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In late October 2024, the environment was completely distinct. Ahead of the US presidential election, reflective citizens could recognize the nation's serious imperfections – its unfairness and imbalance – yet they still could identify it as America. A democratic nation. A land where legal governance meant something. A country guided by a honorable and ethical leader, despite his advanced age and growing weakness.

Currently, in late October 2025, countless Americans barely recognize the land we live in. Individuals suspected of being unauthorized foreigners are rounded up and forced into vehicles, occasionally refused legal rights. The left side of the presidential residence – is being torn down to build a lavish event space. The leader is harassing his adversaries or alleged foes and insisting federal prosecutors hand over a huge total of taxpayer money. Soldiers with weapons are deployed into American cities on false pretexts. The military command, rebranded the Defense Ministry, has – in effect – freed itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny during its expenditure of possibly reaching close to a trillion USD from citizen taxes. Colleges, attorney offices, news companies are yielding from leader's menaces, and rich magnates are handled as members of the royal family.

“America, just months before its 250-year mark as the world’s leading democracy, has tipped over the edge toward dictatorship and extremism,” Garrett Graff, commented in August. “In the end, swifter than I thought feasible, it occurred in this country.”

One awakes to new horrors. And it is difficult to grasp – and painful to realize – how deeply lost we are, and the speed at which it has happened.

However, it is known that Trump was properly voted in. Even after his highly troubling first term and following the alerts linked to the awareness of the rightwing blueprint – despite the leader directly said publicly he would be a dictator just on day one – sufficient voters selected him over Kamala Harris.

While alarming as the present situation are, it’s even scarier to recognize that we have only been several months into this administration. How will three more years of this decline leave us? And what if that timeframe transforms into an prolonged era, since there is nobody to stop this leader from determining that additional tenure is required, maybe for defense purposes?

Admittedly, all is not lost. There are congressional elections next year that could establish an alternate balance of power, if Democrats recapture one or both houses of Congress. There exist public servants who are striving to exert a degree of oversight, like Democratic congressmen that are initiating an inquiry concerning the try to money grab from the justice department.

And a leadership election in the next cycle could initiate us down the road to recovery just as last year’s election placed us on this unfortunate course.

There exist countless citizens marching in public spaces throughout communities, similar to recent in the past days in the No Kings rallies.

Robert Reich, commented this week that “the dormant powerhouse of the nation is rising”, similar to past post-McCarthyism in that decade or amid the sixties activism or throughout the seventies crisis.

On those occasions, the listing ship finally returned to balance.

Reich says he knows the indicators of that resurgence and notices it unfolding currently. As evidence, he cites the recent massive protests, the extensive, cross-party resistance to a personality's dismissal and the largely united rejection by reporters to agree to government requirements they solely cover authorized information.

“The dormant force consistently stays inactive till certain corruption grows too toxic, an specific act so disrespectful of the common good, some brutality so noisy, that he is compelled but to awaken.”

It's a hopeful perspective, and I value the author's seasoned opinion. Possibly he may prove to be right.

At the same time, the major inquiries remain: will the nation ever recover? Can it retrieve its position in the world and its commitment to the rule of law?

Or must we acknowledge that the 250-year-old experiment succeeded temporarily, and then – swiftly, totally – ended?

My cynical mind suggests that the second option is correct; that all may indeed be lost. My hopeful heart, nevertheless, advises me that we need to strive, through all methods possible.

Personally, as a media critic, that means encouraging reporters to live up, more thoroughly, to their purpose of holding power to account. For some people, it could mean working on congressional campaigns, or coordinating protests, or finding ways to defend electoral access.

Less than a year ago, we existed in an alternate reality. Twelve months later? Or three years from now? The fact is, we don’t know. The only option is try to not give up.

What’s Giving Me Hope Now

The engagement I encounter with students with aspiring reporters, who are both visionary and practical, {always