America is changing fast – and not for the better. Under Donald Trump’s second term, US democracy is being hollowed out, institutions undermined, and conspiracy theories elevated to the level of government policy. Experienced officials are replaced with loyalists, medical science is dismissed in favour of fringe anti-vaxxer rhetoric, and the United Nations is used as a stage for Trump’s fabrications about ending wars, halting immigration, and dismissing climate change as a “con job”. While Trump rants and Fox News cheers, America’s reputation as a global leader is collapsing – and into that vacuum, nations such as China, Russia, India, and Brazil are stepping forward to reshape global alliances and strengthen BRICS trade and finance alternatives.
Domestically, the United States faces creeping authoritarianism and the risk of stagflation, with economic gains undermined by self-inflicted wounds from tariffs and isolationist policies. Internationally, the retreat of US leadership risks accelerating the emergence of new power blocs, leaving Australia facing a critical choice about whether to cling to a faltering alliance or pursue independent opportunities. Meanwhile, in Canberra, the Australian media obsess over Anthony Albanese’s “date” with Donald Trump, turning diplomacy into a reality TV spectacle while ignoring the deeper issues at stake: AUKUS, tariffs and Australia’s role in a fractured world order.
At the same time, Australia has just recognised Palestine at the United Nations – joining over 150 countries in a historic but symbolic shift that marks the beginning of a new global conversation about justice, sovereignty, and accountability in Western Asia/Middle East. Recognition will not end the siege of Gaza or bring back the dead, but it signals a crack in the decades-long Western wall of obstruction that has protected Israel from accountability. Just as South Africa was eventually transformed by boycotts and international pressure, the Palestinian cause is finally moving from the margins to the centre of global politics, reshaping debates not only in the region but across the world.
What happens next will not only redefine America’s place in the world, but Australia’s too.
Song listing:
‘Living In America’, James Brown (Mixerm8’s dub version).
‘Satellite Anthem Icarus, Boards of Canada.
‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.
Image: US President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 19. Photograph: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz.
