1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

Members of the United States Senate, Authoritarianism thrives on spectacle.
 On applause.
On cameras.
On forced normalcy. America does not need another theatrical display of strongman politics disguised as leadership. We don’t need propaganda in a podium.
We don’t need pageantry for power.
We don’t need to pretend this is “business as usual.” Sometimes the bravest thing leaders can do is not show up. Sometimes democracy speaks loudest through absence.
 Through refusal.
Through empty chairs and unoccupied aisles. History doesn’t remember who clapped.
It remembers who stood for principle. Skip the spectacle.
Refuse the normalization.
Let silence speak where lies would echo. Choose democracy over decorum.
Choose courage over cameras.
Choose principle over performance. Let the empty seats tell the truth.