Cool article. A decentralised rural village based country that embraces the digital revolution, and with locally produced food, clothing and shelter would appear to be what people like. The Jacksonians were spot on there.

Nailed it Progressive Pat! Perhaps?

Our nearest neighbor, Venus? Was once an earthlike planet that was transformed by chance, rather than quite deliberately applied coal fired insanity!

And now presents as the hottest planet in the Solar system, where few would or could survive!

So, let's not go there before the final bus departs the terminal! Terminal and final being the operative words!
Alan B.

Yes the triumph of the adolescent Jacksonian and Breitbart hoons, which is to say that the TV created "culture" depicted in the movie Beavis and Butthead Do America now set the tone for the future of USA "culture", or what remains of it.

Never mind of course that the precondition for the triumph of Trump and the now post-truth era (error) was the Republican Right Wing Noise Machine as described by David Brock.

"Reality" TV and the adolescent hoons from Breitbart now rule OK!

Which is also to ask where does the impulse and ground for an authentic humanizing culture come from?
Certainly not from the television WASTELAND that now patterns and controls every aspect of American "culture", including most of what is now called "religion". Especially the kind of religion subscribed to by all of the "conservative" religionists that apparently voted for Trump.

I wonder what George Orwell would have to say about the triumph of Trump, especially if you take into account his book Politics and the English Language. The Trump noise machine which includes (or included) Russ Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich etc etc and so on, have thoroughly degraded the use of the English language, all of our inherited cultural traditions (including religion), and all of the conventions that at least allowed politics to be practiced or talked about in a relatively civilized manner.

I wonder too what Alasdair MacIntyre the Catholic philosopher and author of the book After Virtue would have to say about this motley crew who now control the public shouting match, and the "culture" at large, and thus the destiny of humankind. Especially as the BARBARIANS which he referred to in his book are now in charge.