Do You Live in a Free State or a Fear State?
By Trygve Olson
Over years of work abroad, I learned there are two types of systems: free states and fear states. This distinction wasn’t theoretical. I learned it over years of work in countries where democracy was under siege — from Belarus to Ukraine, from Serbia to Georgia, from Cambodia to Venezuela. I sat with dissidents who had been jailed, trained activists who feared for their lives, and advised coalitions trying to win elections without a level playing field.
Here’s what you learn in a fear state:
Truth is dangerous.
Loyalty is enforced.
Trust is weaponized.
Power isn’t earned — it’s taken, held, and never given back.
I didn’t expect to be writing about those same dynamics in the United States. But here we are.
We are now governed by someone who doesn’t believe in the constraints of democracy. Someone whose words echo the strongmen I’ve watched rise and rule across the globe.
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https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/do-you-live-in-a-free-state-or-a
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