I think the next election is critical as to whether the USA will keep on its path of relegation to the history books as a "quaint experiment" or whether the Republic can be restored. The problem lies in our money and the way it works. We basically need wars to fuel what's left of our economy and stabilize our money. We need to borrow money to pay for the wars. Its a spiral that eventually does reach a critical mass. Our force readiness is broken, our dollar value is in the sewer, the average joe is in debt past his ears, our nation is in debt to our enemies, the wealth distribution took a drastic shift in the last 20 years. Or, as my grandpa said, when Americans need slave labor to scrub their own toilets, we're the Roman Empire...and he was the biggest Reagan worshipper I've ever met.
Empires, by definition, fade softly or fall hard in the end. Just as once mighty Britain is the USA's lap dog now, USA will be someone else's in turn if something isn't done to change this situation. We could become Saudi Arabia's attack poodle (we sort of are...), China's, India's?
It scares me enough that my kid is 4 months old and I still haven't gone to the embassy here to get his American certification. What will his inheritence be? I won't saddle him with crushing debt or the humiliation of slavery, even if the cage is so gilded most Americans won't even notice.
Empires, by definition, fade softly or fall hard in the end. Just as once mighty Britain is the USA's lap dog now, USA will be someone else's in turn if something isn't done to change this situation. We could become Saudi Arabia's attack poodle (we sort of are...), China's, India's?
It scares me enough that my kid is 4 months old and I still haven't gone to the embassy here to get his American certification. What will his inheritence be? I won't saddle him with crushing debt or the humiliation of slavery, even if the cage is so gilded most Americans won't even notice.