The Future of America

I have been around for many decades, and this is the first time I am concerned about the future of America.

It's not just the buffoon occupying the White House, or his band of corrupt, self-serving, unqualified associates. No, my fear is much deeper and broader than that. Not only our political systems are collapsing, but so, too, are our judicial, social and cultural systems, as well as our infrastructure. Our military is being handed more and more power (border protection and screening people for security clearances are but two examples). Fascist regimes frequently start this way.

I never thought that I would witness the decline and fall of America. As many other once-great countries have fallen, so, too, it seems is America. Consider the decline and fall of the Greek empire, the Roman empire, and the ancient Egyptians.

Here are a few examples of what I see as symptoms of an America that is well down the slope toward collapse.

• A driver of a school bus, convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl, gets no jail time for his crime.
• A Georgia man who held a teenage prisoner captive -- in a dog cage -- in his home for more than a year, and who was indicted on charges rape, child cruelty, sodomy and several other charges, served only 8 months of his 10 year, 8 month sentence. He will serve the rest of the sentence on probation.
• Antisemitism is on the rise, with two recent attacks on people in synagogues resulting in several deaths.
• A young woman was shot and killed as she was driving to work, in an apparent random shooting.
• Wanton acts of vandalism appear to be on the rise. Near Houston, Texas, someone set several beehives on fire, killing upwards of 500,000 bees. Without bees, certain food crops don't get pollinated. No pollination = no food. In my neighborhood, vandals repeatedly tear down street signs, stop signs and other official signage.
• The attorney general of the United States apparently believes there are no limits to presidential power and will do anything to stop any Congressional attempts to curb it. 
• Corporations continue to amass unheard of profits, while workers try to scrape by on low wages and few benefits. 
• Some of America's biggest corporations pay NO income taxes, despite billions of dollars in annual profits. Amazon, for example, made $10.1 BILLION in profit in 2018
• The Republican-led government continues to try and hurt the nation's most vulnerable -- the elderly, the disabled and the sick -- coming up with plan after plan to slash Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other social service programs. The Department of Education wants to eliminate funding for Special Olympics. This all happens while  members of Congress whine about not being able to live on their $174,000/year salaries, plus countless paid time off, retirement benefits for life, etc. -- things most workers can only dream about. Political party leaders, such as the speaker of the House, Senate majority leader, etc., are paid even more.

The economic divide between the top 1 percent of Americans and the remainder of the country continues to grow. People are struggling under student loan debt, bills for medical care, and the cost of basic housing and food. With the vast majority of power and wealth held by a tiny number of people, conditions are ripe for major upheaval. Among the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire are overspending and a widening gap between rich and poor. Military overspending, as well as government corruption, political instability and the loss of traditional values, are other contributing factors

All of these conditions are present in 21st century America. Will the United States ultimately collapse, as did the Ottoman, Roman and other empires? Only time will tell. But I believe we are now on a very slippery slope. I think there is time to demand and implement a major course correction, but it won't be easy. Those holding all the wealth and power won't easily, or willingly, surrender.

Ultimately, it's up to us to make sure they do.

This is my 500th blog post.