A city on a hill — no more
Since the Fourth of July celebration of the nation's 250 years was a bust, let's look at the next anniversary, noting when a Puritan governor declared that we would be as "a city upon a hill" in 1630. Almost 400 years later, in our summer of desperation, that's a quaint notion. Massachusetts Bay Colony leader John Winthrop reached for a political metaphor from the Bible, and it has served many purposes in America's story ever since. Yes, we're special, even exceptional. The world watches us shine. Ronald Reagan drew on this idea often. In every which way, President Donald Trump has ...