愚行、浮华与华服：美国为何重蹈君主制覆辙？

America went to extraordinary lengths to throw off the rituals of monarchy. Why would we fall for royal trappings now? B Y J A K E L U N D B E R G A s president, George Washington received visitors once a week, for exactly half an hour. These “levees,” as they were called, were not loose occasions. Washington stood by the fire- place in a dining room cleared of its chairs. Dressed in a black velvet suit, hair powdered, hat in hand, he greeted guests with a formal bow. Handshakes, familiar and egalitarian, were prohibited. Conversation was sparse. The president, per Alexander Hamilton’s instruc- tions, might talk “cursorily on in different subjects,” but noth- ing more. …