The fancy term for what America has squandered in the past year and a half or so is legitimacy.

After his leadership in SDS he earned graduate degrees from the University of Michigan (political science) and the University of California Berkeley (sociology). He is now a professor of journalism and sociology and chair of the Ph. Public intellectual
He has written 15 books and hundreds of articles in dozens of publications including The New York Times Los Angeles Times Washington Post Boston Globe Ha'aretz Columbia Journalism Review Tablet Magazine The New Republic Mother Jones and many more.

Todd Gitlin (born 1943) is an American sociologist political writer novelist and cultural commentator.