Michael Clifford: The darkening of the American dream

The events of the last week feel like a bereavement, writes Michael Clifford

Donald Trump’s reaction to the unfolding election count signalled the nadir in the darkening of the American dream. He wanted the counting of votes to stop, as if he were the dictator of a banana republic where elections were tolerated for window dressing. Picture: AP/Evan Vucci 

There was a time when America was Nirvana. In the town where I grew up we had the American Bar and we had the American Stores. Neither had much to do with America. In the window of the American Bar there was a faded photograph of a Black man leaping towards a basketball hoop. This passed for a sporting connection to America.

The American Stores was in operation before my time, but I have an old photograph of it in which the shopfront is just like any typical hardware store of its day.