitimize the press. Label reporters as enemies. Flood the public square with lies until the truth becomes just another opinion.

And right there, in the middle of it all, was Maria Ressa—reminding us that this isn’t theoretical. It’s not a far-off future. It’s already happened elsewhere. And it is happening here.

But what struck me most watching her words play across the screen was how clearly I’ve seen those same tactics bleed into another frontline: education.

When They Come for the Press, They Come for the Professors

What’s happening to the press is happening to education too.

Let’s be honest—America’s classrooms have always been contested terrain. What we teach, how we teach, and who gets to decide have always been political questions. But we’re not in a normal policy debate anymore. We are living through an all-out ideological war on truth. On public institutions. On young minds.

And like Maria, we must be brave enough to say it plainly: these attacks are authoritarian.

In Florida, books are banned and educators face termination for acknowledging racism or LGBTQ+ existence.
In Texas, history standards are rewritten to erase slavery and redefine civil rights as “disruptive.”
In most red states, university professors are being monitored, silenced, and in some cases fired for teaching about structural inequality.

DEI programs have been dismantled. Tenure is under threat. Students are being told what they can and cannot learn. All under the banner of “parental rights” and “patriotism.” But what it really is? State censorship.

Let’s stop sugarcoating it.

These are not isolated incidents. They are coordinated political projects. The same forces trying to muzzle the media are coming for the classroom. And it’s not just about control—it’s about power. It’s about rewriting the American story in a way that consolidates privilege and punishes resistance.

The Authoritarian Playbook Is Being Run—Again

John Oliver’s segment drew on the Trump campaign’s own words—his promises to “come after the press,” his desire to criminalize leaks, his fixation on retribution. None of this is new. It’s the same playbook that authoritarian leaders have used for decades:

• Step 1: Sow doubt in the press.
• Step 2: Silence dissent in academia.
• Step 3: Replace facts with ideology.
• Step 4: Demand obedience.
• Step 5: Criminalize resistance.

If that sounds dramatic or conspiratorial, then you’re not paying attention.

In Hungary, Viktor Orbán’s government brought universities under direct state control and eliminated gender studies programs. In India, professors who criticized the Modi government were arrested. In Turkey, the government purged thousands of academics in a single year. And in the Philippines—Maria Ressa’s home—journalists were targeted, jailed, and even killed under Duterte’s regime.

Now ask yourself—what’s different about what we’re seeing in the U.S.?

The Parallel Is Clear: Truth Is the Target

Here’s the through-line: truth is the real target.

Whether it’s told in a newspaper or a history book, truth is dangerous to those who rule through fear, lies, and nostalgia. The kind of truth that asks uncomfortable questions. That challenges systems of oppression. That empowers people with knowledge and critical thinking.

That’s what Maria Ressa was punished for. That’s what educators are now being punished for.

And that’s why we must fight.

Because democracy does not survive without an informed public. And you don’t get an informed public without freedom of the press and public education. They rise and fall together.

Maria’s warning applies just as much to school board meetings as it does to newsrooms. Just as much to university lecture halls as cable news studios. When they suppress one, they come for the other. It’s all part of the same project.

“This Is the Moment We Are Strongest”—Because It May Be Our Last Chance

This is the moment we are strongest because it may be the last moment we have to act before it’s too late.

Once control has been fully consolidated over media, judiciary, and education, it becomes exponentially harder to claw it back. When truth is filtered, justice is hollowed out, and critical thinking is starved, democratic resistance becomes a whisper. That’s the point of the authoritarian stress test we are now living through.

And let’s be clear: we have never had this kind of authoritarian stress test in the United States at this scale—with a president openly embracing fascist rhetoric, plotting revenge campaigns, and a potentially compliant Congress waiting in the wings. If this was a foreign country, we’d be issuing State Department travel advisories.

This is the final exam for American democracy. And there are no make-up tests.

Freedom Isn’t Free—It’s Fought For

Maria Ressa’s life is proof of what that fight looks like. She didn’t win a Nobel Prize because she made people comfortable. She won it because she made power uncomfortable—and paid the price.

In her acceptance speech, she said:

“Freedom of expression is the foundation of every single right you have.”

Now think about that in the context of education. If you can’t teach honestly, can students think freely? If you’re afraid to speak about injustice, can you model critical engagement? If schools are muzzled, what future do we have?

We have to be clear-eyed: freedom isn’t guaranteed. It must be defended.

And yes, it comes at a cost. There’s fatigue. There’s risk. There’s backlash. But there is also joy. Community. Justice. And, yes, victory.

Because truth has a way of outlasting tyranny.

Don’t Comply. Organize.

So if you’re a teacher, don’t whitewash your syllabus.
If you’re a student, don’t be afraid to ask hard questions.
If you’re a parent, don’t let extremists hijack your school board.
If you’re a journalist, don’t water down your story to appease power.
If you’re a university leader, don’t chase neutrality—lead with courage.

Maria’s words echo still:
“It is very much worth it to fight, because you will win.”

Not just legally. Not just politically. But morally.

You will win by planting seeds in the minds of students that grow into forests of resistance. You will win by preserving stories that would otherwise be erased. You will win by standing when others shrink, by speaking when others whisper, by teaching when others fear.

We’re Not Powerless. We’re Mobilizing

What’s happening right now isn’t just a culture war—it’s a power grab.

It’s about who controls the story. Who gets to shape the next generation’s understanding of justice, race, identity, and democracy.

But here’s the good news: we have tools. We have networks. We have history on our side. And most of all, we have each other.

Maria Ressa held the line in the face of government persecution. And she’s still standing.

We must do the same.

Because this isn’t the moment to step back. It’s the moment to step in.
To the truth.
To the line.

Fight. Together. Before it’s too late.