Twelve months back, the situation was completely separate. Ahead of the national election, thoughtful Americans could acknowledge the nation's deep flaws – its unfairness and imbalance – however they still could identify it as the United States. A democratic nation. A country where constitutional order carried weight. A country headed by a dignified and decent leader, notwithstanding his older age and increasing frailty.
Currently, in late October 2025, countless Americans barely recognize the nation we reside in. Persons alleged as undocumented migrants are detained and shoved into vans, sometimes blocked from fair treatment. The left side of the “people’s house” – is undergoing demolition for an obscene dance hall. The president is persecuting his political rivals or supposed enemies and demanding federal prosecutors surrender an enormous amount of public funds. Soldiers with weapons are dispatched into American cities with deceptive justifications. The Pentagon, relabeled the Department of War, has – in effect – liberated itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny as it spends what could amount to close to a trillion USD of taxpayer money. Institutions, attorney offices, news companies are yielding from leader's menaces, and wealthy elites are treated like aristocracy.
“The United States, just months before its quarter-millennium anniversary as the world’s leading democracy, has tipped over the limit into authoritarianism and totalitarianism,” an American historian, stated recently. “Finally, more quickly than I imagined possible, it occurred in America.”
One awakes to new horrors. And it is challenging to understand – and painful to realize – how severely declined we are, and how quickly it unfolded.
Nevertheless, we understand that Trump was legitimately chosen. Following his profoundly alarming previous administration and despite the alerts that came with the knowledge of Project 2025 – following the president personally declared plainly he would be a dictator just on day one – enough Americans elected him instead of his Democratic opponent.
Frightening as today's circumstances may be, it’s even scarier to realize that we’re only several months into this administration. Where will another 36 months of this decline find us? And suppose that period turns into something even longer, since there is not anyone to stop this ruler from determining that a third term is required, maybe for national security reasons?
Granted, there is still hope. There are legislative votes in 2026 which might create a new balance of power, if Democrats retake the Senate or House of Congress. We have public servants who are attempting to impose a degree of oversight, such as representatives that are starting a probe concerning the try to cash appropriation from the justice department.
And a presidential election in the next cycle could start us down the road to recovery precisely as the prior selection put us on this regrettable path.
There exist millions of Americans protesting in the streets of their cities, as they did last weekend at democracy demonstrations.
Robert Reich, stated lately that “the slumbering force of America is stirring”, similar to past following the Red Scare during the fifties or throughout anti-war demonstrations or in the Watergate scandal.
On those occasions, the unstable nation finally returned to balance.
The author states he recognizes the signals of that revival and observes it occurring at present. As support, he points to the recent massive protests, the broad, multi-faction opposition to a personality's dismissal and the largely united defiance by media to agree to the defense department’s demands they only publish authorized information.
“The dormant force always remains inactive until specific greed grows too toxic, a particular deed so contemptuous of societal benefit, specific cruelty so loud, that he is forced but to awaken.”
It's a hopeful perspective, and I value the author's seasoned opinion. Perhaps he will prove to be right.
In the meantime, the big questions persist: is the US able to return to normalcy? Can it reclaim its position internationally and its commitment to legal principles?
Or should we recognize that the 250-year-old experiment succeeded temporarily, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?
My negative thoughts indicates that the second option is true; that all may indeed be gone. My optimistic spirit, however, advises me that we must try, in whatever ways we can.
For me, working in journalism analysis, that involves pushing media professionals to live up, more thoroughly, to their duty of overseeing leadership. For different individuals, it might involve working on election efforts, or coordinating protests, or discovering methods to protect ballot privileges.
Not even one year prior, we were in a separate situation. In the future? Or after another term? The fact is, we don’t know. The only option is try to continue fighting.
What’s Giving Me Optimism Currently
The interaction I encounter during teaching with aspiring reporters, that are simultaneously visionary and practical, {always
