The Tragic Change Only 12 Months Has Brought in the US
Twelve months back, the situation was entirely distinct. Prior to the national election, considerate citizens could admit the nation's deep flaws – its unfairness and inequality – however they still could see it as the US. A democracy. A land where legal governance carried weight. A nation headed by a respectable and decent official, despite his older age and increasing frailty.
Nowadays, as October 2025 ends, many of us barely recognize the country we live in. Individuals believed to be unauthorized foreigners are detained and forced into transport, at times blocked from fair treatment. The eastern section of the White House – is being torn down for an obscene ballroom. Donald Trump is harassing his adversaries or perceived antagonists and demanding federal prosecutors surrender a huge total of public funds. Uniformed troops are being sent into American cities with deceptive justifications. The military command, relabeled the Defense Ministry, has effectively freed itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny while it uses what could amount to nearly $1tn from citizen taxes. Institutions, attorney offices, journalism organizations are buckling from leader's menaces, and wealthy elites are regarded as aristocracy.
“The US, only a few months ahead of its 250-year mark as the globe's top democratic nation, has tipped over the limit into authoritarianism and totalitarianism,” an American historian, wrote recently. “In the end, faster than I believed likely, it did happen in America.”
Every morning starts with fresh terrors. And it is hard to comprehend – and painful to realize – just how far gone our nation is, and how quickly it has happened.
Yet, we understand that Trump was legitimately chosen. Following his deeply disturbing first term and following the alerts linked to the knowledge of the rightwing blueprint – even after the leader directly declared plainly he planned to be a dictator just on day one – a majority of citizens chose him instead of his Democratic opponent.
As terrifying as today's circumstances is, it's more daunting to recognize that we have only been several months under this leadership. Where will three more years of this downfall find us? And suppose that period transforms into a more extended duration, as there is not anyone to restrain this ruler from opting that a third term is necessary, perhaps for defense purposes?
Certainly, there is still hope. There are midterm elections next year that may bring a different governmental control, should Democrats recapture the Senate or House of parliament. We have government representatives who are trying to apply certain responsibility, such as representatives currently initiating an inquiry into the attempted fund seizure by federal prosecutors.
And a national vote in 2028 could initiate us down the road to recovery precisely as the prior selection placed us on this disappointing trajectory.
There are millions of Americans demonstrating in the streets across municipalities, like they performed recently in the No Kings rallies.
A former official, commented this week that “the dormant powerhouse of the US is awakening”, just as it did post-McCarthyism during the fifties or during anti-war demonstrations or during the Nixon controversy.
On those occasions, the tilting vessel eventually was righted.
The author states he recognizes the signals of that resurgence and sees it happening now. As evidence, he points to the recent massive protests, the extensive, bipartisan pushback regarding a television host's removal and the largely united rejection by reporters to agree to the defense department’s demands they solely cover authorized information.
“The slumbering entity consistently stays dormant till certain corruption grows too toxic, an specific act so disrespectful toward public welfare, certain violence so noisy, that he is forced other than to stir.”
It’s an optimistic take, and I respect his knowledgeable stance. Possibly he may be validated.
Meanwhile, the big questions endure: will the nation ever recover? Can it reclaim its standing globally and its adherence to legal principles?
Or do we need to admit that the 250-year-old experiment succeeded temporarily, and then – swiftly, totally – ended?
My cynical mind tells me that the second option is true; that everything could be lost. My optimistic spirit, however, convinces me that we must try, by any means available.
In my case, as an observer of the press, that’s about encouraging reporters to live up, more thoroughly, to their duty of overseeing leadership. For different individuals, it may be participating in congressional campaigns, or coordinating protests, or discovering methods to defend ballot privileges.
Not even one year prior, we were in a very different place. A year from now? Or three years from now? The truth is, we don’t know. All we can do is to strive to not give up.
What Provides Me Encouragement Today
The contact I experience with students with aspiring reporters, who are both hopeful and grounded, {always
