Americans may be the most individualistic of people. And there has always been two sides to that individualism.

The founding fathers, inspired by the Enlightenment, crafted a nation based on humanity’s noblest principles. All men were, according to the Declaration of Independence, created equal, and all were endowed with unalienable rights. And of course governments derived their power from the consent of the people.

Furthermore, they had the right and the duty to fight a war to safeguard these principles. Their motives, however, were not entirely pure.

A number of the fathers, including George Washington, were land speculators who had their eyes on the rich lands west of the Appalachians. The British had declared these lands the domain of their indigenous occupants and forbade the colonists from occupying them. That, the founders intended to change.

Then there was the matter of slavery, not exactly consistent with “all men are created equal.” However, in addition to the fear of miscegenation, slavery was basic to the prosperity of the founders and therefore not to be trifled with. This conflict between principle and wealth has been a hallmark of American society ever since.

The slavery thing came to a head with the Civil War. The South fought to separate from the union and maintain what was the major source of its wealth. Also, tragically, a source of great evil. The North fought to maintain unity and to finally realize the promised equality of all men.

Unfortunately, all American men did not become equal. Blacks in the South remained exploited, oppressed by a brutal system of terror.

American ambivalence was not restricted to the homeland. While the country practiced democracy at home, it often collaborated with dictators abroad. The purpose tended to be making third world countries safe for American capitalists.

Things changed dramatically for its own disenfranchised citizens after WWII. The U.S. distinguished itself with its critical contribution to the defeat of history’s most evil regime, helping to save Europe for democracy. It followed this triumph by years of human rights progress at home. Blacks, women and gays all saw great progress.

All this has now come to a sudden stop; indeed it has gone into reverse. Never in American history have we seen such a contrast between its virtue and its vice. The progressive, consummately decent President Joe Biden replaced by the corrupt, pathologically narcissistic President Donald Trump.

Biden was a man profoundly concerned about human rights, about a fair society, about democracy, about the best America can be. Trump is concerned about punishing his enemies and enriching his friends and family. He is the brash, greedy, every man for himself American writ large.

Of course all nations are to some extent Jekyll and Hydes. All are capable of behaving virtuously and all are capable of behaving badly.

But the choices of none are as important to us as the those of the United States, the most important nation in the world. And it has chosen at this moment to be on its bad behaviour. The noble choices of its founding fathers are as straw in the wind.

If it fails to right itself we will witness one of the great tragedies of history, the end of one of humanity’s noblest experiments. I remain optimistic; after all the nation has proven resilient for 250 years; but, as our prime minister has advised, we shouldn’t count on it.