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One year ago, the environment was completely different. Prior to the US presidential election, thoughtful citizens could admit the nation's deep flaws – its unfairness and imbalance – however they could still identify it as the United States. A democratic nation. A place where constitutional order held significance. A nation led by a honorable and decent leader, notwithstanding his elderly years and increasing frailty.

Nowadays, in late October 2025, many of us hardly identify the nation we live in. People believed to be illegal immigrants are rounded up and shoved into vehicles, at times denied due process. The eastern section of the White House – is being destroyed for a grotesque ballroom. The president is persecuting his adversaries or supposed enemies and insisting legal authorities surrender a massive sum of taxpayer money. Soldiers with weapons are deployed to US urban areas under fabricated reasons. The Pentagon, renamed the War Department, has – in effect – liberated itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny while it uses possibly reaching almost one trillion dollars in public funds. Universities, attorney offices, media outlets are yielding due to presidential intimidation, and rich magnates are treated like members of the royal family.

“America, just months before its quarter-millennium anniversary as the planet's foremost free society, has fallen over the brink into authoritarianism and fascism,” Garrett Graff, commented this past summer. “In the end, faster than I thought feasible, it transpired here.”

Each day begins with fresh terrors. It is difficult to grasp – and distressing to accept – how severely declined our nation is, and the speed at which it has happened.

Yet, we know that the leader was properly voted in. Following his profoundly alarming first term and even after the alerts linked to the knowledge of the conservative plan – despite Trump himself stated openly he intended to be a dictator solely at the start – enough Americans elected him rather than the other candidate.

While alarming as the present situation may be, it’s even scarier to recognize that we have only been three-quarters of a year into this presidential term. What will an additional three years of this deterioration leave us? And what if the three years becomes an prolonged era, because there is no one to stop this ruler from determining that a third term is required, possibly for defense purposes?

Admittedly, not everything is hopeless. We will have midterm elections next year that may create a new balance of power, should Democrats recapture either chamber of the legislature. We have elected officials who are striving to apply a degree of oversight, like representatives that are launching an investigation regarding the effort to cash appropriation by federal prosecutors.

And a leadership election three years from now could initiate our journey to healing precisely as the previous vote placed us on this unfortunate course.

There are countless citizens protesting in urban areas of their cities, as they did recently during anti-authority protests.

A former official, stated lately that “the great sleeping giant of the nation is awakening”, exactly as before following the Red Scare in the 1950s or amid the Vietnam war protests or during the Watergate scandal.

During those times, the listing ship finally returned to balance.

He claims he recognizes the indicators of that revival and sees it happening at present. For proof, he cites the large-scale demonstrations, the extensive, multi-faction opposition to a broadcaster's firing and the near-unanimous defiance by media to agree to the defense department’s demands they report only approved content.

“The sleeping giant consistently stays asleep before certain corruption turns extremely harmful, a particular deed so offensive of societal benefit, specific cruelty so noisy, that it is compelled other than to stir.”

It’s an optimistic take, and I respect the author's seasoned opinion. Maybe he’ll turn out correct.

At the same time, the big questions remain: can America return to normalcy? Can it retrieve its standing in the world and its devotion to constitutional order?

Or should we recognize that the historical project worked for a while, and then – swiftly, totally – ended?

My pessimistic brain tells me that the second option is correct; that everything could be gone. My positive feelings, however, tells me that we need to strive, by any means we can.

In my case, working in journalism analysis, that’s about urging journalists to adhere, more completely, to their duty of holding power to account. For some people, it could mean working on congressional campaigns, or coordinating protests, or developing approaches to protect voting rights.

Under twelve months back, we lived in an alternate reality. In the future? Or in several years? The reality is, we cannot predict. The only option is try to not give up.

What Provides Me Encouragement Today

The contact I experience in the classroom with young journalists, that are simultaneously visionary and grounded, {always