> If someone expresses the sentiment that they feel powerless to stand up to those in authority, then they probably don't live in a democratic country.
Nonsense: in a democratic country, the minority typically are powerless to stop the majority. That's kinda the definition of a democracy.
Now, some republics provide some protection for the rights of minorities, but even those can be removed with sufficiently strong majorities.
You can stand up to authority all you want, it doesn't mean you'll achieve anything though. The whole point of democracy is to ensure that a single person with an idea can't just go and change things for everyone on his own.
You live in a democratic country, right? So you can. But you won't with that sentiment. If everybody thinks like you then you indeed are helpless.