WHAT on earth is going on with our closest ally, the United States?
Strange and worrying times see the land of the free imprisoned in an ideological nightmare, with pitched battles on the streets and each side claiming the moral victory.
Fuelled by the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minnesota police, the Black Lives Matter movement has inflamed thousands, who have taken the opportunity to right historic, perceived injustices by rioting and laying waste to their neighbourhoods.
They’re trailed by Antifa thugs, whose paramilitary activities mimic the very fascists they profess to despise, and militias, who use the Second Amendment to justify their right to bear arms in defence of freedom.
COVID-19 adds to the incendiary mix, as nightly news footage has shown for months.
Gun sales have soared, with the FBI reporting 3.9 million background checks in June, a record 71 per cent higher than at the same time last year.
Soberingly, there are now more guns in the US - 400 million - than owners.
Meanwhile, cowed politicians have agreed to defund the police, with the New York Mayor, for example, cancelling one sixth of his entire policing budget.
The results have been disastrous, with murders and muggings soaring, housing prices collapsing and unprecedented numbers of residents leaving big cities in droves.
The Presidential election in November only adds fuel to the fire.
While Mr Trump is a divisive figure, numerous commentators have pointed out that scaring the American people won’t help Joe Biden’s campaign.
Nor will the Democrat’s reluctance to condemn even the most violent behaviour.
And if they don’t, they risk a Republican victory.
Whoever wins, this level of acrimony must end, for the US is still the leader of the free world and that’s an onerous responsibility.