On the decline of American Power

Ed at Gin and Tacos tells us all how it works, again:

I know that the average person in other countries understands that there is no reason to fear Americans individually – really, they might be loud assholes but all they want to do is buy tacky, overpriced souvenirs – but there is ample reason to fear America as a whole. The political majority is not guided by anything approaching reason and is obsessed with reliving the Gilded Age. The nation as a whole is unhealthily obsessed with its former glory and isn't good at much anymore except turning foreign countries into smoldering piles of rubble.

I'm not sure any more whether the correct response to the US political environment is to spend a lot of time worrying about the possible consequences of Republicans regaining power, or to ignore it and hope really hard that it all goes away.  Maybe if the Democrats hold on for another cycle or two, US power will have faded sufficiently that the collapse will not be so bad for the rest of the world.