August is supposed to be a month when many Americans go on family holidays, to the beach, or spectacular national parks, or perhaps a city adventure.

But August has begun with America in a dark mood. The first weekend brought the mass shootings, and resulting outrage, in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

Human rights activists subsequently were upset by the round-up of 600 undocumented immigrants in Mississippi, many of whom were parents of small children.

Meanwhile, commentators angrily turned on The New York Times for a headline they felt gave President Donald Trump, whose rhetoric has divided the nation, too much credit in calling for unity.

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Exercise fanatics angrily turned on billionaire Stephen M. Ross, owner of two popular big city gym brands, for holding a fundraiser for Mr Trump.

In the midst of it all, Barack Obama made a rare post-presidential appeal for calm, breaking with the custom of former presidents avoiding policy statements.

"All of us have to send a clarion call and behave with the values of tolerance and diversity that should be the hallmark of our democracy," he said in a statement on social media.

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Respected author Robin Wright, writing in the New Yorker, mourned the days when Americans could pull together in harmony.

"The idea of America as a melting pot is being replaced by the idea of Americans in separate pots," she wrote.

But, amid all the gloom, August could be a turning point for the country.

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So many people now feel threatened

All over the world, and in the States as well, people have asked, "When will Americans stop putting up with gun violence?" This might now be the time.

Mr Trump has tried repeatedly to blame mental illness and video games for the two shootings, only to have people respond: "It's the guns." He tried to blame Democrats, who pointed out that Republicans have refused to vote on gun-control measures.

Even Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader who is staunchly supported by the National Rifle Association, began to falter, promising the Senate would take up legislation in September.

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Now, of course, Americans have demanded change before, only to see no results. There have been hundreds of mass shootings (defined as incidents in which four or more people are wounded) in places ranging from Annapolis, Maryland, to Las Vegas, and Pittsburgh, which yielded little significant action.

What's different about this situation, however, is that so many people now feel threatened. Latinos. Blacks. Jews. Ordinary shoppers, like those who went to Walmart in El Paso, and young people out for an evening's entertainment, like those in Dayton.

This ire simply feels different. More than a week has gone by since the El Paso and Dayton shootings, and yet they are still in the news, still topping the news. In the past, the incidents would fade from discussion after funerals and wakes took place.

Latinos are especially leading this conversation, having endured years of Mr Trump's derision and rhetoric aimed at their community.

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Writing in the New York Times, broadcaster Jorge Ramos said he feared El Paso might not change anything. "Nobody should live in fear because they are Mexican nationals in the United States or members of the Latino community. But that's where we are now in this United States of Trump," he said.

But as the shootings in Ferguson, Missouri, five years ago heightened American awareness of the pressures felt by the black community, El Paso has raised consciousness of Latino fears.

Americans have demanded change before, only to see no results. ( Reuters: Jose Luis Gonzalez )

Speech replaced with tirades

With 16 months to go before the November 2020 election, it's far too soon to say it's the beginning of Mr Trump's downfall.

He has an uncanny way of turning attention to himself, and the stilted speech he gave urging unity has since been replaced by Twitter tirades.

But he was rattled enough not to let the press tail him when he visited victims in Dayton, insisting the White House press office hand out photos and videos instead.

And, apparently, the White House staff arranged to bring an orphaned baby back to the hospital in El Paso, where the President and First Lady posed for a thumbs-up photo opp.

No matter what happens next in the Trump presidency, August 2019 is bound to be a chapter in any post-administration book. And, judging by the way the country feels, it will not soon be forgotten.

Micheline Maynard is an author and journalist who writes on American politics.