[eastbound]

> slip into mediocrity over time

Europe has been mediocre for the entire modern times. France’s Haussmann marks the end of it with the Exposition Universelle of 1889 (Eiffer Tower) which really attracted people. Since then, we had to be rescued by Americans every time we went into war (even in Vietnam) and the art capital of the world is NYC. Maybe De Gaulle revived France a little (and he leveraged the UK/US help for that), but nowhere near what Shanghai or San Francisco did.

Europe is fine as a former success. Happiness has been high, life expectancy too.

Except it is now being ruled over by people who will neither bring it to the sky again, nor will keep the existing inhabitants.