We learn from history that there are often periods when certain distinct powers or cultures have risen to dominance: the Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire etc. Epochs when countries have been so large and powerful that they have more or less ruled over or dominated the known world. History also tells us that such empires also invariably come to a crashing end. For the last seventy years or so, since at least the end of the Second World War, the USA has been that dominant power: it has been the world’s richest country; American culture has dominated our screens.

Yet, since 2016 at least, so called American exceptionalism has been shown to be a sham, and Americans to be fools taking credit for the creativity and ingenuity of others. Ask any American and the internet was an american invention, used predominantly by Americans; the same goes for film, music, or any other staple of modernity. But just as the web was the invention of a Brit, Tim Berners-Lee, the time has come for Americans to get off the bloated cultural pedestal they claim as their birthright. From the sound of it, of course, Americans still think they dominate, and once Trump is removed from office things will return to what they perceive as normal. Yet I now think it’s time for the American epoch to end, and America to be put in it’s place: it’s recent aggression towards Venezuela puts that beyond all doubt.

It’s time for Americans to realise that the world isn’t theirs to dominate, and they aren’t the world’s police. We are perfectly capable of settling our disputes without the jumped up buffoon in the White House getting in the way or taking credit. Trump has transformed the USA from benign, welcoming superpower into an arrogant fascistic bully, and I’m afraid that change is now irreversible. The only question is, who could replace them?