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I hear and see a lot of talk about this nation being in or about to start a decline. What makes you think this is so?
I'll start by stating I suspect America is in decline as the complexity of modern life has eroded many peoples sense of community and in the last decade, eroded many notions of financial security. A good job may or may not afford you a decent home. A good education may or may not offer you a path to the middle class. The middle class may or may not afford you a decent life depending on where you live. Doing a great job may or may not save you from job loss. This is a new world.
But so very few people it seems, feel empowered enough to stand strong in the face of all that possible danger. In fact I think people engage in massive delusional ideas to prevent certain realities from settling in. We would hardly be alone there, history has some precedent. Our examples, like going back to the founders or FDR or JFK for advise are really ways of romanticizing the past and reducing the uncertainties of the future. Too big to fail is another. Anti-rationalist ideas seem to be spreading, folks who make millions are telling the poor how to vote against their own interest. Definitions and critical thinking give way to name-calling and fear mongering. These delusions extend to culture as well. The rich gay country music star who touts his exploits on Harley's and Jesus. There's the Rap star who lives in Beverly Hills but sells the idea of robing a store. And of course there's the gay senator who supports anti-gay laws.
These are reactions to societal forces gone out of control and they are probably not healthy nor sustainable. In many ways we have created a Frankenstein, a monster we can't control which behaves in unexpeted ways. Nonetheless, it's a matter of can we adapt to our new circumstance which will signal decline or not decline to me. But then that still leaves the question of what to do with that modern Frankenstein, or worse what it's plans will be for us.
America is not really declining, it's just ceasing to be the sole superpower. We'll still be a superpower well into the future, but with the rise of China, the creation of the European Union, and the signs of potential growth in countries like Brazil, India, and Indonesia, we won't have a monopoly on global influence. It's not that we're declining, it's that other nations are rising.
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