Virginia: Our Interesting Times

There is an old Chinese curse the English translation of which is “May you live in interesting times.”  The implication of the curse, of course, is that it is better to live in seemingly dull and tranquil times, times in which little occurs that would threaten to upset the peaceful daily rhythm of the accursed’s life.  Let us set aside for now the coincidence that it is a Chinese proverb that so aptly describes the state of our union in 2019; the not-so-drowsy dragon in the east that American trade policy has awakened is shaking off his communist slumber yet.  Let us instead examine the latest example of the interesting times in which we Americans and others on these shores live, namely, l’affaire Northam, which unfolded last week.