You Don’t Need a Flashbang to Arrest a Dishwasher
If You Intervene, You’re an ‘Insurrectionist.’ If You Comply, You’re Next.
Law enforcement serves the public. The military defends against external threats. Confuse the two, treat neighborhoods like war zones, and you start treating civilians like enemies. That’s a failure of leadership.
In a democracy, the role of law enforcement is to protect and serve, not to intimidate, escalate, or control. The military primarily exists to confront external threats, not to suppress domestic dissent, despite it periodically occurring since Shay’s Rebellion. Every time policing becomes militarized, trust erodes and freedom fractures. Blurring these roles is careless, dangerous, and cowardly. When police act like soldiers, civilians are treated as hostiles. That’s not order; that’s oppression.
It’s about control, not safety. Too many leaders confuse command with compliance. Any governing body that escalates force instead of defusing tension has abandoned its duty to lead with integrity. When restraint is mocked and brute force is glorified, that’s not strength; it’s cowardice in camouflage. When leaders choose fear over trust, force over strategy, and domination over service, they reveal what they truly are: insecure, unqualified, and unfit.
A society that values freedom doesn’t tolerate armored vehicles rolling through residential streets in response to protest signs. It doesn’t stand by while civil liberties are stripped away under the guise of “keeping the peace.”
When force replaces dialogue and secrecy supplants transparency, citizens have the responsibility to respond, not with violence, but with vigilance. Vote. Show up. Hold the line. Confront abuse with scrutiny, strategy, and a determination to stand firm. Demand oversight. Insist on de-escalation as policy, not a suggestion. Expose corruption. Don’t plead for justice; expect it.
Silence equals complicity. Authoritarianism flourishes in silence. Don’t give it space to breathe.
Call out abuse, and back it with action. Hold leaders accountable through your voice, your vote, and your wallet. Advocate. Organize. Document. Demand reforms that prioritize de-escalation, accountability, and due process. Support institutions that uphold democratic values and reject those that undermine them.
Utilize lawful resistance, peaceful protests, civil disobedience, and court challenges to highlight overreach. Raise awareness. Raise hell. Because authoritarianism doesn’t announce itself—it creeps in under the pretense of order. Once it takes hold, you don’t get to opt out. Fight it early, or serve it later.
Strong, effective leaders don’t bully; they build. They don’t provoke fear; they earn respect. That’s the standard. Anything less is a dereliction of duty.
Karl Bimshas is a Leadership Systems Architect, author, and founder of Karl Bimshas Consulting. He integrates accountability into leadership systems so organizations can remain focused, act with integrity, and lead without being jerks.