Ghosted: An American Story

by Nancy French

My unwillingness to bow the knee to an unsuitable president was the most American thing I’d ever done.

Our impatience with sorrow and trauma has seeped into our language and into our culture, so

Idols have a way of gaining power over their acolytes, and they always demand sacrifice—often women and children.29

energized the Republican stalwarts. We’d been a part of the conservative movement for so long, and suddenly we were the uncool people standing outside the car, telling people not to climb into a vehicle with a drunk driver. I still felt like a “true conservative.” When asked why I didn’t support Trump, I always responded, “I’m too conservative to support him.” But now Trump Republicans viewed us as either traitorous or liberal or both.

or the party drifted away from me. I woke up one morning and I was far, far away from the place I’d always been. This