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One year ago, the situation was utterly separate. Ahead of the national election, reflective residents could recognize America's deep flaws – its unfairness and imbalance – yet they could still identify it as the United States. A democracy. A country where constitutional order carried weight. A state led by a honorable and decent public servant, notwithstanding his older age and declining health.

Nowadays, in late October 2025, many of us hardly identify the country we live in. People suspected of being undocumented migrants are collected and shoved into transport, at times blocked from fair treatment. The East Wing of the “people’s house” – is undergoing demolition to build a lavish dance hall. The president is targeting his adversaries or perceived antagonists and requesting the justice department transfer an enormous amount of taxpayer money. Soldiers with weapons are dispatched to US urban areas under fabricated reasons. The military command, relabeled the War Department, has practically freed itself of routine media oversight while it uses what could amount to almost one trillion dollars from citizen taxes. Colleges, legal practices, news companies are yielding from leader's menaces, and billionaires are handled as aristocracy.

“The United States, just months before its 250-year mark as the globe's top democratic nation, has crossed the limit into authoritarianism and fascism,” Garrett Graff, stated recently. “In the end, swifter than I thought feasible, it transpired in this country.”

Every morning starts to new horrors. And it's challenging to understand – and distressing to accept – how severely declined our nation is, and the rapid pace with which it unfolded.

Nevertheless, it is known that Trump was properly voted in. Following his highly troubling first term and following the cautions that came with the understanding of the rightwing blueprint – even after the leader directly said publicly he would act as an autocrat solely at the start – sufficient voters chose him instead of Kamala Harris.

While alarming as the current reality may be, it's more frightening to recognize that we are just nine months under this leadership. Where will an additional three years of this downfall position us? And suppose that period transforms into a more extended duration, since there is no one to restrain this president from determining that a third term is necessary, perhaps for national security reasons?

Admittedly, there is still hope. There are midterm elections next year which might establish an alternate political equilibrium, should Democrats retake either chamber of the legislature. There exist public servants who are attempting to exert some accountability, like lawmakers currently initiating an inquiry regarding the effort to money grab by federal prosecutors.

And a national vote three years from now could initiate our journey to recovery just as the prior selection set us on this disappointing trajectory.

There are countless citizens protesting in the streets throughout communities, as they did in the past days in the No Kings rallies.

An ex-cabinet member, commented this week that “the slumbering force of the nation is rising”, similar to past following the Red Scare in the 1950s or throughout the Vietnam war protests or during the Nixon controversy.

On those occasions, the tilting vessel ultimately corrected itself.

He claims he recognizes the signals of that resurgence and sees it happening at present. As evidence, he cites the recent massive protests, the broad, bipartisan pushback against a personality's dismissal and the near-unanimous rejection by reporters to sign the defense department’s demands they only publish authorized information.

“The slumbering entity consistently stays dormant before specific greed turns extremely harmful, an specific act so contemptuous toward public welfare, specific cruelty so loud, that the giant is compelled but to awaken.”

It’s an optimistic take, and I appreciate his knowledgeable stance. Perhaps he will be validated.

At the same time, the major inquiries endure: is the US able to ever recover? Can it retrieve its status globally and its adherence to constitutional order?

Or should we recognize that the national endeavor succeeded temporarily, and then – abruptly, completely – collapsed?

My cynical mind indicates that the latter is correct; that everything might be lost. My positive feelings, however, tells me that we must try, by any means we can.

Personally, as an observer of the press, that involves pushing media professionals to live up, more fully, to their duty of overseeing leadership. For some people, it could mean engaging with political races, or coordinating protests, or discovering methods to protect electoral access.

Not even one year prior, we were in an alternate reality. Twelve months later? Or three years from now? The fact is, we cannot predict. All we can do is to attempt to not give up.

What Offers Me Encouragement Today

The interaction I have with students with aspiring reporters, who are equally hopeful and realistic, {always