The Mueller Report is done. Get ready for fiery arguments on “criminality,” “executive privilege,” “criminal intent,” “legitimate business interests,” etc. to begin. The cacophony will hide the real depths the country has sunk to, dazzled, apparently, by stock and jobs market highs fueled by trillion-dollar-a-year deficit spending (no worries, the party of fiscal responsibility is in charge). A good time for a break from the impending ugliness and soothe our souls by looking at New Zealand.

Soothe our souls not with the horrific slaughter of innocents at a place of worship — anyway, this country has become largely impervious to mass slaughters no matter how horrific — but by the exemplary display of leadership from NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. We witnessed in Ms. Ardern what true leadership looks like. Her calm demeanor, clarity of purpose, display of heartfelt empathy (not rote “thoughts and prayers”) and above all, swift substantive action banning all assault-style weapons in NZ as a response to this national tragedy, left me in awe.

There is an old saying: A country deserves the politicians it gets. I wonder what New Zealanders are doing that we are not. And what we are doing to deserve our dues.

Sankar Ray

Sammamish