The takeaway from election 2020 — maybe the best of America has come and gone

National Post, 03 November 2020

American political candidates routinely speak about their country as the greatest political, economic and cultural achievement in the history of mankind. But does anyone sincerely believe that about America today?

It’s the end of another marathon American election campaign. Is it also the end of the American age?

That’s been declared prematurely many times before, but in this election, we have heard more often, and more intensely, that if the other side wins, America itself is at stake.

American political candidates routinely speak about their country as the greatest political, economic and cultural achievement in the history of mankind. But does anyone sincerely believe that about America today?

For those of us who love the United States from outside, this day of foreboding concludes a long season of sadness.

I love Fifth Avenue, the main street of New York, the caput mundi, the capital of the world. Fifth Avenue is what the Imperial Forum was to ancient Rome, the centre of power and prestige, culture and commerce.

From the Empire State Building to the New York Public Library, from St. Patrick’s Cathedral to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from Greenwich Village to Central Park, from Saks to Bergdorf Goodman, from the Plaza Hotel to Trump Tower — all of American life, for better or for worse, is embodied there in one way or another.

To those who sense a certain fin-de-regime ambience this election season, the barbarian hordes are coming. Or at least the grand dames of Fifth Avenue are expecting them.

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