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One year ago, the situation was entirely distinct. Before the American presidential vote, considerate Americans could recognize the nation's serious imperfections – its inequities and inequality – but they continued to see it as the United States. A democratic nation. A land where constitutional order meant something. A state headed by a honorable and ethical leader, notwithstanding his elderly years and declining health.

These days, in late October 2025, many of us scarcely know the nation we inhabit. People believed to be undocumented migrants are detained and shoved into vehicles, occasionally blocked from fair treatment. The eastern section of the presidential residence – is being destroyed for a grotesque ballroom. The leader is targeting his political rivals or alleged foes and requesting the justice department hand over a massive sum of public funds. Soldiers with weapons are dispatched to US urban areas with deceptive justifications. The Pentagon, rebranded the Department of War, has – in effect – rid itself of routine media oversight as it spends potentially totaling nearly $1tn in public funds. Colleges, law firms, media outlets are submitting due to presidential intimidation, and wealthy elites are regarded as nobility.

“America, shortly prior to its quarter-millennium anniversary as the world’s leading democracy, has crossed the edge toward dictatorship and extremism,” an American historian, stated in August. “Finally, swifter than I thought feasible, it occurred in America.”

One awakes to new horrors. And it's difficult to grasp – and agonizing to acknowledge – just how far gone our nation is, and the rapid pace with which it has happened.

However, we understand that the president was duly elected. Following his profoundly alarming previous administration and even after the warnings that came with the knowledge of Project 2025 – even after Trump himself stated openly he intended to act as an autocrat solely at the start – sufficient voters elected him over Kamala Harris.

While alarming as the current reality is, it's more frightening to realize that we have only been several months under this leadership. What will three more years of this downfall leave us? And what if that timeframe becomes an prolonged era, as there is not anyone to limit this ruler from deciding that additional tenure is essential, possibly for defense purposes?

Granted, not everything is hopeless. There are congressional elections the coming year that could bring a different balance of power, if Democrats retake either chamber of the legislature. There exist government representatives who are attempting to apply a degree of oversight, such as Democratic congressmen currently launching an investigation into the attempted money grab from the justice department.

And a leadership election in the next cycle could begin the path to healing just as the prior selection set us on this unfortunate course.

There exist countless citizens protesting in public spaces across municipalities, like they performed in the past days in the No Kings rallies.

An ex-cabinet member, wrote recently that “the dormant powerhouse of the nation is stirring”, similar to past post-McCarthyism in the 1950s or throughout the Vietnam war protests or in the Nixon controversy.

In those instances, the unstable nation eventually was righted.

He claims he understands the signals of that revival and notices it unfolding currently. For proof, he references the large-scale demonstrations, the broad, cross-party resistance against a personality's dismissal and the near-unanimous refusal by journalists to accept the defense department’s demands they report only what is sanctioned.

“The sleeping giant perpetually exists asleep before certain corruption becomes so noxious, a particular deed so offensive toward public welfare, some brutality so noisy, that it is forced except to rise.”

It’s an optimistic take, and I appreciate his knowledgeable stance. Possibly he may be validated.

Meanwhile, the big questions remain: can America ever recover? Can it reclaim its standing internationally and its commitment to legal principles?

Or should we recognize that the national endeavor succeeded temporarily, and then – swiftly, totally – ended?

My negative thoughts indicates that the final scenario is accurate; that everything could be lost. My positive feelings, nevertheless, tells me that we must try, in whatever ways available.

In my case, as an observer of the press, that involves urging journalists to commit, more thoroughly, to their mission of holding power to account. For others, it could mean working on political races, or organizing rallies, or finding ways to safeguard ballot privileges.

Less than a year ago, we lived in a very different place. A year from now? Or three years from now? The truth is, we are uncertain. All we can do is try to persevere.

What Provides Me Optimism Currently

The interaction I have in the classroom with aspiring reporters, who are both idealistic and grounded, {always