Posted on 06/04/2005 8:22:02 PM PDT by bitt
No country lasts forever. Thats an inarguable fact.
History reveals three primary reasons why countries fall, governments change and ways of life vanish.
The Taliban, Saddam, Nazis and many other governments fell because of war with other nations.
Revolutions brought on by internal strife, an insurgency, social unrest and disillusionment, reduced respect and admiration of the nations military (note that the Marines and Army are finding it very difficult and sometimes impossible to meet their recruiting goals), loss or reduction of social values and norms, and political extremism bring down some governments. Examples include Iran in 1979, France in the late 18 th Century, China in the late 1940s, and Mexico and Russia in the early 20 th Century.
Sometimes governments just quit for a variety of reasons, resulting in ethnic fragmentation, like in the case of the Soviet Union.
Perhaps you noted that America is currently suffering from two of the three aforementioned reasons why countries fall.
Right now, America is fighting a type of warglobal asymmetric warfarethat has never been fought before by any nation. Our enemies wear no uniforms, abide by no rules, attack civilian targets, are in 90 countries including our own and want every American dead and the country destroyed.
We are suffering from political extremism mostly on the left; a clear reduction of social values and norms; widespread disillusionment when it comes to the war, social issues, politics, and the economy; and even some strife (a huge homeless population, high bankruptcy rate, a massive illegal alien population consisting of between 16 and 20 million people, etc.).
What makes many Americans think America is invulnerable to collapse or destruction? Such a belief is spectacularly arrogant.
History applies to all countries. According to history, we are far more at risk than what most Americans believe.
Extremists in the media (the Denver Posts Reggie Rivers, the Rocky Mountain News Jason Salzman, the New York Times Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd; Bill Moyers, Air Americas Al Franken, Michael Moore, Barbra Streisand, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Ed Asner, et al), politics (Howard Dean, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Barbara Boxer, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Robert Byrd, et al), and our collective societal commode (Ward Churchill, Louis Farrakhan, et al) are trying to dramatically change America as we know it. From their influential (upon many Americans suffering from muddy thinking) positions, such radicals fuel the flames of hate and discontent among those who are repulsed by the very idea of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Fury, frustration and disbelief replace reason and respect when these types are forced to accept major political losses and when they realize most Americans disagree with their fanatical agendas. Their shrill fanaticism acts as an accelerant in creating an emotional inferno among the followers of such would-be tyrants, which increases the chances America falling while advancing the time line for our demise.
Nevertheless, many if not most Americans, in their complacency and ignorance of history, believe we have no reason to worry; that America will always exist regardless of history and the threats currently facing our nation.
How very, very wrong they are.
They did not have to contend with Nuclear Weapons. If their enemies had them and were suicidally hellbent on using them it would have been a pretty short run wouldn't it?
Will we leave a legacy? I think so.
Let's be serious, if we fall ... everyone falls with us. Who will be leaving a legacy to? Cockroaches?
And getting more polluted every day.
You couldn't be more right. No one could beat us in a real war. We have more chance of imploding.
Yes, it is. Our 'kids' come home to what? Polticians that voted against them. To grade school children coached by their pissant teachers to condemn their actions... God knows why any man or woman would sign on for that kind of crap. Right now, our Congress, our STATESMEN, our protectors sworn by oath to protect the nation and it's constitution, have only one thing in common with the rest of us... they LIVE here and are free to say what they want because of our bravest, but yet, they seek their destruction.. for power. And you can't even count on a majority to protect what rivers of blood before us earned.
I'm not sure we have a voice in Washington at all anymore.. Snake oil salesmen, on both sides, with only a handful of exceptions.
Abe got it right.
Certainly, Kerry would've handed us over to the UN immediately, signed Kyoto, as well as the ICC. He's an open Globalist. (A commie too). and therein lies the only difference I see. Righties, are globalists that want to keep the military soverign to the US, and sell the rest of us in trade blocks. We are mere pieces on an global economic gameboard. Screw individual freedoms, property rights, the bill of rights, etc. The lefties, give it all up. Hillary?? Sure, bring her on.. It's not like mcCain won't make a deal with her. For the common good you know.
Well that's not the last thing I want to read before retiring for the evening. Guess I'll get a cup of coffee.
BTW - Thanks for the ping JJ. Rough night?
Actually, at least around here, most teachers don't "coach" their kids against the military. In fact, I don't know of one that does. Yes, there was that one idiotic teacher in New York, but I'm sure there were MANY times more that sent nice letters to those in the military. Those won't get mentioned by a media driven to deliver negative news or those with a political agenda against education. We had a high school here that had a very moving assembly with a teacher who wss stationed in Iraq and some of his buddies. There wasn't a dry eye left in the place as they told their stories. Another high school had a drive to make a state holiday to compliment a soldier. They actually got a bill passed by the legislature designating such. Do you think those got reported??? Not hardly a bit. (that sentence doesn't sound very well)
Some people forget that there are many teachers too with relatives and sons and daughters serving overseas too. My own brother is in the Air Force. I'm probably the most pro-military teacher around. My thinking is that they do the job that I'm too wimpy to do. There's no way you'll ever catch me complaining about them. I never have and never will.
I can't piss like an ant anyways. It's too hard to get down that low.
It should be noted that the church was in the Western Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Kingdom of Armenia, the Visigothic Kingdom of Spain, the Crusader States, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, etc., and these didn't last or "come out on top".
Agreed. And the tendency to this kind of arrogance has grown incessantly in the past 20 years.
Seems to me this topic came up in a recent not-too-widely circulated editorial. Looks like such things are being considered in wider circles than was first supposed.
WIth a Republican Congress, Hillary! can't get anything done. Jeb defeats her in 2012, thus saving the nation in process.
Same enemies.
Welcome to the 1300-Years War. Al Qaeda speaks of us as "Romans" more often than as "Crusaders".
Moog, your story, and many I'm sure are not reported by the media.. and whose job it is to plow through obstacle...?? Yours. I can tell you what I see and hear that isn't in the media, and teachers are as intimidated by their administrations, just as regular business folks are intimidated. Fear of losing a job. Pretty much the whole deal in a nutshell. Do teachers cow their students.. damn straight they do, and that's where the power of the press comes in, and it does affect children. Whether good teachers like yourself want to engage their administration to take on the perception of the public about a highjackedup education system or not, is probably not a fair question.. but nothing is fair about this is it? Whose future is screwed up if the adults don't take charge?
I don't forget there are teachers, bankers at Wells Fargo, salespeople at Home Depot, cashiers at Target, that have friend and family in Iraq. I have family there too. So what is an American to do when their company endorses anti-American politicians, policies? What if that company wants to be a big global player, but they have to turn their back on the country that afforded them success in the first place? Business is business.. we are just people that get in the way.
LOL. Sorry, I forgot that you can't write things like that late after 8:00pm ... causes nightmares!
Yep.. can you tell? :)
If Hildy is elected there won't be enough of America left to scoop up and put into a Glad bag.
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