Before the election last year it seemed like America, instead of leaning conservative as it has for many years, had tilted center-left and promised to stay there for the foreseeable future. While a new style of conservative movement was afoot (think bro culture and Joe Rogan’s podcast), it was far too weak in the institutions of power to advance in any meaningful way. From young progressives talking about gender identity, to businesses doubling down on DEI culture, to even the Catholic Church with the Pope and his blessing of same-sex marriages, the evidence was there that any conservative thrust on society was pretty nonexistent.

The Joe Biden administration and even the Barack Obama administration did much to keep their progressive ideologies front and center, and the mainstream media in large part did not seem to be at odds with the progressive policy pushes. Often the left’s dismissals of right-wing thought came in the form of accusations of racism or the increasingly popular critical race theory, which often did the trick to stifle the right. But of course, as with any opposition party, the left offered balance, as they always have, to more hardline conservative ideas (even though many on the left were out of touch with the electorate). And while the first Trump presidency attempted to arrest the progressive onslaught, its own clumsiness and a decently coordinated strategy from Democrats squelched any conservative renaissance.

Yet here we are today, a few months following Donald Trump’s election, and it feels like a conservative cultural revolution has a foothold and is advancing. It’s as if the president — and the American voter — turned on a light switch and made conservatism in vogue again. A crackdown on the border, a campaign to end “wokeness” and a squashing of other progressive ideas is now the focus. Regardless of whether one agrees with the president, it does seem like he’s speaking directly to the millions of Americans who elected him. And his supporters are liking what they’re seeing.

America is asking hard questions of how its citizens’ tax dollars are being spent at home and abroad (though we do have some recommendations on how Elon Musk could more responsibly handle his position as DOGE chief). Some government institutions are actually rooting out waste and many American corporations are focusing more on efficiencies than workplace culture.

What a difference a presidential campaign — and election — can make. Society and the major centers of corporate, political and academic thought underestimate just how tectonic a shift a nationwide campaign can bring at the right time and in the right season. Dickens wrote of a tale of two cities. Reagan talked about a city on a hill. Perhaps this president can usher in a new city of prosperity and justice for all; one that is neither confused nor clouded by mystifying fantasies.

But the jury is still out.

And hard questions remain. Will this conservative push lurch too far to the right? Will equally destructive ideas emerge to pollute or undermine a proper re-centering of the American political class? Time will tell, and we’ll all be watching, but hopefully both sides recognize the enormous responsibility they have to find the middle, the common ground where all wings of society can feel they have a home. People need a more centered government — one that does not bow to either side of our ever-expanding political spectrum. The latest shift in culture, however, is undeniably toward the right.