The reason Washington, D.C. is in the news this week isn’t because of anything Donald Trump did. It’s because D.C., more than any other city in the country, is a monument to the sustained, managed decline of the United States. As our capital, the District is an unmistakable symbol of a pervasive mediocrity, at every level. Every aspect of the city, from top to bottom, operates in exactly the same way.
Take the police department, for example. By now you may have seen the viral clip of the Police Chief, a woman named Pamela Smith, at a press conference with the mayor the other day. In this footage, she appears perplexed by the term “chain of command,” as if she’s never heard those words before in her entire life. A lot of people mocked that clip, and rightfully so. A police chief who doesn’t understand the concept of “chain of command” is a bit like a cook who’s never heard of the word “kitchen.” It’s the kind of jaw-dropping moment that doesn’t seem like it could possibly be real.
.png)
.png)
