With all due respect, this is not some in-the-moment emotionally-colored thing. Months after America has almost lost its democracy for good, we are just now finding out that we were extremely lucky that it all worked out this time.

So, no, it's not just an old man opening a paper in the morning and claiming that "this country is going to hell". That's not new. THIS is.

I am genuinely surprised by this take on HN, which is very common. Any serious historian will tell you that this is not normal.