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Twelve months back, the environment was entirely different. Before the national election, considerate residents could recognize the country's significant faults – its unfairness and disparity – but they continued to see it as the United States. A free society. A country where constitutional order meant something. A state headed by a dignified and decent official, notwithstanding his older age and increasing frailty.

Currently, as October 2025 ends, numerous citizens hardly identify the nation we live in. Individuals suspected of being undocumented migrants are rounded up and pushed into transport, sometimes blocked from fair treatment. The East Wing of the “people’s house” – is undergoing demolition for a grotesque dance hall. The leader is targeting his political rivals or perceived antagonists and demanding the justice department surrender a massive sum of taxpayer money. Armed military personnel are being sent into American cities on false pretexts. The military command, rebranded the Department of War, has practically rid itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny as it spends possibly reaching almost one trillion dollars from citizen taxes. Universities, attorney offices, media outlets are submitting due to presidential intimidation, and billionaires are handled as aristocracy.

“The United States, just months before its 250^th birthday as the globe's top democratic nation, has tipped over the brink toward dictatorship and totalitarianism,” an American historian, wrote recently. “Ultimately, more quickly than I believed likely, it occurred in this country.”

One awakes to new horrors. And it is hard to comprehend – and distressing to accept – just how far gone we are, and the rapid pace with which it occurred.

Yet, we understand that the leader was duly elected. Even after his highly troubling previous administration and despite the cautions that came with the awareness of the conservative plan – even after Trump himself declared plainly he would be a dictator just on day one – a majority of citizens elected him instead of Kamala Harris.

Frightening as the current reality may be, it's more daunting to recognize that we’re only nine months into this presidential term. How will an additional three years of this downfall find us? And what if the three years transforms into a more extended duration, because there is nobody to restrain this leader from opting that additional tenure is required, possibly for security concerns?

Certainly, not everything is hopeless. There will be legislative votes next year which might bring a different political equilibrium, if Democrats retake the Senate or House of Congress. There exist government representatives who are striving to apply a degree of oversight, such as lawmakers that are launching an investigation concerning the try to money grab by federal prosecutors.

And a national vote three years from now could start our journey to healing just as the prior selection put us on this disappointing trajectory.

There exist numerous residents marching in urban areas of their cities, as they did in the past days at democracy demonstrations.

Robert Reich, stated lately that “the great sleeping giant of the nation is rising”, just as it did after the Communist witch-hunt era in that decade or amid the sixties activism or in the Watergate scandal.

During those times, the unstable nation ultimately corrected itself.

Reich says he knows the indicators of that resurgence and notices it unfolding now. As support, he cites the widespread marches, the broad, cross-party resistance against a personality's dismissal and the largely united refusal by journalists to sign military mandates they only publish authorized information.

“The slumbering entity always remains inactive before some venality grows too toxic, some action so offensive of societal benefit, specific cruelty so noisy, that it is forced other than to stir.”

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

In the meantime, the big questions endure: can America return to normalcy? Can it reclaim its status internationally and its commitment to constitutional order?

Or must we acknowledge that the historical project succeeded temporarily, and then – abruptly, completely – collapsed?

My negative thoughts tells me that the second option is true; that everything might be lost. My optimistic spirit, however, advises me that we must try, through all methods we can.

Personally, as an observer of the press, that means urging journalists to adhere, more thoroughly, to their purpose of scrutinizing authority. For others, it may be participating in political races, or coordinating protests, or developing approaches to defend ballot privileges.

Not even one year prior, we were in a very different place. Twelve months later? 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 Optimism Currently

The contact I have during teaching with young journalists, who are equally hopeful and grounded, {always