I was born in Romania in 1977, during the final and darkest decade of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s communist dictatorship. I know what it means to live under authoritarian rule. I remember the fear. I remember the silence.

I grew up in a country where phones were tapped, where my mother was dragged off for interrogation while eight months pregnant, and where my grandfather—a banned Eastern Catholic priest—held mass in secret, never knowing if the secret police would come for him in the night. We had no heat in the winter, hot water once a week, and food lines that stretched for hours. Speaking out—or even thinking critically—could cost you your freedom.

My family survived by clinging to truth, compassion, and community. My parents made sure I knew the real history behind the propaganda we were force-fed at school. My grandparents gave whatever food they had to those who knocked on their door. And despite the fear, we resisted in quiet ways.

After the dictatorship fell in 1989, I joined my father, who had managed to legally emigrate to the United States just before Ceaușescu’s regime was overthrown. He believed in the rule of law and the protections offered by the U.S. Constitution. I followed, legally, in pursuit of a life where liberty and justice were not just ideals, but guaranteed rights. I registered to vote the moment I turned 18. I married an American veteran. I helped build a company. And I now make my home in Fayetteville, Georgia—a place I treasure.

But today, I see familiar patterns reemerging—and I am deeply concerned.

When Supreme Court orders are ignored, when people are detained based on political affiliation or suspicion alone, when journalists are denied access to public events despite court rulings, this is not just dysfunction. This is the unraveling of democracy. When one branch of government refuses to be held accountable by another, we are no longer operating within the system our founders intended.

This is not about partisan politics. It’s about principles. The Constitution is not owned by any party. It is our shared contract—one that ensures no one is above the law, that government power is checked and balanced, that individual freedoms are preserved.

What I lived through in Romania didn’t start with mass arrests. It started with silencing dissent, undermining the press, politicizing the courts, and turning neighbors against one another. It started with a slow erosion of truth and trust. And by the time the danger was obvious, it was too late for many.

Authoritarian regimes are not good for anyone—regardless of political identity. They consolidate power at the expense of the people. They corrode justice, destroy free enterprise, and crush innovation. They breed fear.

That’s why I’m speaking up. Because I’ve seen this movie before. And I’m begging you to pay attention.

The United States has been a beacon of democracy for generations—not because it’s perfect, but because it is built on the rule of law. That is what holds us together. If we lose that, we lose everything that sets this country apart.

I love this country. I chose it. I built a life and a family here. I work to uplift my community every single day. And I refuse to watch our democracy be dismantled without raising my voice.

Please, stay engaged. Speak up. Protect our Constitution. Defend the rule of law.

I refuse to live under two dictatorships in one lifetime. And I know I’m not alone.