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In late October 2024, the landscape was completely different. Before the US presidential election, reflective Americans could admit the nation's serious imperfections – its injustices and inequality – yet they still could identify it as America. A democratic nation. A country where legal governance carried weight. A nation headed by a dignified and decent leader, despite his elderly years and growing weakness.

Nowadays, in late October 2025, countless Americans barely recognize the nation we inhabit. Persons alleged as unauthorized foreigners are rounded up and shoved into vans, occasionally refused legal rights. The left side of the White House – is undergoing demolition for an obscene dance hall. Donald Trump is persecuting his political rivals or supposed enemies and insisting legal authorities surrender a massive sum of taxpayer money. Armed military personnel are dispatched into American cities with deceptive justifications. The Pentagon, renamed the Department of War, has practically liberated itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny during its expenditure of what could amount to close to a trillion USD of taxpayer money. Colleges, legal practices, journalism organizations are submitting under the president’s threats, and wealthy elites are treated like members of the royal family.

“The US, just months before its 250^th birthday as the planet's foremost free society, has fallen over the edge into autocracy and totalitarianism,” Garrett Graff, stated this past summer. “Ultimately, faster than I believed likely, it did happen in America.”

Every morning starts with fresh terrors. And it's challenging to understand – and agonizing to acknowledge – how severely declined our nation is, and how quickly it has happened.

Yet, we understand that the leader was duly elected. Following his deeply disturbing initial presidency and despite the cautions associated with the understanding of the rightwing blueprint – despite the leader directly stated openly he intended to rule as a tyrant only on the first day – sufficient voters elected him over his Democratic opponent.

As terrifying as the current reality may be, it’s even scarier to understand that we’re only three-quarters of a year into this presidential term. What will three more years of this decline find us? And suppose the three years becomes an prolonged era, because there is not anyone to limit this ruler from deciding that a third term is essential, maybe for national security reasons?

Granted, all is not lost. There are legislative votes in 2026 which might establish an alternate political equilibrium, if Democrats regain either chamber of the legislature. We have public servants who are trying to impose some accountability, like lawmakers who are launching an investigation into the attempted cash appropriation from the justice department.

And a leadership election three years from now could begin our journey to healing exactly as the prior selection put us on this regrettable path.

There exist numerous residents demonstrating in urban areas throughout communities, like they performed in the past days in the No Kings rallies.

An ex-cabinet member, wrote recently that “the slumbering force of America is rising”, similar to past after the Communist witch-hunt era in the 1950s or throughout the Vietnam war protests or during the Watergate scandal.

In those instances, the unstable nation eventually was righted.

The author states he knows the signs of that revival and sees it happening currently. As evidence, he references the large-scale demonstrations, the extensive, bipartisan pushback to a personality's dismissal and the near-unanimous defiance by media to sign government requirements they only publish approved content.

“The dormant force always remains asleep before specific greed becomes so noxious, some action so disrespectful toward public welfare, certain violence so loud, that the giant has no choice but to awaken.”

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

Meanwhile, the major inquiries remain: is the US able to return to normalcy? Can it reclaim its standing in the world and its devotion to legal principles?

Or should we recognize that the historical project worked for a while, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?

My negative thoughts suggests that the second option is correct; that everything could be lost. My optimistic spirit, however, tells me that we need to strive, through all methods we can.

Personally, as a media critic, that means pushing media professionals to commit, more fully, to their duty of holding power to account. For others, it could mean working on congressional campaigns, or coordinating protests, or discovering methods to protect voting rights.

Not even one year prior, we existed in a separate situation. A year from now? Or after another term? The reality is, we cannot predict. Our sole course is to strive to continue fighting.

What’s Giving Me Hope Now

The interaction I experience in the classroom with new media professionals, who are both idealistic and practical, {always