None of us should be shocked when Doris Kearns Goodwin says something profound. Reading Barbara Spindel’s Q&A today with one of America’s greatest historians is a must. At a moment when catastrophism is the dominant trend in political thought, it reminds us of the power and importance of context.

And therein lies wisdom. “The government is us,” she says. So a lack of trust in government is a “lack of trust in our own collective action as well.” By this measure, there is no enemy to defeat, no outcome to fear, only a bond of fellowship perpetually to rekindle.