And the decline of America

I'm reading Joseph McElroy's Lookout Cartridge and was brought up short by this sentence, spoken about a film in the making: 'Look I really like the England mingled with America idea, I mean it's got possibilities right now what with the war and the recession and as it were the decline of America.' Resonates, doesn't it? But here's the thing: the book was published thirty-five years ago. Our New York intellectuals have been announcing the end of the American Century for an entire generation, if not longer. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford