“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens at the outset of his classic 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities. As America navigates the alleyways of a consequential election and the pathways of its aftermath, pulling out the novel’s full opening passage adds a layer of relevant wisdom.

The novel opens as follows: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

The words aptly describe the current complexion of America.

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From sea to shining sea, the face of America is still beautiful, but of late her amber waves of grain have yielded a crop of strain.........

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