Reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.

One of the great many cottage industries in the American letters is the “America in Decline” series. We’ve been hearing this meme since grade school. That is why we so admire the unfailing enthusiasm and belief in this country’s exceptionalism held by one of our favorite authors, Tom Wolfe. Here’s Wolfe in an interview exchange with Peter Robinson:

Robinson: Henry Luce famously called the twentieth century “the American century.” Will the twenty-first century represent a second American century?

TOM WOLFE: I believe we’re on the edge of about 800 more years of American centuries. The biggest problem is all the people who see [it as] a problem. It’s very fashionable to think that the end is near.

H/T: National Review