Clearly, if citizens had remained "informed," recognized what such self-declared "liberals" were up to, and "guarded" liberty, we might not have reached this tipping point.
". . . you have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad. . . . It is from within, among yourselves, from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition, and inordinate thirst for power, that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. . ." - Andrew Jackson