One institution in particular has kept its head and helped the country do the same: the federal judiciary.
Judges haven’t always been great at resisting the temptations of the culture war, needless to say. They have frequently been part of the problem with contemporary American politics. But when it comes to contending with conspiracy in particular, the institutional fortitude of the courts has offered some clues to how our broader political culture might do better.
Notably, resistance to the pull of polarized conspiracy has extended to judges nominated by President Trump himself. Faced with claims of election fraud, every judge has demanded evidence, argument, and an adherence to proper procedure, and refused to tolerate groundless fantasy. These judges have done this not as agents or opponents of the president but as professionals—representatives of a set of institutions whose claim to authority is rooted in their commitment to a standard of integrity. It would have been good for us to see all the conspiracies of recent years scrutinized that way.