In 2020, US politics are once again a volatile cauldron. Both progress and disappointment are the likely result

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Charles Dickens wrote the famous opening line of A Tale of Two Cities in 1859, but it feels very appropriate in the United States of 2020. But which of the two clauses deserves the most emphasis today? Ron Pruessen argues that argues that history tells us that neither can be ignored. Looking to other volatile moments in America’s past reveals a repeated pattern of opposing forces which generate a frustrating blend of both splendid achievements and tragic failures.