As we were drawing this issue up, a blizzard hit Washington, DC, dropping about a foot of snow and ice on the entire region. In the single-digit temperatures, this mixture was consolidated into what has been dubbed “snowcrete,” a phonologically repugnant neologism used in public officials’ apologetic explanations for failing to clear streets and sidewalks in a timely fashion. This coincided with another catastrophe: A decrepit sewer main burst, dumping many millions of gallons of the raw stuff straight into the Potomac. As of this writing, the “geyser”—a bad word to see in close proximity to the word “sewer”—is still spewing with gusto. For those who have an interest in failures of governance, see Nic Rowan’s thoughtful and even poetic firsthand account of these thoughtless and unpoetic events.

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Failure of governance: The phrase is resonant, even thematic. Can the state do anything well? Or has it become a collection of rackets for particular interest groups, to hell with everyone and everything else? That is a question that underlies many of the pieces in this issue. For our cover feature, Juan David Rojas details how Miami and its most famous son have become a the unlikely prime movers of a significant portion of American foreign policy in the second Trump administration. Hannah Rowan, reporting on the strange new world of healthy eating and the unusual confluence of pharmaceutical and “crunchy” interests, raises the question of whether America really can be made less sick under the prevailing health paradigms. Evie Solheim reviews a new book on the state’s strangulation of the trucking industry, abetted by the tech and immigration industries. Looking abroad, Harrison Berger illuminates the scandal engulfing the Brazil’s ruling class, and Jason Morgan writes about the strange political infighting centering on the controversial Unification Church in Japan. Everywhere, private intrigue and camarilla politics seem ascendant in what is pathetically still called public life.

Sam Francis coined the term “anarchotyranny” to describe the circumstance in which the state is increasingly restrictive of normal human activities, usually with an eye to bringing money to the government and its allies, while public services languish and public order falls into decay. It’s hard to stop seeing it once it’s been pointed out. What are the chances of a return to traditional political forms and the reinvigoration of the cultural zone quaintly referred to as the West? That is the question Andrew Day takes up in his examination of this administration’s affinity for “civilizational rhetoric” in its dealings with foreign powers. His findings are not altogether encouraging. Certain behaviors are difficult to correct; again, as of this writing, the United States is massing vast military resources in the Persian Gulf region for what looks like an increasingly likely attack on Iran. For the background to this drama, see Jude Russo’s review of a recent book on Iranian grand strategy and political history.

All is not lost, however. The reservoirs of the good in American culture are deep. The American Conservative has as its premise that there is something worth conserving in America—it’s our name for a reason. Bill Kauffman’s reflections on the quirks of American political culture and Peter Tonguette’s piece on a strangely American British writer attest that the wellsprings are here for those who look for refreshment. As always, thank you for supporting our project. Onward, for America.