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Here is my sense; like all empires before it this American one reached its apex after WWII. It’s on a downward trajectory and will eventually fall or be overtaken.
And I believe most Americans will be taken by surprise as in “How could this happen”?
That’s because most Americans are in the words of Paul Craig Roberts “insouciant”, without a care, too passively indifferent, too besotted with technological gadgetry, have feelings of entitlement and believe in American exceptionalism to bother to notice their government has become sinister-which most others in the world recognize, but their governments too intimidated or blackmailed into following us or they will be demonized. Think Iran, Iraq under Saddam-though earlier an ally in his war with Iran in the 80′s-now the newly announced new cold war with Russia and soon to be China.
As for us Americans take an honest look at what passes for our modern American “culture” nowadays-and contributes to maintaining domestic tranquility at all costs. In no particular order:
Consumerism-excessive and beyond all need.
Corporatism and commercialization of the public square i.e. the “mallization” of America.
Sports mania, particularly over Pro football and its marketing.
Popular movies featuring gore, crashes, mayhem, aliens, illusion, “virtual” characters replacing real people.
Celebrity gossip as “news”.
Government surveillance by way of technological gadgetry-cell phones, ipods, computers, email, GPS, EZ pass, toll cameras.
MSM becoming complicit in government actions and its propaganda.
Addiction with drugs and alcohol.
Incarceration-the highest rates of all 1 st world industrialized democracies.
Militarization of local and state police.
A trillion dollars in college student debt.
Though certainly not contributing to maintaining domestic tranquility, throw in the bailouts of the big banks too big to fail, income inequality worse than the 1920′s and clearly articulated in the 2011 occupy movement that coined the disparity between the 1% and the 99%, no single payer universal health insurance coverage for all, ignoring global warming and the further despoiling of the environment, the demise of domestic manufacturing, the outsourcing of jobs, home foreclosures and bankruptcy stemming from unscrupulous lenders et al and domestically its an America becoming unrecognizable to these old eyes.
As for the policies and actions of our government that unmistakably reveals its true nature, here again in no particular order are:
- The war industry-the trillion dollar military/corporate/political complex and its revolving door of key players that move seamlessly between each to maintain its control. The other key element is the creation of,
- “Enemies” contrived such as the “global war on terror”, and the new “cold war” with Russia.
- Initiating unnecessary and illegal wars and occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq
- CIA coups, assassinations to create instability to promote endless war
- NSA surveillance of everyone in the world through “back doors” of computers and software
- Absolute control of the political agenda and the enacting of laws, regulations oversight and enforcement to the benefit of corporate interests
- Justice Department lawyers writing memos “legalizing” all executive actions but kept secret for reasons of national security with no oversight by the Congress or the courts
- Exercise hegemony worldwide, surround Iran, Russia with “allies”, NATO, a thousand military bases worldwide and a floating armada of carrier task forces
- Initiate cyberwarfare as was done in Iran in 2010 and its enrichment of uranium
- Engage in extraordinary rendition, indefinite detention and torture of suspects
- Targeting and prosecuting whistleblowers, hounding Edward Snowden for exposing the NSA‘s illegal surveillance practices.
Incredibly, what’s propping up this edifice of domestic indulgence and propaganda and foreign villainy is the FED printing money, selling billions in treasury notes to China, Japan, even Russia underpinned by what else, our previous debt in the trillions and all based on the assumption these countries will continue to buy our debt. But it’s a form of blackmail these other countries have accepted, at least for the present. That can’t last forever.
For sure one can’t predict the actual demise of an empire, even the American one. But hubris, American exceptionalism, the sense of entitlement and the idea of it being the “indispensible nation” surely won’t save it from the trash heap of other empires long gone. Such illusions may contribute, even hasten that inevitable collapse.