The Hero’s Journey: How to Rise When Democracy Is Under Siege

Joseph Campbell’s timeless roadmap for ordinary citizens facing extraordinary tyranny.

Joseph Campbell

The Hero’s Journey: How to Rise When Democracy Is Under Siege

Joseph Campbell’s timeless roadmap for ordinary citizens facing extraordinary tyranny.

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #603: Friday, October 17th, 2025.

Every tyranny creates its own call to adventure.

Most people ignore it. A few…answer it.

And that…right there…determines the fate of nations.

The Hero’s Journey was never meant to live in Hollywood. It was forged in the old bones of humanity…when firelight stories taught villagers how to stand against monsters.

Now the monsters wear suits…speak in slogans…and broadcast from podiums.

And the question becomes:

Will you answer the call?

The Call to Adventure: When the World You Know Starts Crumbling

There comes a moment when you can’t pretend the world is normal anymore.

The ground shifts. The lights flicker. You hear the distant rumble of something ancient…the sound of freedom being tested.

That’s where we are now.

Trump’s people think of themselves as the chosen few…destined to rule. They wrap fear in flags and call it patriotism. They shout “law and order” while breaking laws and dismantling order.

But Campbell’s first lesson is this: every great story starts with chaos.

The hero doesn’t ask for it. The hero’s forced into it.

Think of Luke Skywalker staring at two suns. Think of Frodo leaving the Shire. Think of you…watching the news and feeling that gut-level mix of fear and fury…and knowing you can’t just scroll past anymore.

That’s your call to adventure.

You didn’t ask for it.
But here it is.

And the world won’t return to normal…until you step into the unknown.

Refusal of the Call: The Most Dangerous Phase

Campbell called it the refusal of the call.

Every hero faces it.

And right now…millions of Americans are living inside that stage…numbed by news cycles…drained by outrage…and seduced by the false promise of “it can’t really happen here.”

But authoritarianism feeds on that refusal.

You know the voice:

“I’m just one person.”
“I can’t make a difference.”
“Maybe it’ll all blow over.”

That’s the narcotic of the passive.

I call it “the comfort disease”…the voice that whispers…don’t rock the boat…don’t stand out…don’t risk anything.

But…I say this:

“You’re either the one writing the story… or you’re the ink that gets spilled on the page.”

So if you’re feeling fear?
Good.

It means you’re standing right where the real story begins.

Meeting the Mentor: Finding the Voice That Steadies You

Every hero meets a guide…sometimes wise…sometimes cryptic…sometimes annoying as hell.

But mentors don’t give answers. They give orientation.

They help you see that courage isn’t the absence of fear…it’s action despite it.

In times like these…mentors show up as writers…truth-tellers…podcasters…teachers… neighbors…even newsletters that cut through noise and remind you that you’re not crazy for seeing what you see.

Because when the fog of propaganda thickens…what matters most is remembering that you’re not alone.

You’re part of a movement of everyday heroes…people who refuse to surrender their clarity…their decency…their country.

And here’s the kicker:

Once you listen to the right voices…you become that voice for someone else.

That’s how this spreads: through thousands of tiny awakenings.

Crossing the Threshold: From Observer to Actor

There’s a moment when you stop reading the news and start making it.

Maybe it’s writing your representative.
Maybe it’s showing up at a rally.
Maybe it’s mentoring a scared neighbor who doesn’t know how to speak up.

This is the threshold.

And the reason Campbell’s map works…even in modern politics…is because he understood human psychology.

The second you cross that threshold…your brain rewires. You stop seeing yourself as helpless. You start seeing yourself as necessary.

Every act of resistance…no matter how small…strengthens the muscle of agency.

You’re not convincing someone else…you’re convincing yourself.

You sell yourself on your own power.

And once that happens…you can’t go back.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The Gauntlet of Discouragement

Now the work gets real.

Friends question your intensity. Family asks why you “can’t just let it go.” Trolls swarm your comment section. Leaders you trusted reveal their cowardice.

That’s normal. That’s Act Two.

Campbell wrote that the hero’s journey requires trials…because trials burn off what’s weak and clarify what’s strong.

This is the marketplace test….the difference between a hobbyist…and a professional.

Authoritarianism isn’t defeated by wishful thinkers. It’s defeated by professionals of conscience.

So you learn to manage energy…not emotion. You rest when you need to…not because you’ve given up. You stay strategic…not reactive.

And in time…you discover something extraordinary:

Every enemy you face externally…mirrors an inner weakness you needed to overcome anyway.

Fear becomes focus.
Anger becomes fuel.
Confusion becomes commitment.

That’s metamorphosis…the real kind.

The Cave: Where Shadows Live

Every great journey leads inward.

For citizens fighting an autocracy…this is the hardest part…because the cave isn’t out there. It’s inside.

It’s the fear of futility.
The exhaustion.
The whisper that says, maybe this country isn’t worth saving.

You’ll feel it late at night. You’ll feel it when the headlines are too much.

And that’s where my grandfather Hopkins comes in….because he knew that true persuasion doesn’t come from argument. It comes from identity.

Who are you when no one’s watching?
What do you stand for when the crowd moves the other way?

The cave strips away illusions. It demands that you meet yourself…unarmed.

And that encounter…that moment of honesty…is the crucible where heroes are reborn.

So go there. Face it.
You’ll find that the darkness doesn’t kill you.
It just burns off what doesn’t belong.

Transformation: The Moment You Stop Waiting for Permission

Something shifts after the cave.

You realize no one’s coming to save you.

And that’s liberating.

Because now…you act without waiting for consensus. You stop asking, “Who will fix this?” and start saying, “Here’s what I’m doing.”

You become dangerous…in the best way…because you’ve detached your will from their approval.

My grandfather used to say:

“Most people die never realizing that freedom is an inside job first.”

Here’s what I say:

“When you know your power, you scare the hell out of the powerless.”

Transformation isn’t noisy. It’s subtle. It’s a shift in posture.

You stop hunching under fear. You stand tall under purpose.

And once you’ve tasted that, you’ll never go back to being one of the “spectators of history.”

The Road Back: The Battle Between Fatigue and Fire

Here’s where many fall.

After victories come valleys. The headlines slow. The outrage dulls. The movement splinters.

You’ve been here before…when attention fades and cynicism creeps in.

But Campbell reminds us that the road back is never easy. The hero…having transformed…must now bring that strength home…to the ordinary world.

For us, that means turning activism into habit.

• Keeping civic engagement as part of weekly life.

• Talking about democracy not as politics…but as daily hygiene.

• Modeling calm courage instead of reactive panic.

This is where we rebuild culture…one kitchen table…one conversation…one small act of decency at a time.

And this is where autocrats lose…because they can’t sustain control over a population that refuses to stay numb.

Each person who stays awake weakens the fog machine.

Resurrection: The Fire That Can’t Be Put Out

The climax of every Hero’s Journey is resurrection.

Death and rebirth.

For nations…this means the moment when collective fear dies…and collective agency is reborn.

We’re approaching that moment now.

Millions of Americans have already passed through their personal caves. They’ve lost illusions. They’ve seen how fragile freedom is.

And they’ve decided: Never again will I wait for someone else to protect what’s mine to defend.

That’s resurrection.
Not cinematic…human.

Quiet determination in millions of lives…spreading through conversations…voting booths…community meetings…Substack threads…and silent acts of courage.

The regime can silence individuals. It can’t silence that awakening.

Because once people realize they are the story…not spectators…no tyrant can script the ending.

Return With the Elixir: What You Bring Back to the Tribe

Every hero returns with something to share…wisdom…courage…a way to heal the community.

Your “elixir” isn’t gold or glory. It’s clarity.

You now understand how stories shape survival.

You know propaganda when you hear it.
You know fear when it tries to wear righteousness.
You know that small, local courage…multiplied…changes everything.

That’s what you bring back.

You become the mentor for the next wave of heroes. You pass on what you’ve learned. You keep the flame alive.

And that’s how democracies survive dark ages: not through kings…not through saviors …through citizens who refuse to forget the story they’re in.

Because the Hero’s Journey never ends. It just changes faces.

The Citizen’s Map to the Modern Hero’s Journey

You’ve read the myth.
Now, here’s how to live it.

Below are the ten steps of the Hero’s Journey rewritten as a battle plan for the citizen-hero…clear…practical…and absolutely doable.

The Call to Adventure → Awareness

Spend ten minutes each day reading or watching something outside your bubble. Not doomscrolling…discernment.

Notice patterns. Spot manipulation. Awareness is the first superpower of a free person.

Refusal of the Call → Confronting Apathy

Write down your three biggest “excuses.” Burn them. Literally.

You’ll feel the nervous system release…the primitive signal that says, we’re no longer hiding.

Meeting the Mentor → Choose Your Inputs

Follow people who sharpen your mind…not flatter your biases. Unfollow accounts that feed outrage without strategy.

Remember: clarity is contagious. Confusion is profitable.

Crossing the Threshold → Take One Public Action

Attend a meeting. Join a local group. Write one post.

The first public act of resistance breaks the trance of helplessness.

Tests, Allies, Enemies → Build Your Inner Circle

Find three allies. Just three. People who get it.

Because three connected people outwork thirty scattered ones.

The Cave → Face Your Fear

Write down the worst-case scenario you secretly dread…losing friends…losing income… being mocked…and imagine surviving it.

Because you would. And once you feel that…fear loses leverage.

Transformation → Anchor Your Purpose

Every morning, remind yourself: “I am not here to win arguments. I am here to protect truth.”

That single sentence resets focus and inoculates against fatigue.

The Road Back → Turn Action Into Habit

Create a rhythm…maybe every Sunday…one letter to a lawmaker…one donation…one conversation.

Small…steady acts sustain revolutions longer than bursts of fury.

Resurrection → Celebrate Micro-Victories

Did you persuade one person to see differently? That’s a victory.

Did you keep your cool in a heated debate? Victory.

Each micro-win reinforces identity…the real battlefield of this era.

Return With the Elixir → Teach

Share what you’ve learned. Forward articles. Talk to neighbors.

Because democracy isn’t a noun. It’s a verb.

And verbs require motion.

This is your next level.

You’ve stepped beyond the threshold.
Now we go deeper…together.

Halbert-Style Closing

You can’t out-yell propaganda.
You out-persist it.

You out-think it.
You out-care it.

And while tyrants chase control…you master something far greater…influence.

Because when you move through your own Hero’s Journey with courage…others feel it. They see it. They follow it.

That’s how revolutions are born…one ordinary person deciding to live extraordinarily awake.

You’ll sleep better tonight knowing this: every hero’s journey ends where it began… home.

But you return changed.
Wiser. Stronger.
Unshakably free inside.

And that…my friend…is how autocracy loses…not with one grand explosion…but with millions of quiet awakenings just like yours.

Back soon,

-Jack