Meanwhile, American society is degenerating into a cold war between fascists and democrats.
Seems a bit far-fetched... ;-)

How does the distancing help Elena? Not to say it DOESN'T, it's just not obvious in the below how it does. Overall, it doesn't sound like the sort of thing I'd seek out (he said, glancing at the old Larry Niven novel he's re-reading and blushing deeply), but it seems to have sufficient potential to attract readers.