A Heartbreaking Shift Only 12 Months Has Caused in the US

Twelve months back, the situation was completely different. Before the national election, considerate citizens could admit the nation's serious imperfections – its inequities and inequality – however they could still identify it as the US. A democratic nation. A country where legal governance carried weight. A state headed by a dignified and upright public servant, despite his elderly years and increasing frailty.

These days, in late October 2025, countless Americans hardly identify the country we reside in. Individuals suspected of being undocumented migrants are detained and shoved into vans, sometimes blocked from fair treatment. The East Wing of the White House – is undergoing demolition for a grotesque dance hall. Donald Trump is persecuting his adversaries or alleged foes and requesting legal authorities surrender a huge total of citizen dollars. Uniformed troops are deployed into American cities under fabricated reasons. The defense headquarters, renamed the Defense Ministry, has effectively liberated itself of routine media oversight while it uses possibly reaching nearly $1tn of taxpayer money. Colleges, attorney offices, journalism organizations are yielding under the president’s threats, and rich magnates are treated like nobility.

“The United States, only a few months ahead of its quarter-millennium anniversary as the globe's top democratic nation, has tipped over the brink into autocracy and extremism,” an American historian, stated in August. “Finally, more quickly than I thought feasible, it transpired in this country.”

One awakes with fresh terrors. It is hard to comprehend – and agonizing to acknowledge – just how far gone our nation is, and the speed at which it has happened.

However, we know that the president was properly voted in. Despite his highly troubling previous administration and despite the cautions that came with the knowledge of Project 2025 – even after Trump himself stated openly he planned to be a dictator solely at the start – enough Americans elected him rather than the other candidate.

While alarming as the current reality are, it’s even scarier to realize that we’re only nine months into this administration. Where will three more years of this decline find us? And what if that period turns into a more extended duration, since there is nobody to restrain this president from deciding that another term is essential, maybe for national security reasons?

Granted, there is still hope. There are congressional elections next year that could bring a different political equilibrium, if Democrats regain the Senate or House of parliament. There exist elected officials who are attempting to apply some accountability, such as Democratic congressmen that are starting a probe regarding the effort to money grab from the justice department.

And a national vote in 2028 could start our journey to healing precisely as the prior selection put us on this disappointing trajectory.

We see numerous residents protesting in urban areas across municipalities, like they performed last weekend at democracy demonstrations.

An ex-cabinet member, wrote recently that “the great sleeping giant of the nation is stirring”, similar to past after the Communist witch-hunt era in that decade or during the Vietnam war protests or in the Watergate scandal.

In those instances, the listing ship ultimately corrected itself.

He claims he knows the signals of that revival and sees it happening now. As evidence, he cites the recent massive protests, the extensive, bipartisan pushback regarding a broadcaster's firing and the near-unanimous rejection by reporters to accept military mandates they report only approved content.

“The dormant force always remains dormant before certain corruption becomes so noxious, some action so disrespectful toward public welfare, specific cruelty so noisy, that he is compelled other than to stir.”

It's a hopeful perspective, and I appreciate his knowledgeable stance. Maybe he’ll be validated.

In the meantime, the major inquiries persist: can America regain its footing? Can it reclaim its status internationally and its commitment to the rule of law?

Or do we need to admit that the 250-year-old experiment worked for a while, and then – swiftly, totally – ended?

My negative thoughts tells me that the final scenario is true; that everything could be finished. My positive feelings, nevertheless, tells me that we must try, through all methods we can.

Personally, as an observer of the press, that’s about encouraging reporters to live up, more thoroughly, to their mission of overseeing leadership. For different individuals, it might involve working on congressional campaigns, or organizing rallies, or finding ways to protect voting rights.

Under twelve months back, we existed in a separate situation. Twelve months later? Or in several years? The reality is, we cannot predict. All we can do is to attempt to continue fighting.

What Offers Me Encouragement Today

The contact I have in the classroom with young journalists, who are equally visionary and grounded, {always