The Downfall of America

The political landscape in America is changing.

As we move ever closer to a truly global economy, we as Americans need to take a look at just what we are gaining and losing. We need to focus on what globalization, as a whole, is doing to America, and what its role in American politics is going to be. Globalization holds many positives in many people's eyes: a united humanity, the death of nation-states, the rise of a world government and the abolishment of borders--not in the traditional sense, but in the economic sense--and, most importantly, lower prices.

But, with all these positives come negatives. A united humanity is great, but will it be like the Star Trek version, where there are no wars? No. Humanity will never be united like that, ever, because our basic instincts overcome the desire for harmony. We are a warring race, one that cannot see further than 10, 15, or even 20 years in the future. What about the death of nation-states? Again, that is bad, because with the death of nations comes the death of culture, and with the continuing crusade against Islam happening right now in the Middle East, America is put into the middle of a fatal game of cat-and-mouse, where the mice are now learning how to use hammers and the cats only have their claws.

World government? The idea sounds great, but what will that mean? It means that there will be a world body, much like the UN, that consolidates the world into one big omnibus government. The WTO, the UN, the EU, all will be consolidated into this one government. Good-bye, soverign nations.

I have spoken about this before. Originally, I proposed a world government, but one where each nation keeps its soverignty as nations, but gives up trade rights and other little things like that. But, as I grow up and my eyes are opening, I see that that is an impossiblity. No one will abdicate their power, and nobody wants another big brother looking after them. As good as it sounds (a united government), alas, it cannot be.

America hangs by a delicate thread. As of right now, our economy isn't doing too bad. Unemployment is down, jobs are up, and the quality of life in this country has never been better. But it can become better, if we step up and take a look around.

America was built on the back of business. You can say what you want about religious freedom--the first colony here was based on tobacco and indigo. American's are all about business, and business comes first. This line of thinking has become something that no one wants to hear, but we all see. We all know that business is good--it keeps the economy going. Unregulated business, touts some, is the best business, because when business runs business, everyone wins. But, history has shown us that that is not the case.

And with globalization comes the advent of a new type of laizze-faire capitalism, the one where unregulated products come from overseas and pollute American stores. The type of capitalism where business is booming, and the economy is up, so why fuck with it, right?

But the truth of the matter is that America is not the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are the land of the so-called free, where "free" nowadays means keeping in line with the government and going along with the status quo because times are up. This is the same thinking that was prevalent during the Cold War and McCarthyism: "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." But this adage is losing face, because our government has repeatedly let us down, no matter what we do for it.

We asked for protection. The largest failure of U.S. Domestic Security happened six years ago, and the conspiracy theories roaming around the internet about whether or not Bush knew about it and did nothing have proven true. We asked for a good economy. This has happened, but at the cost of lead-based toys poisoning our children and unsafe products coming to American shores. We asked for jobs. There are more jobs than ever, but they are not jobs we want. They are McDonalds, and Bi Mart, and Wal-Mart. The idea of a 9-5, Monday-through-Friday job at the local parts warehouse is nothing but a pipe dream. We asked for cheap goods--some we got, others have gone up in price considerably. We ask for government aid. We don't recieve it--look at New Orleans, two years after Katrina.

This is not the fault of one man. This is the fault of all men, of all women, in Congress right now. They have let us down. They have failed the American people by serving their own needs and ignoring their constituents. They have been pushed around and bribed by lobbyists representing the oil industry, the pharmecutical industry, the toy industry...name an industry, there's a lobbyist out there for it. This is the fault of Congress, no more, no less.

So, as we enter into this new stage of political life, we need to ask ourselves: what happened? Where is the America that was so strong, that could fight any foe and prevail? Where is the America that cared about Americans, and vice versa? We've done a hell of a lot for this country--we've given up our blood, our sweat, our tears, our freedom--and what do we get? Lead-based toys from China and bottled water from Korea.

This is not a question of whether or not globalization is good. It's about where America is going to be in the next century; hell, in the next decade. America has prided itself on being the best because its people had the best. Now, its people have some of the worst. We have lower quality of living standards, we have lower test scores, we have lower GDP's, we have lower incomes per capita, we have higher gas prices, we have higher infant mortality rates, we have higher poverty levels.

We are living in Rome at the fall of the empire. And now the question is raised: what will happen when we fall? Or, better yet, what will we do to prevent the fall?

I have no answers, and this is likely the last post on this blog about politics. I am jaded, and I am sick of the lies fed by all politicians. So, no more. I am officially done. You can expect to read about Halo 2 and bunnies for all I care. Just think about where we are headed, and what that means to you, and your family.

-Anteaus