This week’s writer is Jenny Bates of Lincoln.

I am writing this as a mother, a healthcare provider, and as a concerned citizen of the U.S.

We are at a precarious moment in history, and I am kept up at night thinking about the world my young children will inherit. I worry that the escalating threat to basic freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution means my kids will live in a country that does not allow them to safely voice their opinions and that fear of political violence will silence them from asking questions.

I am scared they are growing up in a nation that is too politically divisive to allow them to be neighborly if their neighbors think differently than they do. And I am concerned about the rising costs my patients face, that increasing inequality makes access to healthy food, housing and healthcare not only difficult, but impossible.

These forces I fear — suppression of civil liberties, increasing political division, and growing wealth inequality — are all symptoms of democratic backsliding, which is defined as the gradual decline in the quality and strength of a country’s democratic systems.

Political experts and historians around the globe acknowledge that our democracy, one of the oldest and strongest the world has ever seen, is in decline. They see the current administration following a familiar playbook that has been used countless times in history when democracies have slid into authoritarianism. These well-worn tactics include directing investigations against critics, deploying the military domestically, manipulating laws to target political opponents, tolerance for lawbreaking by allies, and not leaving office peacefully.

We see examples of these in the news daily.

I am presenting this framework as the lens through which we should see our government right now, in hopes of building consensus over the most basic things that bind us as Americans: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, a free press, the rights to free and fair elections, and peaceful transitions of power.

I believe that most Americans can agree on the value of these — that, as humans, we want the same things. Which leads me to also believe that this moment is not about being a Democrat or a Republican, Independent or Libertarian. It is not about whether you support universal healthcare or agree with the tariffs, how you feel about the national debt or climate change policy. It is not about your opinion on abortion or gun control or immigration.

Regardless of what color your skin is, how much money you have, where you are from, what religion you are, whether you are gay or straight or married or have kids, or how you feel about people who hold different beliefs than you — whoever you are and whatever your opinions are, you have a stake in protecting our democracy because you deserve the freedoms our Constitution protects.

Failure of our democracy is a failure for all.

So, if you love America, if you value the political rights and civil liberties that define us as Americans and want to preserve these for the next generation, let’s work together to speak out against the dismantling of our democracy. Our grandparents fought fascism and we need to stand up against it too — for the sake of our kids and grandkids.

Join a No Kings Day peaceful protest near you this Saturday.