“I really hate to be so gloomy, but I fear we have lost the Republic.”
The Republic died somewhere in the 19th Century. The mask of that Republic fell off of the face of the Imperium today.
This is not a free country, and we are not a free people. We haven’t been for a while now, but today puts formal expression to our helplessness - as long as we play their game by their rules.
Not all will play the game. Look for an increase in civil disobedence.