A Tragic Change Just One Year Has Made in America
Twelve months back, the landscape was completely separate. Ahead of the national election, reflective Americans could recognize America's deep flaws – its injustices and inequality – however they continued to perceive it as America. A free society. A country where the rule of law meant something. A state led by a respectable and upright leader, despite his elderly years and growing weakness.
These days, as October 2025 ends, countless Americans hardly identify the nation we inhabit. People alleged as undocumented migrants are detained and pushed into vehicles, at times denied due process. The left side of the presidential residence – is being destroyed for an obscene dance hall. The leader is persecuting his adversaries or supposed enemies and demanding federal prosecutors transfer a huge total of citizen dollars. Armed military personnel are being sent across metropolitan centers under fabricated reasons. The Pentagon, rebranded the War Department, has effectively liberated itself of routine media oversight during its expenditure of what could amount to close to a trillion USD of taxpayer money. Institutions, legal practices, journalism organizations are yielding due to presidential intimidation, and wealthy elites are treated like aristocracy.
“The US, only a few months ahead of its 250th birthday as the world’s leading democracy, has crossed the limit into autocracy and fascism,” an American historian, commented this past summer. “In the end, swifter than I imagined possible, it transpired in this country.”
Every morning starts to new horrors. And it is hard to comprehend – and painful to realize – how severely declined we have become, and the rapid pace with which it unfolded.
Nevertheless, we understand that Trump was duly elected. Even after his highly troubling first term and even after the cautions that came with the knowledge of Project 2025 – following the leader directly stated openly he intended to act as an autocrat solely at the start – sufficient voters selected him over the other candidate.
Frightening as the current reality are, it’s even scarier to recognize that we have only been nine months under this leadership. Where will another 36 months of this deterioration find us? And suppose that period becomes something even longer, because there is nobody to limit this president from deciding that another term is essential, perhaps for defense purposes?
Granted, not everything is hopeless. There are midterm elections in 2026 that could bring a different governmental control, should Democrats recapture one or both houses of parliament. There exist government representatives who are attempting to impose certain responsibility, such as representatives who are launching an investigation concerning the try to cash appropriation from legal authorities.
And a presidential election in 2028 could begin us down the road to recovery exactly as last year’s election set us on this unfortunate course.
We see countless citizens protesting in the streets of their cities, like they performed last weekend at democracy demonstrations.
An ex-cabinet member, commented this week that “the great sleeping giant of the US is rising”, similar to past post-McCarthyism during the fifties or throughout anti-war demonstrations or in the Watergate scandal.
On those occasions, the listing ship ultimately corrected itself.
The author states he recognizes the indicators of that revival and observes it occurring now. As evidence, he references the recent massive protests, the widespread, bipartisan pushback to a personality's dismissal and the largely united defiance by media to accept military mandates they only publish authorized information.
“The sleeping giant consistently stays inactive till specific greed grows too toxic, some action so disrespectful of societal benefit, some brutality so disruptive, that the giant is forced other than to stir.”
It’s an optimistic take, and I value Reich’s experienced view. Maybe he’ll turn out correct.
At the same time, the major inquiries remain: is the US able to return to normalcy? Is it possible to restore its status in the world and its adherence to legal principles?
Or should we recognize that the historical project worked for a while, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?
My negative thoughts tells me that the final scenario is true; that all may indeed be finished. My optimistic spirit, however, tells me that we have to attempt, through all methods possible.
In my case, working in journalism analysis, that’s about encouraging reporters to live up, more completely, to their purpose of overseeing leadership. For different individuals, it might involve working on political races, or organizing rallies, or discovering methods to safeguard ballot privileges.
Less than a year ago, we were in a very different place. A year from now? Or after another term? The fact is, we don’t know. All we can do is try to persevere.
What Provides Me Hope Now
The engagement I encounter in the classroom with new media professionals, who are both hopeful and realistic, {always
