How I Lost My Faith in America
The world still wants to believe in the U.S. But it needs some help.
On a cold Tuesday in January 2009, I watched from the National Mall as Barack Obama was sworn in as president. The inauguration of a black man on the steps of the Capitol—a building raised by slaves—reminded me of the remarkable ability of the United States to confound its critics and surprise even its friends.
But that frigid morning feels like a long time ago now. The past few years—indeed, the events of the past week, including the amateurishness of the Democratic caucus in Iowa, the grotesque circus of the State of Union, and the acquittal of President Donald Trump by the Senate of crimes
