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I teach 12th-grade English at an urban school. The poverty rate here is high. I’ve devoted my career to serving this population. The work is often difficult, but it’s the most important work in the world, and I’m all in.

As I prepare to return to the classroom to begin my 19th year in public education, I’ve come to accept that America is a fundamentally different place than I thought it was when I last stood before a group of students in June.

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Sure, we still go to work and watch football. We’re still addicted to social media. But we’ve devolved into a people who hunt the vulnerable rather than help them.

Washington, D.C.’s law enforcement has been federalized. The leader of our country has floated plans to do the same in other U.S. cities. Home Depots and preschools are being raided. Public radio and the Department of Education have been defunded. At the same time, a slew of migrant camps are springing up. The changes have been dramatic, at times draconian, and all enacted at lightning........

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