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In late October 2024, the situation was completely different. Prior to the national election, reflective citizens could recognize America's significant faults – its inequities and imbalance – but they continued to see it as the United States. A democratic nation. A land where constitutional order held significance. A country headed by a respectable and decent public servant, notwithstanding his elderly years and growing weakness.

These days, in late October 2025, numerous citizens hardly identify the country we live in. People suspected of being undocumented migrants are collected and forced into transport, at times refused legal rights. The left side of the White House – is being destroyed for a grotesque event space. The president is targeting his political rivals or supposed enemies and insisting the justice department hand over a massive sum of citizen dollars. Soldiers with weapons are deployed to US urban areas on false pretexts. The Pentagon, rebranded the War Department, has effectively freed itself of regular press examination as it spends possibly reaching close to a trillion USD in public funds. Colleges, legal practices, news companies are buckling from leader's menaces, and rich magnates are regarded as aristocracy.

“The United States, only a few months ahead of its 250-year mark as the planet's foremost free society, has tipped over the limit into autocracy and totalitarianism,” an American historian, commented recently. “In the end, swifter than I believed likely, it did happen in America.”

Each day begins amid recent atrocities. It is difficult to grasp – and agonizing to acknowledge – how deeply lost we are, and the rapid pace with which it unfolded.

Nevertheless, it is known that Trump was properly voted in. Despite his profoundly alarming first term and even after the alerts associated with the knowledge of the rightwing blueprint – despite Trump himself declared plainly he intended to rule as a tyrant solely at the start – enough Americans elected him over his Democratic opponent.

Frightening as the current reality is, it's more frightening to realize that we have only been nine months into this presidential term. What will another 36 months of this deterioration find us? And if that period transforms into an prolonged era, because there is not anyone to limit this leader from deciding that a third term is necessary, perhaps for security concerns?

Granted, not everything is hopeless. We will have midterm elections the coming year that may establish an alternate governmental control, if Democrats retake one or both houses of parliament. There exist public servants who are trying to exert some accountability, for example Democratic congressmen who are initiating an inquiry regarding the effort to fund seizure from legal authorities.

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

There are millions of Americans demonstrating in public spaces throughout communities, similar to recent last weekend at democracy demonstrations.

An ex-cabinet member, commented this week that “the dormant powerhouse of the US is awakening”, exactly as before following the Red Scare in the 1950s or amid anti-war demonstrations or in the seventies crisis.

On those occasions, the unstable nation ultimately corrected itself.

He claims he understands the indicators of that awakening and observes it occurring at present. For proof, he cites the recent massive protests, the extensive, multi-faction opposition regarding a personality's dismissal and the near-unanimous rejection by reporters to sign government requirements they report only authorized information.

“The sleeping giant perpetually exists asleep before specific greed turns extremely harmful, some action so disrespectful of societal benefit, specific cruelty so disruptive, that he is forced but to awaken.”

It's a positive outlook, and I value the author's seasoned opinion. Possibly he may turn out correct.

In the meantime, the big questions remain: can America ever recover? Can it retrieve its standing internationally and its devotion to constitutional order?

Or should we recognize that the 250-year-old experiment worked for a while, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?

My negative thoughts indicates that the second option is accurate; that all may indeed be lost. My positive feelings, though, tells me that we need to strive, by any means we can.

Personally, as a media critic, that’s about pushing media professionals to adhere, more fully, to their duty of overseeing leadership. For different individuals, it may be working on election efforts, or coordinating protests, or developing approaches to protect electoral access.

Not even one year prior, we lived in a very different place. In the future? Or after another term? The fact is, we don’t know. The only option is try to persevere.

What Offers Me Hope Now

The engagement I experience in the classroom with new media professionals, that are simultaneously hopeful and realistic, {always