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Twelve months back, the landscape was completely separate. Prior to the American presidential vote, reflective citizens could recognize America's significant faults – its unfairness and disparity – yet they continued to identify it as the United States. A democratic nation. A place where legal governance held significance. A state headed by a honorable and decent leader, despite his advanced age and growing weakness.

These days, as October 2025 ends, countless Americans scarcely know the nation we reside in. Persons suspected of being undocumented migrants are collected and shoved into vehicles, occasionally denied due process. The eastern section of the “people’s house” – is being destroyed for an obscene event space. The leader is persecuting his opponents or perceived antagonists and demanding federal prosecutors hand over a massive sum of citizen dollars. Uniformed troops are deployed to US urban areas with deceptive justifications. The Pentagon, rebranded the War Department, has practically freed itself of regular press examination during its expenditure of what could amount to almost one trillion dollars in public funds. Institutions, law firms, journalism organizations are buckling from leader's menaces, and rich magnates are regarded as nobility.

“The US, shortly prior to its quarter-millennium anniversary as the globe's top democratic nation, has fallen over the limit into authoritarianism and fascism,” a noted author, commented this past summer. “Finally, more quickly than I imagined possible, it transpired here.”

Every morning starts to new horrors. It is difficult to grasp – and agonizing to acknowledge – how severely declined we are, and how quickly it has happened.

However, we understand that the leader was legitimately chosen. Even after his highly troubling previous administration and even after the cautions associated with the awareness of the conservative plan – despite Trump himself declared plainly he planned to act as an autocrat solely at the start – enough Americans selected him rather than the other candidate.

As terrifying as the present situation is, it's more frightening to understand that we’re only three-quarters of a year under this leadership. What will an additional three years of this deterioration leave us? And what if that period transforms into a more extended duration, because there is no one to restrain this ruler from opting that additional tenure is necessary, maybe for national security reasons?

Certainly, there is still hope. We will have midterm elections in 2026 that may create a new governmental control, if Democrats recapture either chamber of parliament. We have public servants who are trying to impose some accountability, like representatives who are launching an investigation regarding the effort to money grab by federal prosecutors.

And a presidential election in the next cycle could initiate us down the road to healing precisely as last year’s election placed us on this disappointing trajectory.

We see numerous residents marching in urban areas throughout communities, similar to recent last weekend at democracy demonstrations.

An ex-cabinet member, stated lately that “the dormant powerhouse of the nation is awakening”, just as it did following the Red Scare during the fifties or throughout anti-war demonstrations or throughout the seventies crisis.

On those occasions, the tilting vessel eventually was righted.

The author states he knows the signals of that revival and observes it occurring now. For proof, he points to the large-scale demonstrations, the widespread, multi-faction opposition to a broadcaster's firing and the near-unanimous refusal by journalists to sign the defense department’s demands they solely cover what is sanctioned.

“The sleeping giant consistently stays inactive until certain corruption turns extremely harmful, some action so offensive of the common good, some brutality so noisy, that the giant is forced except to rise.”

It's a hopeful perspective, and I appreciate his knowledgeable stance. Possibly he may turn out correct.

Meanwhile, the big questions endure: is the US able to return to normalcy? Can it retrieve its position internationally and its commitment to constitutional order?

Or must we acknowledge that the 250-year-old experiment worked for a while, and then – abruptly, completely – collapsed?

My cynical mind suggests that the final scenario is correct; that all may indeed be lost. My positive feelings, though, tells me that we have to attempt, by any means possible.

Personally, working in journalism analysis, that means encouraging reporters to commit, more completely, to their purpose of overseeing leadership. For others, it may be engaging with congressional campaigns, or coordinating protests, or finding ways to safeguard voting rights.

Not even one year prior, we were in a separate situation. Twelve months later? Or after another term? The fact is, we don’t know. The only option is to strive to not give up.

What Offers Me Hope Now

The interaction I experience with students with young journalists, who are both hopeful and practical, {always