Think of a symbol of resistance. What comes to mind? A Guy Fawkes mask, a raised fist, an anarchist circle-A? How about a smiley face? In March, activist Jolovan Wham was arrested for holding up a smiley-decorated piece of cardboard in front of a police station in Singapore. Last Monday, he was charged with "illegal public assembly." He has already been jailed twice this year — once for hosting a video conference with Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong and once more for comparing Singapore's judiciary, disparagingly, with Malaysia's. Clearly, Singapore's heavy-handed repression of free speech is nothing short of ridiculous. “It should never be an offense to speak your truth,” Wham said. “If we can’t speak up, assemble freely, and campaign without looking over our shoulders, the reforms we want can only be done on the terms of those in power.”

We're caught up in a pivotal moment. The American people await the president's concession. The country — along with the rest of the world — could be thrown in one of two directions.

In the first, Trump, crumbling under the twin pressures of history and democracy, swiftly concedes the election to Biden and slinks out of the White House in January with his tail between his legs. With Trump's repudiation, the autocrats and would-be strongmen of the world are put on notice, and a new day dawns for justice.

In the second, Trump clings on stubbornly to power. His enablers encourage him to double down in the face of every precedent handed down to him by his presidential forebears. Confidence in democracy is all but lost, and a dangerous new example is set for future demagogues — both at home and abroad.

It's down to this: Will autocracy die or thrive? Every day that Trump refuses to acknowledge Biden's win and denies him a smooth transfer of power, the forces of despotism grow bolder. And as democracy wanes in the United States, prospects for democracy look bleaker in every corner.

All eyes are on America. Will one man's bullying and bluster undo the work of centuries? Or will the promise of a vision put forth in the dim light of the past survive to see a brighter day? Trump must make his decision, but we the people are the final arbiters. If justice calls, what will you do?

The greater of two evils has been ousted. That's reason enough to breathe a long-held sigh of relief. But for the next four years, America will be stuck with only the lesser of the tawdry two. Biden's mediocre Democratic Party is spread too thin and is still too beholden to the interests of the gutless, money-grubbing, corporation-friendly establishment. The political Left will have to go a lot deeper — deeper than it has gone since the earlier part of last century — if it is going to have any chance of even beginning to pick up the pieces, prevent planetary devastation, and heal the wounds of history — both festering and freshly inflicted. It's time for the Left to do some long-overdo soul-searching and get its shit together . . . before the embittered right-wing swings back with a vengeance.