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Hey all, Let’s try not to get into any flame wars here.
As a Canadian, what I see going on in the US in recent weeks and months leads me to wonder, Is America fundamentally broken?
Is there any recovery possible from this point? Can American society find a way to heal the intense polarization and divisions which have manifested over the past years?
These are the big problems as I see it:
-You have a two party political system which is driving social polarization while essentially acting like there is no difference regardless of who is in office, they lie endlessly and without shame.
-A deeply entrenched system of political lobbying, corruption, and game playing on a fixed election schedule.
-An extraordinary gun culture legacy leading to the most heavily armed population in history, with all the problems that go with it.
-An entrenched culture of racial divide while importing huge numbers of ethnic minority immigrants.
-Out of control government spending and obligations which has led to America going from the richest society in history to the most indebted society in history within a few decades.
-Massive trade imbalances resulting from deindustrialization over the last three or four decades
-Said deindustrialization leading to the transfer of American industrial knowledge and ingenuity to its biggest rising competitor, China- A communist dictatorship which does not value American ideals of freedom and liberty at all
-Huge economic inequalities as a very small elite hoover up vast amounts of wealth while half the population or more struggles to make ends meet.
-An incredibly wasteful consumerist culture
-A truly VAST military-industrial complex which is sucking up national resources which are desperately needed to maintain infrastructure and living standards for the population of the country. Pursuant to that, the interest of the military-industrial complex requires frequent participation in conflicts around the world to sell more weapons to maintain profits.
-A policy of acting as the World Police leading to security obligations around the world further draining national resources while risking drawing the country into foreign conflicts.
-Rising powers around the globe challenging US hegemony which risks war as the US attempts to maintain its geopolitical primacy.
-Out of control money printing insanity just to keep the system propped up a little while longer while the elites buy up everything they can get their hands on.
-A large proportion of the population is poorly educated and barely aware of the world outside US borders
-A predatory for-profit medical-pharmaceutical system combined with an unhealthy population. The highest obesity rates in the world and many other health problems
-Deeply entenched interests preventing resolutions to these many difficult issues
-And now extensive and growing civil unrest
The US constitutional and governmental system is modeled on a combination of European enlightenment ideals and the historical example of the Roman Republic.
The Roman republic survived for centuries, but eventually broke down as powerful rival elite men and families vied for control and influence of the state, leading to three generations of on-again-off-again civil war.
Marius v Sulla
Caesar v Pompey
Octavian v Antony
These were titanic clashes as the superpower of the ancient western world tore itself apart.
Eventually, all was settled as one man, Octavian, defeated all rivals and established absolute rule while preserving a fiction of republican government continuity. That settlement lasted for several decades until the descendants of Octavian became so disfunctional that they were overthrown (Nero). Once that happened, the door was nudged open for any powerful general to be able to march on Rome and take control through a coup, leading to centuries of civil war at almost every power transition until the fall of Rome.
Now I’m not saying that what happened to Rome will happen to America, but it provides an interesting historical example to compare with.
Personally, I think America *may* be on the similar road to absolute rule as Rome once was, maybe without the generations of civil war though. The excuse for imposition of absolute rule in Rome was to restore stability after decades of unrest...
Honestly, I feel like America is at the point of no return. Who could possibly make a comeback from all of this?
Anything else to add?
What do you think about all this?
I look forward to your responses.
As a Canadian, what I see going on in the US in recent weeks and months leads me to wonder, Is America fundamentally broken?
Is there any recovery possible from this point? Can American society find a way to heal the intense polarization and divisions which have manifested over the past years?
These are the big problems as I see it:
-You have a two party political system which is driving social polarization while essentially acting like there is no difference regardless of who is in office, they lie endlessly and without shame.
-A deeply entrenched system of political lobbying, corruption, and game playing on a fixed election schedule.
-An extraordinary gun culture legacy leading to the most heavily armed population in history, with all the problems that go with it.
-An entrenched culture of racial divide while importing huge numbers of ethnic minority immigrants.
-Out of control government spending and obligations which has led to America going from the richest society in history to the most indebted society in history within a few decades.
-Massive trade imbalances resulting from deindustrialization over the last three or four decades
-Said deindustrialization leading to the transfer of American industrial knowledge and ingenuity to its biggest rising competitor, China- A communist dictatorship which does not value American ideals of freedom and liberty at all
-Huge economic inequalities as a very small elite hoover up vast amounts of wealth while half the population or more struggles to make ends meet.
-An incredibly wasteful consumerist culture
-A truly VAST military-industrial complex which is sucking up national resources which are desperately needed to maintain infrastructure and living standards for the population of the country. Pursuant to that, the interest of the military-industrial complex requires frequent participation in conflicts around the world to sell more weapons to maintain profits.
-A policy of acting as the World Police leading to security obligations around the world further draining national resources while risking drawing the country into foreign conflicts.
-Rising powers around the globe challenging US hegemony which risks war as the US attempts to maintain its geopolitical primacy.
-Out of control money printing insanity just to keep the system propped up a little while longer while the elites buy up everything they can get their hands on.
-A large proportion of the population is poorly educated and barely aware of the world outside US borders
-A predatory for-profit medical-pharmaceutical system combined with an unhealthy population. The highest obesity rates in the world and many other health problems
-Deeply entenched interests preventing resolutions to these many difficult issues
-And now extensive and growing civil unrest
The US constitutional and governmental system is modeled on a combination of European enlightenment ideals and the historical example of the Roman Republic.
The Roman republic survived for centuries, but eventually broke down as powerful rival elite men and families vied for control and influence of the state, leading to three generations of on-again-off-again civil war.
Marius v Sulla
Caesar v Pompey
Octavian v Antony
These were titanic clashes as the superpower of the ancient western world tore itself apart.
Eventually, all was settled as one man, Octavian, defeated all rivals and established absolute rule while preserving a fiction of republican government continuity. That settlement lasted for several decades until the descendants of Octavian became so disfunctional that they were overthrown (Nero). Once that happened, the door was nudged open for any powerful general to be able to march on Rome and take control through a coup, leading to centuries of civil war at almost every power transition until the fall of Rome.
Now I’m not saying that what happened to Rome will happen to America, but it provides an interesting historical example to compare with.
Personally, I think America *may* be on the similar road to absolute rule as Rome once was, maybe without the generations of civil war though. The excuse for imposition of absolute rule in Rome was to restore stability after decades of unrest...
Honestly, I feel like America is at the point of no return. Who could possibly make a comeback from all of this?
Anything else to add?
What do you think about all this?
I look forward to your responses.