The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard is often quoted as saying, “When a tyrant dies, his reign ends. When a martyr dies, his reign begins.” In Iran, the week-long funeral ceremonies for the country’s supreme leader began on July 4, the same day the United States marked 250 years of independence. That coincidence would not have escaped geopolitical writer Amandeep Midha, whose biting essay argues that America’s imperial decline is now difficult to ignore.
