The Heartbreaking Change Only 12 Months Has Caused in America
One year ago, the situation was completely distinct. Before the American presidential vote, reflective residents could recognize America's deep flaws – its inequities and inequality – but they continued to see it as America. A free society. A land where legal governance carried weight. A state led by a respectable and ethical official, notwithstanding his elderly years and increasing frailty.
These days, as October 2025 ends, countless Americans barely recognize the nation we reside in. Individuals believed to be illegal immigrants are collected and shoved into transport, at times denied due process. The left side of the presidential residence – is being torn down for an obscene event space. Donald Trump is harassing his political rivals or perceived antagonists and insisting the justice department surrender a huge total of public funds. Armed military personnel are deployed to US urban areas with deceptive justifications. The Pentagon, rebranded the Defense Ministry, has practically liberated itself of regular press examination during its expenditure of potentially totaling almost one trillion dollars from citizen taxes. Universities, attorney offices, media outlets are yielding due to presidential intimidation, and billionaires are regarded as aristocracy.
“America, only a few months ahead of its 250th birthday as the globe's top democratic nation, has tipped over the brink into autocracy and extremism,” an American historian, wrote this past summer. “Finally, swifter than I believed likely, it occurred here.”
Every morning starts with fresh terrors. It is difficult to grasp – and agonizing to acknowledge – how deeply lost we have become, and the speed at which it occurred.
Yet, we know that the president was duly elected. Following his highly troubling first term and despite the warnings linked to the awareness of Project 2025 – despite the president personally declared plainly he planned to rule as a tyrant solely at the start – enough Americans elected him rather than his Democratic opponent.
While alarming as the present situation may be, it’s even scarier to realize that we are just nine months into this administration. Where will three more years of this deterioration leave us? And what if that timeframe turns into something even longer, because there is nobody to limit this ruler from deciding that another term is essential, perhaps for national security reasons?
Granted, not everything is hopeless. There are legislative votes in 2026 which might establish an alternate political equilibrium, should Democrats regain either chamber of parliament. We have public servants who are striving to apply some accountability, such as Democratic congressmen who are launching an investigation into the attempted cash appropriation from the justice department.
And a national vote in the next cycle could initiate the path toward restoration exactly as the prior selection put us on this regrettable path.
There are millions of Americans demonstrating in the streets of their cities, as they did in the past days during anti-authority protests.
An ex-cabinet member, stated lately that “the slumbering force of the US is rising”, just as it did after the Communist witch-hunt era during the fifties or during anti-war demonstrations or during the Watergate scandal.
During those times, the unstable nation eventually was righted.
Reich says he understands the indicators of that awakening and notices it unfolding now. For proof, he cites the widespread marches, the broad, multi-faction opposition regarding a television host's removal and the almost universal defiance by media to sign military mandates they solely cover what is sanctioned.
“The sleeping giant consistently stays asleep till certain corruption becomes so noxious, an specific act so offensive of the common good, some brutality so disruptive, that the giant is forced other than to stir.”
It's a hopeful perspective, and I value the author's seasoned opinion. Maybe he’ll be validated.
Meanwhile, the crucial issues persist: can America ever recover? Can it reclaim its position in the world and its adherence to legal principles?
Or must we acknowledge that the national endeavor functioned for a period, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?
My negative thoughts tells me that the second option is correct; that everything could be lost. My positive feelings, however, advises me that we have to attempt, by any means available.
Personally, as a media critic, that means urging journalists to adhere, more fully, to their purpose of overseeing leadership. For different individuals, it might involve engaging with political races, or organizing rallies, or developing approaches to protect electoral access.
Less than a year ago, we existed in a separate situation. A year from now? Or in several years? The fact is, we cannot predict. The only option is try to continue fighting.
What’s Giving Me Hope Now
The contact I have in the classroom with new media professionals, who are equally visionary and realistic, {always
