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I am not arguing this is the most regressive era of American history, or the most shameful, or even the most chaotic. The 2020s, no matter how they shape up, aren’t likely to rival the abject cruelties of enslavement, abuse, and colonial conquest that defined the founding of the nation, or the brutal hypocrisies of later eras, including Jim Crow. The nation has not yet resigned itself to nuclear obliteration like it did, briefly, in 1962, and, as of this writing, the tariffs Donald Trump is endlessly teasing have yet to result in a 2008-style economic meltdown. (Knock on wood.) However, when you look at the aesthetics—when you survey the vibes—I don’t think it’s close: Never before have the forces of cringe wielded such power, never has their shlock been so validated, and never have more people been laughing at their bad jokes. Together, Trump and Musk and their Christian nationalist and tech cronies are remaking the social contract, rendering America into a grating banner ad, or a malformed Facebook comment. If you want me to be more specific, let me put it this way: 2025 is the only year in the American storybook that could produce something as flagrantly uncool as a Melania Trump–themed meme coin.