[Torie]

If one believed everything I read here about his issue, one would think American culture is as fragile as the thinest Venetian glass. It ain't; it is the most robust on this planet, and will continue to be for the forseeable future IMO.

[Noumenon]

Things look pretty good on the surface. The sun is shining, people go to malls and shop, it's up and at 'em to work five days a week, fun and games on the weekend. For most of us, trouble of major proportions is just a distant wisp of smoke on the horizon. Most of us don't pay it any mind. Shoot, if it doesn't impact the day-to-day, who cares?

Seen what's coming out public schools lately? We tend to forget that cultural trends take time to manifest themselves in real consequences. We've squandered our intellectual and spiritual capital with a stock market panic intensity since the 1960s. It's only just now that we're starting to realize that, as a nation, we're broke.