The Inevitable Decline of the US

While the following timelines are inexact, they are only meant to be illustrative:

·         the Roman Empire lasted 450 years; the Ottoman Empire … about 600

·         Islamic rule in India persisted for almost 12 centuries, and included the 250 year-long Mughal Empire, which had the world's richest man of the time, King Shah Jahan, build the Taj Mahal

·         the British ruled the world for about 400 years, and India for almost 2 centuries

·         ... and there are many other similar examples from all over the world

What we know is, no empire, kingdom and civilization lasts forever.

What we're seeing now is the unraveling of the post-World War II period, sometimes called Pax Americana.

Although a rise in pre-eminence followed by eventual decline is the natural order of things, the duration and the exact reasons how and why they (rise and) decay are multifarious, including incursions by hostiles and natural disasters (just go and ask the "dinosaur kingdom" about the Chicxulub impact 😀).

However, decline can also occur from within, especially in the case of successful and powerful civilizations. Squabbling and quarreling due to bad models of complacency and a misplaced belief in one's own immortality can have disastrous results.

The US emerged from WWII with it's capital stock and manufacturing strengths intact. Coupled with the sacrifices made by US forces to defeat the Axis Powers, this ensured the rise of Pax Americana as the sun set on the British empire.

Now, internal dissent predicated on bad ideas is playing a major role in hastening US decline. A host of bad ideas, inevitably rooted in hubris and the perceived "inevitability" of this or that "social justice movement," and, inevitably predicated on a myopic belief that the country's existing economic and military strengths will last forever, have sapped away US vitality and it's overall strength ... here is a non-comprehensive and non-prioritized list:

·         drag queen story hour for children in public schools

·         transgenderism and the creation of synthetic (non-biological) sexual identities

·         black lives matter

·         antifa

·         me-too movement

·         global warming, anthropogenic climate change ... EVs and windmills

·         systemic racism and slavery reparations

·         ESG; diversity, equity, inclusion and climate justice

·        abortion on demand, up to the point of a full-term pregnancy with a viable foetus (which, in turn, has given rise to Texas-style complete abortion ban laws, including in the case of incest, rape, ectopic pregnancies, etc., which I vehemently oppose; this is an excellent example of how the natural, loving bond between a mother-to-be and an unborn child has been politicized and perverted by constant ideological indoctrination by both sides ... a complex and important subject which cannot be reduced to a bumper sticker or a sound bite, and which deserves a complete article just on this one issue)

·         Jussie Smollett lynching (the theater of the absurd 😁) ... etc.

·         and the whole field of political correctness

I discern a few common threads regarding the above:

·         these "movements" are now enshrined as sacrosanct, beyond reproach and criticism, and so obviously and self-evidently correct, that any debate is unworthy (especially, anthropogenic global warming, anthropogenic climate change, etc.)

·         they are largely couched in the terms of human rights, social justice, progressivism and inevitability (Obama's "bending the arc of history") ... any opposition is automatically deemed to be rooted in bias and racism and reflexively impugned as having deep-seated and inexcusable prejudices, even immorality against what is being portrayed as morally right

·         in other words, the holder of the opposing viewpoint is personally attacked (aka ad hominem attacks) ... and a complete cancellation of his economic, social and psychological well-being is considered totally justifiable (gone are the days when there were two viewpoints and each party was entitled to their's; now, if you choose not to hold the “right” viewpoint, you do so at significant peril to your professional and economic survival)

·         not surprisingly, these bad ideas exploit our evolutionary fear of uncertainty, and create us-versus-them dynamics, by pitting the existing status quo as bad and the proposed future as good … more on this, below (by the way, the future is not subject to certainty and inevitability of any kind whatsoever; randomness is an inherent and essential aspect of nature)

·         the universal human traits (based on our evolutionary history and inbuilt genetic drivers) of the fear of the unknown and an overarching need for certainty are being exploited by those in search for power and influence; by promising a better future, they are justifying the destruction of current US society, values and culture

·         according to the extant phenomenology, people of color (whatever that may mean), women and sexual minorities are always right, cannot be criticized and are beyond self-correction … which then leads to the inevitable conclusion that all their woes are externally inflicted by white, Christian, heterosexual males

·         … and, more governmental programs and more spending (by both sides of the political spectrum) is the proper solution for all of society's problems, real, perceived, or artifically manufactured (no society in the history of the world has ever repaid a public debt of more than $30 trillion, which grows by each second even now)

·         finally, traditional commonsense approaches of cost-benefits, and incentive-reward-behavior considerations are deemed to be passé, outmoded and even “cruel and hateful” (e.g., in the case of government benefits and social entitlement programs, asking people to work, instead of simply giving away free stuff)

Collectively, this has brought us to the point where …

·         economic growth is at a standstill

·         inflation is surging

·         shortages of the basic necessities of life abound

·         our enemies gain strength

·         the armed forces focus on social justice and wokeness (instead of killing our enemies)

·         our borders are now wide open for the uncontrollable influx of illegal migrants (in the name of human rights, of course!), drugs and terrorists

·         business leaders cower behind nonsensical doublespeak of climate change, ESG and DEI

·         the mainstream media practice sycophancy to one political party

·         cultural and educational elites in Hollywood and academia teach our young to hate our own country (this used to be prevalent in higher-ed, but has now ultimately found it's way to grade school)

·         and the nation seems to be irretrievably divided into two intransigent camps that are openly warring with each other

The “us-versus-them” dynamic needs some explication … when you take a micro slice of the overall picture and blow it up as the most important thing, it is easy to get people worked up, put them against one another, and then come in with "solutions" to gain whatever benefits your desire from this. 

Exploiting grievances or a grievance, falls exactly within this dynamic. 

Taking the abortion issue as an example ... soley highlighting this is an easy way to “cater to your base.” The most passionate (virulent?) advocates of THIS issue will rise up and take away attention from everything else. By catering to the one-issue activists, you will also cater to the inherent human biases of fear and uncertainty. This is a good way to ensure that other issues remain unaddressed; especially those you may not want to (such as the unsustainable national debt!).

If we focus on the bigger picture and put matters into context by considering the accelerating national decline, maybe we can find a better way to cooperate with those with differing viewpoints.

A declining US hurts conservatives AND liberals; progressives AND the unwashed masses who shop at Walmart and live in flyover country; the woke AND the somnolent. By decoupling the national decline from just one issue, perhaps we can better discern how the current direction of the country leads in only one direction … downwards.

This is a good time to remind ourselves of the virtues of common sense and practical thinking. A misplaced sense of one's immortality is inimical to survival. While self-preservation is an evolutionary instinct, self-centeredness has limits. If taken to extremes, self-centeredness becomes self-destructive.

I'll end with this story my Mother used to tell me: 

"Once there was a rich farmer with a huge granary. There was so much grain that no one else in the land could even come close. Prosperity and plenty were the order of the day. The farmer had many children and they all took bags of grain for themselves and their families. In time, the farmer passed away. His children quarrelled amongst themselves and competed to see how much, each could take from the store. The easy availability of food made everyone greedy and lazy, and nobody replenished the granary. One day, the oldest son went in to take out a bag. He found there was no more food. The huge granary, with it's enormous store of food had been totally depleted." 

Such is also the absolute natural limit that all civilizations face. When everyone has their hand out for this or that "right or entitlement" and when all are busy feeding at the trough, no one is thinking of replenishing the source of this prosperity. For a while it may appear this store of largesse is so vast that it lasts forever ... but if we only withdraw from this most plentiful bank account, in time, it will run out.

Going back to Marxism, comrade Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov "Lenin" and the national socialist workers' party of post-WWI Germany (aka the Nazi Party), collective civilizational self-destruction is not unique to any one group.

In the fullness of time, the old order dies and gives rise to new structures; a rise is always followed by decay … it is inevitable.

However, watching this unfold in the US is still painful.