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Twelve months back, the situation was completely different. Before the national election, reflective citizens could recognize the country's significant faults – its injustices and disparity – but they could still perceive it as the US. A democratic nation. A place where constitutional order meant something. A nation guided by a honorable and decent public servant, despite his older age and increasing frailty.

Nowadays, as October 2025 ends, numerous citizens scarcely know the land we live in. Persons believed to be unauthorized foreigners are collected and forced into transport, sometimes blocked from fair treatment. The East Wing of the White House – is being torn down to build a lavish dance hall. Donald Trump is targeting his adversaries or perceived antagonists and demanding the justice department hand over a huge total of taxpayer money. Soldiers with weapons are being sent across metropolitan centers under fabricated reasons. The military command, renamed the Defense Ministry, has practically freed itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny as it spends what could amount to nearly $1tn in public funds. Universities, law firms, media outlets are submitting under the president’s threats, and billionaires are treated like nobility.

“America, shortly prior to its 250-year mark as the planet's foremost free society, has tipped over the edge into autocracy and extremism,” Garrett Graff, commented recently. “Finally, faster than I thought feasible, it occurred here.”

Each day begins amid recent atrocities. And it is challenging to understand – and painful to realize – how deeply lost our nation is, and the speed at which it has happened.

Yet, we understand that Trump was legitimately chosen. Despite his deeply disturbing initial presidency and despite the alerts linked to the knowledge of the rightwing blueprint – even after the leader directly stated openly he planned to act as an autocrat solely at the start – sufficient voters selected him over Kamala Harris.

As terrifying as the current reality may be, it’s even scarier to recognize that we are just three-quarters of a year under this leadership. How will an additional three years of this deterioration position us? And suppose that period transforms into an prolonged era, as there is not anyone to restrain this ruler from deciding that a third term is required, perhaps for defense purposes?

Admittedly, not everything is hopeless. There will be legislative votes in 2026 that may establish an alternate balance of power, should Democrats regain the Senate or House of parliament. We have public servants who are striving to exert a degree of oversight, like Democratic congressmen that are starting a probe concerning the try to fund seizure from the justice department.

And a national vote in 2028 could start our journey to recovery just as last year’s election put us on this unfortunate course.

We see millions of Americans protesting in public spaces throughout communities, as they did in the past days during anti-authority protests.

Robert Reich, stated lately that “the dormant powerhouse of the nation is stirring”, just as it did post-McCarthyism in that decade or amid the Vietnam war protests or during the seventies crisis.

In those instances, the unstable nation finally returned to balance.

The author states he understands the indicators of that awakening and notices it unfolding currently. As support, he cites the large-scale demonstrations, the widespread, bipartisan pushback regarding a broadcaster's firing and the largely united refusal by journalists to accept military mandates they solely cover what is sanctioned.

“The slumbering entity always remains dormant till some venality grows too toxic, an specific act so contemptuous of the common good, some brutality so disruptive, that it has no choice other than to stir.”

It's a positive outlook, and I appreciate Reich’s experienced view. Possibly he may turn out correct.

In the meantime, the crucial issues persist: can America ever recover? Is it possible to restore its status globally and its adherence to the rule of law?

Or do we need to admit that the 250-year-old experiment succeeded temporarily, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?

My negative thoughts indicates that the final scenario is true; that everything could be gone. My optimistic spirit, however, convinces me that we need to strive, by any means possible.

Personally, as a media critic, that means pushing media professionals to commit, more fully, to their purpose of scrutinizing authority. For different individuals, it may be participating in congressional campaigns, or coordinating protests, or discovering methods to protect voting rights.

Less than a year ago, we lived in a very different place. In the future? Or three years from now? The truth is, we are uncertain. All we can do is try to persevere.

What Offers Me Hope Now

The contact I encounter during teaching with young journalists, who are equally visionary and practical, {always