The Devastating Change Just One Year Has Brought in the United States
One year ago, the situation was utterly different. Before the American presidential vote, thoughtful residents could recognize the nation's significant faults – its unfairness and imbalance – yet they still could see it as the US. A free society. A country where the rule of law carried weight. A nation guided by a respectable and ethical leader, even with his advanced age and increasing frailty.
These days, this autumn, countless Americans scarcely know the country we live in. Persons suspected of being undocumented migrants are collected and forced into transport, sometimes blocked from fair treatment. The left side of the presidential residence – is being destroyed for an obscene ballroom. The president is persecuting his political rivals or perceived antagonists and demanding legal authorities surrender an enormous amount of taxpayer money. Armed military personnel are dispatched into American cities on false pretexts. The Pentagon, rebranded the Department of War, has – in effect – liberated itself of day-to-day journalistic scrutiny as it spends possibly reaching close to a trillion USD in public funds. Colleges, attorney offices, news companies are yielding due to presidential intimidation, and billionaires are handled as members of the royal family.
“America, just months before its 250-year mark as the globe's top democratic nation, has tipped over the edge toward dictatorship and totalitarianism,” an American historian, wrote recently. “In the end, more quickly than I thought feasible, it did happen here.”
One awakes to new horrors. And it's difficult to grasp – and agonizing to acknowledge – how severely declined we have become, and how quickly it unfolded.
However, we understand that the leader was properly voted in. Even after his deeply disturbing first term and following the warnings that came with the knowledge of the conservative plan – even after the leader directly declared plainly he planned to be a dictator solely at the start – sufficient voters elected him over the other candidate.
Frightening as today's circumstances are, it’s even scarier to understand that we’re only several months under this leadership. How will three more years of this downfall find us? And what if that timeframe transforms into something even longer, as there is nobody to stop this president from deciding that another term is necessary, possibly for national security reasons?
Admittedly, not everything is hopeless. There are congressional elections in 2026 that could establish an alternate political equilibrium, should Democrats regain one or both houses of the legislature. We have government representatives who are striving to impose a degree of oversight, such as Democratic congressmen who are launching an investigation into the attempted money grab by federal prosecutors.
And a national vote in the next cycle could start us down the road toward restoration precisely as last year’s election set us on this unfortunate course.
We see millions of Americans marching in the streets of their cities, like they performed recently at democracy demonstrations.
A former official, wrote recently that “the dormant powerhouse of the US is awakening”, just as it did after the Communist witch-hunt era in the 1950s or throughout anti-war demonstrations or in the Nixon controversy.
In those instances, the listing ship ultimately corrected itself.
The author states he recognizes the signals of that awakening and notices it unfolding now. For proof, he cites the recent massive protests, the broad, bipartisan pushback to a television host's removal and the largely united refusal by journalists to accept government requirements they report only what is sanctioned.
“The sleeping giant consistently stays inactive till specific greed turns extremely harmful, an specific act so disrespectful of societal benefit, specific cruelty so loud, that it has no choice other than to stir.”
It’s an optimistic take, and I respect his knowledgeable stance. Perhaps he will turn out correct.
At the same time, the major inquiries persist: will the nation ever recover? Is it possible to restore its position globally and its commitment to constitutional order?
Or do we need to admit that the historical project succeeded temporarily, and then – suddenly, utterly – failed?
My negative thoughts indicates that the second option is accurate; that all may indeed be gone. My hopeful heart, though, convinces me that we need to strive, in whatever ways available.
Personally, as a media critic, that means pushing media professionals to adhere, more thoroughly, to their duty of scrutinizing authority. For some people, it might involve participating in election efforts, or coordinating protests, or finding ways to safeguard ballot privileges.
Under twelve months back, we were in a separate situation. Twelve months later? Or after another term? The truth is, we are uncertain. All we can do is try to persevere.
What Provides Me Encouragement Today
The engagement I experience during teaching with new media professionals, who are equally idealistic and practical, {always
