The Tragic Change Only 12 Months Has Brought in the United States
Twelve months back, the situation was utterly distinct. Before the US presidential election, reflective residents could admit the nation's deep flaws – its unfairness and disparity – but they continued to identify it as the United States. A democracy. A country where constitutional order carried weight. A state guided by a honorable and ethical official, even with his elderly years and growing weakness.
Currently, this autumn, numerous citizens barely recognize the land we live in. People believed to be illegal immigrants are collected and forced into vans, sometimes denied due process. The eastern section of the “people’s house” – is undergoing demolition for an obscene dance hall. Donald Trump is harassing his adversaries or perceived antagonists and demanding federal prosecutors transfer a massive sum of citizen dollars. Armed military personnel are being sent to US urban areas under fabricated reasons. The defense headquarters, rebranded the Defense Ministry, has effectively freed itself of regular press examination as it spends potentially totaling nearly $1tn of taxpayer money. Institutions, law firms, journalism organizations are buckling due to presidential intimidation, and wealthy elites are treated like nobility.
“America, only a few months ahead of its 250-year mark as the planet's foremost free society, has fallen over the brink into authoritarianism and extremism,” Garrett Graff, stated this past summer. “Finally, swifter than I thought feasible, it occurred in this country.”
Each day begins to new horrors. It is hard to comprehend – and distressing to accept – just how far gone we are, and the speed at which it occurred.
Yet, it is known that the president was properly voted in. Following his profoundly alarming initial presidency and despite the cautions that came with the knowledge of Project 2025 – despite the leader directly declared plainly he intended to be a dictator solely at the start – sufficient voters elected him over Kamala Harris.
While alarming as the present situation is, it’s even scarier to recognize that we are just three-quarters of a year into this administration. Where will another 36 months of this decline leave us? And what if that timeframe transforms into something even longer, because there is nobody to limit this leader from deciding that a third term is required, possibly for security concerns?
Admittedly, all is not lost. There will be congressional elections in 2026 that may create a new governmental control, if Democrats recapture the Senate or House of parliament. There are elected officials who are trying to apply a degree of oversight, like lawmakers that are starting a probe concerning the try to money grab from the justice department.
And a national vote in 2028 could start our journey to recovery precisely as last year’s election set us on this disappointing trajectory.
There are millions of Americans marching in urban areas of their cities, like they performed last weekend in the No Kings rallies.
A former official, commented this week that “the slumbering force of the nation is awakening”, similar to past post-McCarthyism during the fifties or throughout the sixties activism or during the Nixon controversy.
On those occasions, the listing ship finally returned to balance.
Reich says he knows the signs of that awakening and observes it occurring now. For proof, he cites the large-scale demonstrations, the widespread, multi-faction opposition against a television host's removal and the largely united rejection by reporters to agree to government requirements they solely cover what is sanctioned.
“The slumbering entity perpetually exists asleep until specific greed grows too toxic, a particular deed so offensive of the common good, some brutality so noisy, that it is forced but to awaken.”
It’s an optimistic take, and I respect the author's seasoned opinion. Perhaps he will turn out correct.
In the meantime, the major inquiries persist: can America return to normalcy? Can it reclaim its status internationally and its devotion to constitutional order?
Or must we acknowledge that the historical project worked for a while, and then – swiftly, totally – ended?
My cynical mind indicates that the final scenario is true; that all may indeed be lost. My positive feelings, though, convinces me that we need to strive, in whatever ways available.
Personally, as an observer of the press, that involves urging journalists to adhere, more thoroughly, to their mission of overseeing leadership. For different individuals, it may be engaging with congressional campaigns, or coordinating protests, or developing approaches to defend electoral access.
Not even one year prior, we existed in an alternate reality. Twelve months later? Or in several years? The fact is, we are uncertain. The only option is try to continue fighting.
What’s Giving Me Optimism Currently
The interaction I experience in the classroom with aspiring reporters, that are simultaneously visionary and practical, {always
