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In late October 2024, the environment was utterly distinct. Prior to the US presidential election, considerate citizens could recognize America's serious imperfections – its injustices and disparity – but they could still see it as the United States. A democratic nation. A country where the rule of law carried weight. A nation guided by a respectable and upright public servant, notwithstanding his elderly years and growing weakness.

Currently, as October 2025 ends, numerous citizens scarcely know the land we live in. Persons believed to be unauthorized foreigners are collected and pushed into transport, at times refused legal rights. The left side of the White House – is being destroyed for a grotesque event space. The leader is targeting his adversaries or alleged foes and demanding the justice department surrender a huge total of taxpayer money. Soldiers with weapons are dispatched into American cities under fabricated reasons. The Pentagon, relabeled the Defense Ministry, has practically liberated itself of routine media oversight while it uses potentially totaling nearly $1tn in public funds. Universities, legal practices, media outlets are yielding from leader's menaces, and wealthy elites are handled as nobility.

“The United States, only a few months ahead of its 250-year mark as the globe's top democratic nation, has tipped over the edge into autocracy and extremism,” a noted author, commented this past summer. “In the end, more quickly than I imagined possible, it did happen in America.”

Every morning starts to new horrors. And it's hard to comprehend – and agonizing to acknowledge – how deeply lost we are, and the speed at which it unfolded.

Yet, we understand that the leader was duly elected. Despite his profoundly alarming initial presidency and even after the alerts that came with the knowledge of the rightwing blueprint – following the leader directly stated openly he intended to act as an autocrat only on the first day – a majority of citizens chose him over his Democratic opponent.

As terrifying as the present situation is, it's more frightening to understand that we’re only several months into this presidential term. Where will an additional three years of this deterioration find us? And what if the three years turns into an prolonged era, since there is not anyone to restrain this ruler from opting that a third term is necessary, maybe for defense purposes?

Certainly, there is still hope. We will have congressional elections the coming year that could bring a different governmental control, if Democrats recapture the Senate or House of parliament. There exist elected officials who are striving to impose a degree of oversight, for example representatives currently launching an investigation regarding the effort to money grab from legal authorities.

And a leadership election in the next cycle could start us down the road to recovery precisely as the prior selection put us on this unfortunate course.

There exist millions of Americans demonstrating in urban areas across municipalities, as they did in the past days at democracy demonstrations.

A former official, stated lately that “the great sleeping giant of the US is awakening”, exactly as before post-McCarthyism in that decade or throughout anti-war demonstrations or throughout the Watergate scandal.

In those instances, the listing ship eventually was righted.

He claims he understands the indicators of that awakening and sees it happening currently. For proof, he references the large-scale demonstrations, the broad, cross-party resistance to a personality's dismissal and the almost universal refusal by journalists to sign government requirements they only publish authorized information.

“The dormant force always remains dormant until certain corruption grows too toxic, some action so contemptuous toward public welfare, certain violence so loud, that it is compelled but to awaken.”

It's a hopeful perspective, and I respect the author's seasoned opinion. Perhaps he will turn out correct.

In the meantime, the major inquiries remain: will the nation return to normalcy? Can it retrieve its status internationally and its adherence to the rule of law?

Or do we need to admit that the national endeavor worked for a while, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?

My cynical mind tells me that the second option is correct; that everything might be gone. My hopeful heart, though, tells me that we need to strive, in whatever ways we can.

For me, working in journalism analysis, that’s about encouraging reporters to adhere, more fully, to their duty of holding power to account. For different individuals, it could mean participating in political races, or organizing rallies, or developing approaches to defend ballot privileges.

Not even one year prior, we were in a separate situation. A year from now? Or in several years? The truth is, we cannot predict. Our sole course is to attempt to continue fighting.

What Provides Me Encouragement Today

The interaction I encounter in the classroom with new media professionals, who are both idealistic and realistic, {always