The Tragic Transformation Just One Year Has Made in the United States
Twelve months back, the landscape was completely separate. Prior to the US presidential election, considerate Americans could acknowledge the country's serious imperfections – its inequities and disparity – however they continued to see it as the US. A democratic nation. A place where constitutional order held significance. A nation led by a respectable and decent official, notwithstanding his advanced age and declining health.
Currently, in late October 2025, countless Americans hardly identify the country we live in. Persons alleged as illegal immigrants are collected and forced into vehicles, at times denied due process. The left side of the White House – is being destroyed for a grotesque ballroom. Donald Trump is persecuting his opponents or perceived antagonists and insisting the justice department transfer an enormous amount of public funds. Uniformed troops are being sent into American cities with deceptive justifications. The Pentagon, renamed the Department of War, has – in effect – freed itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny while it uses possibly reaching close to a trillion USD in public funds. Institutions, legal practices, media outlets are buckling under the president’s threats, and billionaires are treated like aristocracy.
“The US, only a few months ahead of its 250-year mark as the globe's top democratic nation, has fallen over the edge into autocracy and totalitarianism,” a noted author, commented in August. “Finally, swifter than I thought feasible, it transpired here.”
Each day begins with fresh terrors. And it is challenging to understand – and painful to realize – how deeply lost we are, and how quickly it occurred.
However, we understand that Trump was legitimately chosen. Despite his highly troubling first term and even after the alerts that came with the awareness of Project 2025 – despite Trump himself said publicly he intended to be a dictator just on day one – sufficient voters elected him instead of his Democratic opponent.
Frightening as the present situation is, it's more daunting to realize that we’re only three-quarters of a year into this presidential term. Where will three more years of this downfall leave us? And suppose that period turns into something even longer, since there is no one to stop this president from determining that a third term is essential, perhaps for security concerns?
Admittedly, not everything is hopeless. There are legislative votes next year which might establish an alternate balance of power, should Democrats retake the Senate or House of parliament. There exist government representatives who are attempting to apply some accountability, for example lawmakers that are starting a probe concerning the try to fund seizure from legal authorities.
And a leadership election in 2028 could start the path to recovery precisely as last year’s election placed us on this disappointing trajectory.
There are countless citizens protesting in public spaces across municipalities, as they did in the past days in the No Kings rallies.
Robert Reich, stated lately that “the dormant powerhouse of America is stirring”, similar to past following the Red Scare in the 1950s or amid the Vietnam war protests or during the Watergate scandal.
In those instances, the listing ship ultimately corrected itself.
Reich says he knows the indicators of that resurgence and sees it happening currently. As support, he references the large-scale demonstrations, the widespread, cross-party resistance to a personality's dismissal and the largely united rejection by reporters to agree to the defense department’s demands they report only what is sanctioned.
“The sleeping giant perpetually exists asleep till some venality becomes so noxious, some action so offensive toward public welfare, certain violence so loud, that it has no choice but to awaken.”
It’s an optimistic take, and I appreciate his knowledgeable stance. Maybe he’ll prove to be right.
At the same time, the crucial issues persist: is the US able to return to normalcy? Is it possible to restore its status in the world and its commitment to the rule of law?
Or must we acknowledge that the national endeavor functioned for a period, and then – abruptly, completely – collapsed?
My negative thoughts tells me that the final scenario is accurate; that all may indeed be lost. My hopeful heart, though, tells me that we have to attempt, by any means possible.
Personally, as an observer of the press, that’s about urging journalists to commit, more thoroughly, to their duty of overseeing leadership. For others, it could mean participating in election efforts, or coordinating protests, or developing approaches to defend electoral access.
Less than a year ago, we existed in a very different place. A year from now? Or three years from now? The truth is, we cannot predict. Our sole course is try to persevere.
What’s Giving Me Encouragement Today
The contact I experience during teaching with aspiring reporters, who are both idealistic and practical, {always