A Tragic Change a Single Year Has Brought in America
In late October 2024, the situation was completely separate. Before the American presidential vote, thoughtful Americans could admit the country's deep flaws – its inequities and inequality – however they could still see it as the United States. A democracy. A country where constitutional order meant something. A country led by a respectable and ethical public servant, notwithstanding his older age and growing weakness.
These days, in late October 2025, countless Americans scarcely know the country we live in. Individuals suspected of being unauthorized foreigners are rounded up and shoved into vans, sometimes denied due process. The left side of the presidential residence – is being torn down to build a lavish event space. Donald Trump is persecuting his adversaries or supposed enemies and requesting the justice department hand over an enormous amount of taxpayer money. Armed military personnel are deployed into American cities with deceptive justifications. The defense headquarters, renamed the Defense Ministry, has – in effect – rid itself of regular press examination while it uses possibly reaching close to a trillion USD of taxpayer money. Institutions, legal practices, news companies are yielding due to presidential intimidation, and billionaires are regarded as aristocracy.
“The US, only a few months ahead of its 250-year mark as the world’s leading democracy, has fallen over the brink into authoritarianism and totalitarianism,” an American historian, stated in August. “Finally, more quickly than I believed likely, it occurred in this country.”
Each day begins with fresh terrors. And it's difficult to grasp – and agonizing to acknowledge – just how far gone we are, and the rapid pace with which it occurred.
However, we understand that Trump was properly voted in. Despite his profoundly alarming first term and even after the alerts associated with the understanding of the rightwing blueprint – even after Trump himself said publicly he would rule as a tyrant only on the first day – a majority of citizens selected him rather than his Democratic opponent.
Frightening as the present situation may be, it’s even scarier to recognize that we have only been several months under this leadership. How will another 36 months of this deterioration find us? And suppose that period turns into a more extended duration, since there is nobody to limit this leader from deciding that a third term is required, perhaps for security concerns?
Granted, there is still hope. There will be midterm elections in 2026 that could establish an alternate political equilibrium, in case Democrats recapture one or both houses of Congress. There are public servants who are trying to exert some accountability, such as representatives that are initiating an inquiry regarding the effort to cash appropriation from the justice department.
And a national vote in the next cycle could initiate our journey toward restoration exactly as the prior selection placed us on this disappointing trajectory.
There are numerous residents demonstrating in public spaces across municipalities, like they performed recently in the No Kings rallies.
Robert Reich, wrote recently that “the slumbering force of America is stirring”, exactly as before following the Red Scare in the 1950s or throughout the Vietnam war protests or during the seventies crisis.
In those instances, the unstable nation finally returned to balance.
The author states he recognizes the signals of that revival and sees it happening now. For proof, he cites the recent massive protests, the widespread, bipartisan pushback to a television host's removal and the largely united rejection by reporters to agree to the defense department’s demands they only publish what is sanctioned.
“The sleeping giant consistently stays inactive until specific greed becomes so noxious, an specific act so disrespectful toward public welfare, certain violence so noisy, that he has no choice except to rise.”
It's a positive outlook, and I value his knowledgeable stance. Maybe he’ll be validated.
At the same time, the crucial issues persist: is the US able to regain its footing? Is it possible to restore its position globally and its adherence to legal principles?
Or should we recognize that the 250-year-old experiment worked for a while, and then – swiftly, totally – ended?
My pessimistic brain indicates that the second option is accurate; that everything could be lost. My hopeful heart, though, tells me that we must try, by any means available.
Personally, as a media critic, that involves pushing media professionals to commit, more fully, to their mission of scrutinizing authority. For different individuals, it could mean engaging with congressional campaigns, or organizing rallies, or developing approaches to protect electoral access.
Less than a year ago, we existed in a separate situation. Twelve months later? Or three years from now? The reality is, we don’t know. The only option is to attempt to persevere.
What Provides Me Optimism Currently
The engagement I have in the classroom with aspiring reporters, who are both hopeful and practical, {always
