The Tragic Shift a Single Year Has Made in the US
Twelve months back, the environment was completely separate. Ahead of the US presidential election, reflective Americans could recognize the nation's serious imperfections – its inequities and imbalance – but they still could identify it as America. A democracy. A land where the rule of law carried weight. A nation guided by a respectable and upright official, notwithstanding his older age and increasing frailty.
These days, in late October 2025, countless Americans hardly identify the country we reside in. People believed to be unauthorized foreigners are collected and forced into vehicles, at times refused legal rights. The eastern section of the presidential residence – is being torn down for an obscene dance hall. The president is harassing his opponents or perceived antagonists and requesting federal prosecutors hand over a massive sum of public funds. Armed military personnel are being sent to US urban areas on false pretexts. The defense headquarters, renamed the War Department, has – in effect – rid itself of regular press examination as it spends potentially totaling nearly $1tn of taxpayer money. Colleges, law firms, journalism organizations are submitting due to presidential intimidation, and rich magnates are handled as members of the royal family.
“The United States, shortly prior to its 250th birthday as the world’s leading democracy, has crossed the edge toward dictatorship and totalitarianism,” Garrett Graff, wrote recently. “Finally, faster than I believed likely, it occurred here.”
Each day begins amid recent atrocities. It is difficult to grasp – and painful to realize – how severely declined we have become, and how quickly it unfolded.
However, it is known that Trump was duly elected. Even after his profoundly alarming previous administration and even after the cautions associated with the knowledge of Project 2025 – even after Trump himself said publicly he would be a dictator just on day one – enough Americans selected him over Kamala Harris.
As terrifying as the current reality may be, it’s even scarier to understand that we’re only several months into this administration. What will an additional three years of this deterioration find us? And what if that period turns into an prolonged era, as there is nobody to limit this ruler from opting that additional tenure is essential, maybe for security concerns?
Granted, all is not lost. There are midterm elections the coming year that may bring a different political equilibrium, in case Democrats regain one or both houses of parliament. There exist elected officials who are trying to apply certain responsibility, such as lawmakers currently initiating an inquiry concerning the try to fund seizure from legal authorities.
And a leadership election in the next cycle could initiate our journey toward restoration exactly as the previous vote placed us on this regrettable path.
There exist numerous residents protesting in urban areas throughout communities, similar to recent last weekend at democracy demonstrations.
Robert Reich, commented this week that “the slumbering force of the nation is awakening”, exactly as before after the Communist witch-hunt era in the 1950s or throughout the Vietnam war protests or during the seventies crisis.
During those times, the tilting vessel finally returned to balance.
The author states he understands the signs of that awakening and sees it happening now. For proof, he cites the widespread marches, the extensive, cross-party resistance to a broadcaster's firing and the almost universal defiance by media to accept government requirements they solely cover authorized information.
“The slumbering entity consistently stays dormant before certain corruption becomes so noxious, an specific act so offensive of societal benefit, some brutality so disruptive, that he is forced other than to stir.”
It's a positive outlook, and I value his knowledgeable stance. Perhaps he will turn out correct.
In the meantime, the major inquiries remain: is the US able to regain its footing? Can it retrieve its position in the world and its adherence to the rule of law?
Or should we recognize that the 250-year-old experiment worked for a while, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?
My pessimistic brain tells me that the latter is accurate; that all may indeed be finished. My positive feelings, however, convinces me that we must try, through all methods available.
Personally, working in journalism analysis, that means encouraging reporters to commit, more completely, to their duty of overseeing leadership. For some people, it could mean working on congressional campaigns, or planning demonstrations, or developing approaches to protect voting rights.
Under twelve months back, we existed in a very different place. A year from now? Or in several years? The truth is, we cannot predict. Our sole course is to strive to not give up.
What Offers Me Optimism Currently
The interaction I have with students with new media professionals, that are simultaneously hopeful and grounded, {always
