Posted on 07/08/2010 5:28:49 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
We are hearing all sorts of reasons why the United States is doomed to decline.
After all, America is piling up deficits at a record rate of about $1.5 trillion a year while other countries are slashing their spending. The national debt cascades over $13 trillion and is on track to reach $20 trillion within a decade.
The current recession is heading into its third year. Unemployment still hovers at nearly 10 percent.
Much of the country thinks the war in Afghanistan is as good as lost. There are more than 80,000 American troops deployed there, along with nearly 50,000 allied soldiers — facing fewer than 10,000 Taliban insurgents.
The largest oil spill in American history has been gushing up from the Gulf for nearly 80 days, with vague promises that it could be plugged in another month or so.
Between 11 million and 20 million illegal aliens currently reside in the United States. And we cannot seem to stop another half million from crossing illegally into America each year.
Politically, the fickle electorate was furious at Wall Street for the 2008 meltdown. But it is now angrier at a government that threatens to take over more private enterprise. In 2006, voters renounced congressional Republicans; in November 2010, even angrier voters will probably be more unforgiving of the once-dominant Democrats.
George W. Bush left office with dismal poll numbers. Yet Barack Obama, who campaigned on the theme that he would serve as a reset button for the prior administration, and who enjoyed an approval rate of nearly 70 percent at inauguration, has seen his own ratings dive below 50 percent in just 18 months.
No wonder this dismal news — coupled with constant predictions of a rising, all-powerful China and the emergence of new, upcoming regional powers like Turkey, Brazil, and India — prompts nonstop gloom about inevitable American decay.
Even Obama, at times, seems to envision a multipolar world in which the United States no longer is “exceptional” in the manner of the last 70 years.
In the midst of our current malaise, we feel overwhelmed by largely short-term problems and our current inability to address them — without appreciating our long-term strengths and present bounty, or learning from past recoveries.
We are soon to revert to the Clinton income-tax rates last used in 2000, when we ran budget surpluses. If likewise we were to cut the budget, or just hold federal spending to the rate of inflation, America would soon run surpluses as it did a decade ago. For all our problems, the United States is still the largest economy in the world, its 300 million residents producing more goods and services than the more than 1 billion in either China or India.
The U.S. military defeated both Saddam Hussein and the Islamic insurgency that followed him in Iraq, while fostering consensual government. With the same determination, there is no reason why it cannot do the same in Afghanistan. Certainly neither enemy is comparable to Nazi Germany or imperial Japan, which a much poorer America helped to defeat simultaneously within four years of engagement.
Nearly 70 years ago, a far less scientifically sophisticated country developed the atomic bomb in three years. It could likewise plug a leaking oil well in three months.
If the United States chose to close its southern border — by finishing the fence, fining all employers of illegal aliens, and increasing patrols — illegal entry from the south would cease almost at once. The pool of resident illegal aliens would shrink through assimilation, intermarriage, and voluntary repatriation while Congress kept haggling over the particulars of comprehensive reform.
Our supposedly intractable problems are hardly insurmountable. Ascendant China and India have much less freedom and far greater environmental problems, political turmoil, and class disparity. Europe is not as productive as America and is shrinking in population, not growing as we are.
In the bleak 1930s, we were told that German discipline and order were the answer; during the depressing stagflation of the 1970s, Japan, Inc. was supposed to be the way of the future. Then a resurgence of American confidence and renewed faith in our exceptional system dispelled all such nonsense.
The United States still remains the most racially diverse, stable, free, productive, and militarily strong country in the world. Its current crises are largely the political and cultural creations of the most affluent and leisured generation in civilization’s history — not due to longstanding civil unrest, structural weakness, or a sudden shortage of natural resources.
America may well soon decline and become no different from any other nation. But such a depressing future would largely be our generation’s own free choice; it is not a historical inevitability.
At the top of the agenda for the cultural marxists—kill the American spirit. Kill the notion that we can get out of this mess.
You guys are suckers for the cultural marxist agenda. Not me.
Look at the prosperity from the Bush tax cuts—at that time the free markets were only operating on less than 50% capacity.
Just think about it a little.
Maybe reconsider whether he's 'wrong' or not. His point is (channeling John Belushi), "It's Not Over Until We Say It Is". Yes, we could become the "third world $hithole" but ONLY if we give in to the 'malaise'. VDH is saying that it is NOT an inevitability and indeed it is not. America has risen above even greater challenges before and can do so again.
Funny—you just contradicted yourself.
If you’re going by history, you know the American spirit, backed by the free markets and most importantly God’s grace,
always wins in the end.
Hanson is right.
And we should know that the left is desperate to kill our spirit.
Take heed, all you trolls and useful idiots.
I agree with Victor, however, my confidence on the end of our current thugocracy will be determined by the Congressional elections this November. It would be best for us to elect hard core conservatives and miss the majority by 3-5 votes then to win the majority with a bunch of McCain lite pubics. There are majorities and then there are majorities looking over their shoulders. The latter may be to our advantange. Hell, in that situation we may act as lazarus and raise the dead with so-called “Blue Dog Democrats”. That term is just as funny as “Moderate Republican”. It just means they had to lie to get to Washington. What they actually believe in is their ivy league elitism.
Just more proof I’m senile;) LOL!!
Sounding like my parents who used “the good old days” and “you kids don’t know how lucky you are”. Ah the contradictions.
Hope does spring eternal;)
He’s wrong. There’s no getting out of this debt with the population of Americans we have today. There’s no getting out of the slide into paganism and islam.
They are fat, lazy, stupid, and immoral. They prefer slavery to government to freedom from its oppression. They prefer pagan barbarianism to the civilization of Christianity.
We are headed into post-Christian USA, just like Europe is in its post-Christian period.
America decided. America chose this. It happened over decades, so it is bigger than Ears and his homies. VDH is correct on that point.
Americans decided that they would rather grow government and make it their god than pretty much any alternative. That goes for lots of “conservatives” as well.
I pursue optimism wherever possible, but........I liken this to whistling past the graveyard. Unless and until you find a way to fix the fundamental problem of unaccountable governence you’ll get nowhere fast. The truth be told the problems are an outgrowth of a broken political class whose primary aim is to enrich itself at the populace’s expense while toadying to the global elites who craft what passes for public policy. The U.S. is near subject to what amounts to foriegn governance. At this point, I see no real solution to that problem. As a “Nation State” the U.S. is passing into the ash bin of history. The elections have become meaningless because the two parties are joined at the top and their policies are dictated to them by foriegn interests. I think that largely explains why so many so-called “Republicans” started out to run in 2008 only to drop out after learning two things; first they learned that they would be the loser because the “fix” was in and it was the Dem’s turn; and, two, they were told that if through some fluke they did win, they would have to take action according to a predetermined script. This explains for example, why Bush appeared to do much the same types of things to bail out the banks/economy that Obama has continued to do but on a larger scale.
Put another way, if you step back and think about your life and life choices over the last 50 years you see a pattern emerge. For example; soon you won’t be able to buy the traditional incandescent light bulb; you may prefer it but it will no longer be available; you have no choice over who you sell your house too and conversely, you no longer have any choice over who your neighbors are. Where I live it’s no longer possible to buy single pain windows for your house; I can’t buy gasoline without ethanol in it; I can’t buy the old style water heater, etc. These were decisions made for me; not decisions I made for myself. Yesterday we learned that through the artifice of the EPA, the gov’t is going to begin the process of drastically reducing refining capacity in the U.S.; this morning I learn that Obama will be giving a speach about new economic opportunities at a federally funded “new” automobile battery plant that will produce state of the art batteries for electric cars; now of course we’re being told that there’s going to be electric cars in our future and we’ll have no choice except to buy them because by way of EPA action, gasoline will be $5.00 to $7.00 a gallon by 2015.
Thus, you begin to understand that our futures are truly no longer in our hands and that the U.S. gov’t is being directed by forces beyond our control. The elections, etc. are simply window dressing designed to provide the hapless populace with the appearance of choice. The whole thing is an elaborate lie.
Being in my early thirties, I'm anticipating bad days ahead.
Prepare. Humans seem to desire to be slaves. Being a slave to Christ is ultimately freeing. Being a slave to government, uh, not so much.
Probably. But try nullification first.
Impeachment?
I respectfully disagree with the honorable doctor. We have moved most of our manufacturing capabilities offshore these days. In the 40s Pennsylvania itself made more steel than any country in the world. Then our national debt did not crush our children and grandchildren - if we ever can pay it off. The burden of state, local, and Federal government regulations now are much higher. Try to get the permits to do something - say drill for natural gas.
Yes America can be great again. We have the talent and the resources. However we need the freedom to be able to do so.
FREEDOM!!!!
They want more than anything to kill our Constitution. Killing the American spirit and morals goes along with this plan.
But think about it. They have all the political power and are trying everything, but our Constitution still stands.
If they had been victorious, Obama could come out today, make a speech about how his victory over our constitution. But he can’t. He has to keep pretending.
Look at how Kagan has to act like she’s Scalia in order to get confirmed.
If they had won, they could come out in the open and proclaim victory. But in the end, they still answer to us and to our Constitution. Most of all, to the Good Lord. That goes for Obama, Soros, Putin, and all their useful idiots. And for all trolls on this website.
My point was that "democracy" can be used as the engine to undermine our republic. See Direct Communist Democracy: Towards a pragmatic post-Marxist communist teaching.
Any number of individuals may have a sense of revulsion to the collective, centralized and planned social structure - but when "the majority rules," well, the majority rules! I think the agenda sucks, I think it's bad for the human spirit, and it leads to social decline. But I'm just one dude.
-- Look at the prosperity from the Bush tax cuts--at that time the free markets were only operating on less than 50% capacity. --
Bush was as big a collectivist as Clinton. His daddy was the first president to utter the words "new world order" to the public, as in such an arrangement is a good thing. When the republicans tout federal government as a proper site for education and medical insurance functions, and other republicans cheer "HOORAY! for our guys, they are winning!" I mentally note that they are winning by bribing the voters with public funds.
I've thought about it. More than a little. I don't like what I'm seeing and hearing. Can we get out of this mess? Sure - we have the resources, the people, health, good weather, etc. As a country we are blessed beyond what we deserve. I'm going to repeat what I said though, democracy to dictatorship is as real as it gets.
And, if the “Republican’ts” live up to their spineless reputations, not a whole lot will get done as is usually the case when they are in charge.
The momentum MUST not be squandered this time. Although, after years and years of let down after let down, there is not much hope for anything to change from several of us here as well.
Wish I had the positive attitude of VDH. But I don’t, and I don’t think November will be anywhere near the blow-out we need and some are touting.
My belief is that the majority of Americans are not interested, nor are they paying attention. The ones sounding the alarm are my age and older, and we’ll be dying off. And academia has been hugely successful at suppressing critical thought. The socialists can now take their places in the next era.
I’m ashamed to have left this mess to my children. Their generation isn’t equipped to deal with reality we’ve shielded them from. A government bureaucracy anxious to manage their lives for them after we’re gone will do very well.
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