A Tragic Shift a Single Year Has Made in America
Twelve months back, the situation was entirely different. Ahead of the US presidential election, reflective Americans could acknowledge the nation's serious imperfections – its injustices and imbalance – however they continued to perceive it as the US. A free society. A land where constitutional order carried weight. A country led by a dignified and decent official, even with his older age and declining health.
Currently, as October 2025 ends, many of us scarcely know the nation we reside in. Persons alleged as illegal immigrants are rounded up and pushed into transport, occasionally blocked from fair treatment. The left side of the “people’s house” – is undergoing demolition for an obscene ballroom. Donald Trump is targeting his political rivals or alleged foes and requesting legal authorities transfer a huge total of taxpayer money. Uniformed troops are deployed across metropolitan centers on false pretexts. The Pentagon, rebranded the Defense Ministry, has practically freed itself of routine media oversight while it uses possibly reaching close to a trillion USD in public funds. Institutions, law firms, media outlets are buckling under the president’s threats, and rich magnates are regarded as aristocracy.
“America, just months before its 250th birthday as the globe's top democratic nation, has tipped over the limit into autocracy and fascism,” an American historian, wrote recently. “In the end, faster than I imagined possible, it occurred here.”
Each day begins amid recent atrocities. It is hard to comprehend – and agonizing to acknowledge – how deeply lost we are, and the rapid pace with which it unfolded.
Nevertheless, we know that Trump was legitimately chosen. Following his profoundly alarming previous administration and despite the cautions associated with the understanding of the conservative plan – following Trump himself said publicly he would rule as a tyrant solely at the start – sufficient voters chose him over his Democratic opponent.
Frightening as the present situation may be, it's more frightening to understand that we’re only nine months into this presidential term. Where will three more years of this deterioration find us? And what if that timeframe transforms into a more extended duration, because there is not anyone to limit this president from deciding that a third term is required, maybe for security concerns?
Granted, there is still hope. There are congressional elections in 2026 that may establish an alternate political equilibrium, if Democrats regain the Senate or House of Congress. There exist government representatives who are striving to exert a degree of oversight, like Democratic congressmen that are starting a probe regarding the effort to fund seizure from legal authorities.
And a presidential election in 2028 could begin our journey toward restoration just as last year’s election set us on this regrettable path.
There are numerous residents demonstrating in the streets across municipalities, as they did recently during anti-authority protests.
Robert Reich, stated lately that “the slumbering force of the US is awakening”, exactly as before post-McCarthyism during the fifties or throughout the sixties activism or during the Nixon controversy.
During those times, the unstable nation ultimately corrected itself.
Reich says he understands the signs of that resurgence and observes it occurring now. For proof, he cites the recent massive protests, the extensive, cross-party resistance regarding a personality's dismissal and the largely united refusal by journalists to sign government requirements they report only authorized information.
“The slumbering entity consistently stays dormant until certain corruption grows too toxic, an specific act so contemptuous of the common good, specific cruelty so noisy, that he has no choice except to rise.”
It's a positive outlook, and I value Reich’s experienced view. Possibly he may be validated.
Meanwhile, the big questions endure: will the nation return to normalcy? Can it retrieve its standing internationally and its devotion to constitutional order?
Or should we recognize that the historical project worked for a while, and then – abruptly, completely – collapsed?
My pessimistic brain tells me that the final scenario is correct; that everything might be finished. My optimistic spirit, however, tells me that we must try, in whatever ways available.
Personally, working in journalism analysis, that’s about pushing media professionals to live up, more fully, to their mission of holding power to account. For some people, it could mean participating in congressional campaigns, or planning demonstrations, or finding ways to defend voting rights.
Under twelve months back, we lived in a very different place. In the future? Or three years from now? The reality is, we are uncertain. All we can do is to attempt to persevere.
What Offers Me Hope Now
The interaction I experience with students with young journalists, who are equally visionary and practical, {always
