“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way” – (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities).  You may be wondering why I associate a novel about the French Revolution with our current state of political affairs, but bear with me, unfortunately it does make sense.  For Republicans, 2016 began as the spring of hope and the season of light.  After 8 long years under the oppressive yoke of Il Duce Obama, we were looking forward to a new chance to set the country back on the right track.  We would be wise this time, we’d nominate a real conservative; we had everything before us.  Enter Donald Trump, and suddenly it was the age of foolishness, the epoch of incredulity, and all was darkness and despair; and not just for conservatives.  If anything, the establishment Republicans (who were looking forward to President Jeb Bush) took it even harder than we did.  Now, faced with the choice of either Trump or Hillary Clinton, few are anticipating a direct trip to Heaven, most being convinced that we are all headed the other way.  The fact is that we can’t simply blame Trump, or, as much as this pains me, Hillary Clinton either.  We are not in the place where we find ourselves because of what has happened this year.  It has been a long time coming.  It’s cultural.  Our current state of affairs is the result of a cultural deterioration which began long before 2016.  Trump and Hillary are just symptoms of our national sickness.  Long ago, we taught civics, hell, we even taught history.  Now, we don’t bother teaching kids how to be good citizens.  Even the word “citizen” itself is a pejorative; we mustn’t judge, you see.  History is now a minor part of “social studies” (gag me).  The only “history” we teach is that Columbus was a criminal, all Europeans are oppressors, slavery still exists in America, and don’t even get me started on the Indians.  Economics is a part of “social studies,” so bad-mouthing capitalism is part of the curriculum.  We used to value success, and look up to successful people (see George C. Scott’s opening speech in Patton).  Now, although we don’t quote Balzac, or even know his name, we assume that “behind every great fortune is a great crime.”  For that first great supply-sider, Calvin Coolidge, “the business of America [wa]s business.”  Now, we scorn business entities, which are labelled “Big (fill in the blank).”  Generations of deterioration have taken a toll on us.  The Greatest Generation won World War Two.  No sacrifice was too great for them.  They knew the value of a dollar; they feared and avoided debt.  Baby Boomers were more comfortable with debt, but they never doubted that a growing economy would permit them to repay it.  Boomers still had a respect for self-reliance, “Ask not what your country can do for you …”  Even members of Generation X grasped the concept that there is no such thing as a free lunch.  Not any more.  Members of the Me Generation are burdened by crippling debt, but they aren’t worried because they don’t feel any responsibility to pay it back; instead, they feel the Bern.  The government will provide.  It’s all part of the logical disconnect from which we suffer.  In the 19th Century, government service was a high calling, “public service is a public trust.”  We no longer trust the government, nor should we.  Government doesn’t draw the best and the brightest.  It is peopled instead by the trickiest, the slickest, and the crookedest.  Neither JFK nor LBJ would recognize the Congress today.  They know what their country can do for them, but they perceive no duty to do anything for their country.  We’re almost $20 trillion in debt.  They’re not concerned.  Neither Trump nor Hillary ever mention it.  Hillary says we need more spending.  We’ve adopted what I call Animal House economics, “Have a beer, it don’t cost nothin’.”   Simply put, our government does not tell us the truth, and we don’t expect it to do so.  It’s as though we’ve had a national root canal.  The national nerve has been killed.  The Congressional approval rating is close to nil.  3 out of 4 people say the country’s not going in the right direction.  People always say things like, “I don’t think social security will be there for me.”  Hence the disconnect.    Politicians lie, the government doesn’t work, the future is bleak, and yet, too many of us expect the government to scratch our every itch.  That’s what Hillary is selling, and far too many people are buying it.  On the Republican side, it explains Trump’s appeal.  He doesn’t jump through the hoops of political correctness.  Government experience is a disqualification.  Trump promises to tear the whole place down, and lots of people want to see it all torn down.  Revolution is in the air in both political Parties.  Will Marie Antoinette Clinton prevail?  Or will it be Robespierre Trump? (Both were beheaded, by the way).  Will the peasants eat cake, or Trump steak?  Only time will tell, but one thing’s sure; it’s not the best of times.