What America Has Become

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I am not happy with what America has become.

When I was a teenager America was respected around the world. America made the finest cars, televisions, washing machines, computers, tires, and refrigerators. There was nothing better anywhere in the world than the small block Chevy V8 in the early 1960’s. People around the world wanted stuff that was Made in America. Not any more. Not at all…

America is no longer respected. In fact there is a mixture of pity and derision from much of the rest of the world.

My car is a Toyota, my camera is a Nikon with components made in various parts of Asia, and my television and DVD players were also made in the east somewhere. I look around the house and virtually everything, even most of my clothes, were made overseas. We are no longer a country which manufactures things. We are a country of consumers, and this continued buying binge is mostly being financed with borrowed money.

I grew up in a country where it was considered immoral to be in debt. And living beyond your means was unforgivable. Almost sinful. Yet since the late 1960’s both the country, and more-and-more the individual people, have been living on borrowed money.

The concepts of working hard and saving up to buy something (rather than instant gratification through buying it on credit) has become a totally alien concept.

As a group we Americans are now owned by the company store.

Don’t tell me that I am not patriotic. I served three years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war, and I was a E-5 with a couple of minor medals on my chest when I was honorably discharged.

The U.S. Congress has become unrecognizable. More than 97% of the job description of all Senators and Congressmen has become: Remain elected, Stay in Power. Money, corruption, and campaign contributions have turned the American political system into a sham democracy.

In the 1970’s Denmark had the same problem with energy independence that America did. And it took the necessary steps to solve the problem. Today they are energy independent. Our politicians did nothing besides blab, blab, blab. Right now this enormous transfer of wealth to the middle east is bankrupting America. Our children and grandchildren are inheriting a shell of a country. No manufacturing base left, poor educational system, and citizens who by and large are horribly lazy, spoiled, and obese.

Thinking that one can solve the problems in the middle east through American military power is arrogant, stupid, and just plain wrong. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will go down in history as being even dumber and more misguided than Vietnam.

The Last Superpower. What incredibly stupid arrogance! With all our high tech we are getting our asses kicked by simple roadside bombs, now popularly called IEDs.

There are times when you need to fight. The battle against Hitler and the Nazis made sense. And the whole country participated. But the 21st century politicians are trying the fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without any inconvenience to the civilians at home. These guys are lost. Our leaders are lost in space. This is really a disturbing idea for sure.

These problems can’t all be blamed on one political party or the other. The Republicans since Ronald Reagan have been completely irresponsible fiscally, but the Democrats really aren’t much better. I support Senator Obama, but truthfully whether he or Senator McCain gets elected, virtually none of these problems will be solved.

What is the solution? I have some ideas. But like the Alcoholic, you can’t begin to solve the problem until you recognize that you have a problem. And until America looks in the mirror and doesn’t like what it sees, and really is ready to make some fundamental changes, there is no point in me or anyone else talking about how to solve these problems. We would just be wasting our breath.
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