President Trump says we’re living in a "Golden Age" for America. His critics counter that it’s actually just another Gilded Age, like the late-19th century, in which a thin patina of gold is covering up a lot of rot underneath. Both of these things are, in their own way, true. Twenty-first century America is richer, freer and safer than any large nation or empire at any time in human history. We’re bursting with innovation and growth. But it's also true that a great deal is falling to pieces.

Our culture is frayed, our institutions are weak and civic virtue is hard to find. Decency has often been replaced with cruelty, abetted by the indispensable tools of the cruel: cynicism and irony. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is winning both cheers and jeers for his embrace of Trumpian trolling as h

See Full Page