While surfing the internet and listening to Dan Bongino’s litany of foul-ups in Washington, a song from the Vietnam era of the 1960s went through my mind. It was Barry McGuire’s “The Eve of Destruction.” An over-reaction? No doubt. But an understandable one.

• 1969: NASA lands men on the moon and brings them home safely to Earth.

• 2024: NASA announces that it cannot bring our two astronauts back from the International Space Station until February, by which time their muscles will be too weak to walk unaided and their bones will be seriously demineralized. Asking to bum a ride from the Russians, as we have done before, is clearly out of the question. The Ukraine war and the Russia hoax did not endear us to Putin.

• 1941-1945: Boeing fills the skies with planes during World War II

• 2024: Boeing cannot build an airliner with a door that does not blow out during flight. Their Starliner will be replaced by Elon Musk’s Space-X to bring the astronauts home.

• 2024: The Secret Service allows Leader of the Opposition Trump to mount the podium after bystanders and local police pointed out a man with a rifle on a rooftop. At what point does negligence merge into malice?

Yes, it’s an exaggeration to claim we’re on the eve of destruction. But not by much. Is this the best we can do? Do you think, just possibly, that we need new leadership that emphasizes competence over diversity? Do you imagine, just conceivably, that a return to biblical values might help?