In the same week, two distinct but resonant disruptions unfolded across American civic life: federal agents intercepted an ISIS-inspired attack before it could cause harm, while the Kennedy Center — a half-century-old symbol of democratic culture — chose closure over compromise with the current administration. Together, these events illuminate a nation simultaneously defending itself from external ideological threats and grappling with internal fractures along the fault lines of politics and shared institutions. The moment asks an old question in a new register: what does it mean to protect a