Is America in decline? Depends:
The question of whether America is in decline cannot be answered yes or no. There is no yes or no. Both answers are wrong, because the assumption that somehow there exists some predetermined inevitable trajectory, the result of uncontrollable external forces, is wrong. Nothing is inevitable. Nothing is written. For America today, decline is not a condition. Decline is a choice. Two decades into the unipolar world that came about with the fall of the Soviet Union, America is in the position of deciding whether to abdicate or retain its dominance. Decline -- or continued ascendancy -- is in our hands.
Those in power today, starting with the president, pretty clearly are embarrassed by America's power, at times even ashamed of it, and seem determined to steer us toward some kind of fantasy world in which all states are moral equals. Considering the condition the world is in, I'd feel safer if the United States stayed the world's sole superpower.
Comments
Leo:
I fully agree with your final sentence.
I'd like to believe that WE (the USA) are the ones that walk softly...AND are carrying that big stick (and are not afraid to use it when necesary).
Interesting point made by the Washington Examiner about decline being a CHOICE.
That short sentence speaks VOLUMES regarding the part of Fort Wayne I live in.
It's been in decline for years, so it must be by the city's CHOICE.
Can't fault that kind of logic, right City Hall?
I would normally have questioned Bob's view on this matter, pointing out that there is a moral difference between being the strongest and being a bully - the latter, I think, being what the president wishes to avoid.
But then I noticed Bob's eloquent use of capital letters and realized he not a man to be trifled with. He must be right.
I concede his point, whatever it is.
Bob, if the tea didn't work, you might want to try some nice Valium soup.
Littlejohn, you certainly are "fussy" about caps and punctuation. Did the nun slap your hands constantly for improper punctuation and sentence structure?
I thought the rules about caps and exclamation points on the net had been relaxed since a lot of us "neanderthals" came on board.
Bobby, check your "netiquette" you old goat! The internet grammar cops are getting offended.
(sorry about the exclamation mark, I couldn't help myself)
"Neandertal" hasn't taken an h for at least 20 years. And it's always capitalized.
On the other hand, who doesn't admire the copious use of punctuation, especially when the various marks are combined to make humorous smiley faces and such? I could be mistaken, but I believe Shakespeare invented the emoticon. Of course, there are always the conspiracy theorists who are convinced it was actually Bacon. We should leave these things to the experts.
I hope we're all enjoying our Tuesday.
heh heh heh...
Main Entry: Ne
Tim:
Some things are best left "IGNORED"...!
(i.e. talk around the netiquette - PC police)
Nice to be "thought of" so damn much, though.
(Harl Delos...we hardly missed ye.)
;)
Allcaps just makes it feel like folks are shouting at me.
Anyway, I think TR read that "speak softly" quote in the book "Stuff Losers Say." Winners don't ask, they tell. And loudly. With George W., the evildoers were ON NOTICE.
Yes, "Neanderthal," with the h, is still in most dictionaries, along with "luv" and "ain't."
The thing is, it's a German word, for the Neander Valley, or thal, where the first skeletons were discovered.
The Germans have since reformed their spelling, dropping the silent h in a number of words.
Darn Germans. First it was that Nazi thing, now this.
I guess I'll have to either drop my silent h, or else start pronouncing it.
Interestingly, I think, neander comes from the Latin for New Man. Hey, I didn't say it was meaningful.
I prefer to think that everyone here is correct. That's just the kind of upbeat guy I am. Group hug? Who brought granola?