The End of Something?

If Americans have an impending sense that our present moment represents a capitalized End of Something, let us take the moment to exhale and appreciate the tranquility of finality. “Americans adore beginnings,” says James Parker for The Boston Globe. “They can cope with a middle. But the end? Too much like defeat, too much like nothing at all. So let me draw attention to the particular virtue of endings: their truthfulness…But who cares? Begin, begin! Overheated with hope, running a hope fever, you fling yourself into the new project. You embark, and the winds of the universe are at your back. This time you can’t miss: Who dares wins, all things bright and beautiful, etc. One ending later you are free from such hallucinations.”