Welfare, service delivery, and governance have improved so dramatically since the 2008 constitution was unveiled and since the National League for Democracy (NLD) first assumed control over parliament in 2015 that many see a return to military rule as an existential threat. That is why tens of thousands of Myanmar citizens have braved arrest, gun fire, and the icy cold blasts of water cannons to crowd into the streets to protest the Tatmadaw (military) coup and arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders on February 1.