Complaints about American decline have been commonplace since at least the Vietnam War era. In the late 1980s, declinism experienced an upsurge with the publication of “The Rise and Fall of Great Powers,” by Paul Kennedy, which warned of the dangers of imperial overstretch. Even America’s putative victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War […] More
As the COVID-19 crisis is gradually slowing down, the world is bracing itself for a very likely second wave of the pandemic. While the shortcomings of the global response and the preparedness of individual countries will be open for debate and analysis for a long time to come, attempting to forecast what architecture the international […] More
In the guise of political reporting, Newsweek has produced a quasi-evangelical account of the new Democratic messiah, a man named Joseph, descended from the tribe of the Bidens. The author, Steve Friess, narrates the story of a man with an inspired vocation. The story begins as the soon-to-be-anointed prophet labors at bringing together his 12 […] More
As protests rock the country in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, there is a notable absence in the national public discourse: African American community leaders. Fannie Lou Hamer, a delegate to the 1964 Democratic National Convention, delivered a powerful speech to the attendees. Warren K Leffler/PhotoQuest/Getty Images […] More
In the United States, common narratives circulated by the radical right and right-wing extremists about the coronavirus pandemic include racist, anti-Asian stories of the virus’ origination, xenophobic calls to close all borders as well as “liberation” protests that argue that government shutdowns are meant to strip people of their rights and freedoms. Gender, a common […] More
We may not like what President Donald Trump is saying about the World Health Organization (WHO), China and the world at large. In fact, we do not like it at all, but Trump has a point, and acknowledging it would empower us to address him in earnest, with honesty and efficiency. The world is led […] More
Some 600,000 Wisconsinites, five polling stations. Do the math. For as long as I can remember, I eagerly watched my parents connect arrows, mark their votes and mail off their ballots. It seems seamless, but in many states, only once you request a ballot by mail can the at-home voting process proceed. Imagine thousands filing […] More
As the revolt was beginning to brew on streets across the nation on May 30, US President Donald Trump was celebrating the success of SpaceX’s launch of a manned mission to the international space station, the first time a private company has put human beings in space. Although it increasingly appears that Trump may come […] More
