On Power, Plunder, and the American Problem

I miss when being American was merely embarrassing. When we were just the loud tourists, the gun-obsessed cowboys, the shallow consumerists. Selfish, boorish, rude. A bad reputation, sure, but a manageable one. And to be fair, one we mostly deserved. But these days I am mortified to be an American. It’s not just the petulant nepo-brat that was somehow elevated to power, where he just farts around each day, playing out a new performative embarrassment displayed on the world stage. It’s not just the open corruption and quid pro quo because everyone expected that. Trump is and has always been a grifter, and his simpleton’s playbook is obvious and the moves are always telegraphed...