Symptoms of Decline

It is obvious that feelings of decline are now widespread in a way that they were not in the past. Without exception, everyone that I have asked about whether America is in decline has said yes, regardless of his or her political stance, age, occupation, or social position. A wave of palpable unease has spread across the United States.

The self-appointed defenders of present-day America against the “declinists” tend to stress the collapse of our enemies, but historically, t...