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Notes on the Decline of a Great Nation


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The United States is frittering away its role as a model for the rest of the world. The political system is plagued by an absurd level of hatred, the economy is stagnating and the infrastructure is falling into a miserable state of disrepair. On this election eve, many Americans are losing faith in their country's future.

The monumental National Mall in Washington, DC, 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) long and around 1,586 feet wide at its broadest point, is a place that showcases the United States of America is in its full glory as a world power. A walk along the magnificent swath of green space, between the white dome of the Capitol to the east and the Lincoln Memorial, a temple erected to honor former president Abraham Lincoln, at its western end, leads past men in bronze and stone, memorials for soldiers and conquerors, and the nearby White House. It's a walk that still creates an imperial impression today.

The Mall is lined with museums and landscaped gardens, in which America is on display as the kind of civil empire that promotes the arts and sciences. There are historic sites, and there are the famous steps of the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King once spoke of his dream, and of the dreams of a country to be a historic force, one that would serve the wellbeing of all of mankind. Put differently, the National Mall is an open-air museum for an America that, in 2012, is mostly a pleasant memory.

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I know, I know... it is all the fault of the liberals...

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Some very interesting points, although of course the response would be:

(a) it's all Obama's fault;

( b ) Euro-lefties should butt out and mind their own business; and

( c ) and

(d): it's all Obama's fault.

The hatred of big government has reached a level in the United States that threatens the country's very existence.

Edited by 747400
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Instead of starting wars and paying to rebuild other countries we should of been fixing our infrastructure.

Goldman Sachs is the only one that got the sandbags. That's rich.

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I know, I know... it is all the fault of the liberals...

You just keep hitting them out of the park there! Of course it is all the fault of the liberals. Always!

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Unfortunately it would be inhumane of us to withdraw from other countries and work on fixing ourselves up. It's a moral obligation to run ourselves into the ground before that happens.

The polarization of politics is also a big issue, the media keeps spinning things to be more and more extreme with little to no middle ground. It almost seems like hating anything that you don't agree with is a prerequisite to involving yourself in politics these days.

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Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain....

In 1961, having seen it from the perspective of POTUS, Ike warned about pretty much what we are seeing today. Endless illegitmate wars while the rest of the country suffers. Failing infrastructure, record homeless, and a military industrial complex run amok.

Control of the government was hijacked by special interest groups years ago, and eventually the Supreme Court gives us the Kelo ruling and the Citizens United ruling.

If democracy means control of the government by the citizens, it is an utter illusion.

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If democracy means control of the government by the citizens, it is an utter illusion.

But we are not a democracy. We are a republic. So i think the illusion is that people think we live in a democracy when in fact we do not.

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Good lord, I have been reading this tripe about the US for 30+ years. Nothing here we can't fix.

You mean it's not all Obama's fault?!?!? :cry:

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But we are not a democracy. We are a republic. So i think the illusion is that people think we live in a democracy when in fact we do not.

Right, because , people keep SAYING democracy. How many times a day do we hear the word, on THE "news", in relation to the U.S.? If it's not a democracy, please stop calling it one? Can anyone name ONE true democracy? ( are there any?)

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You mean it's not all Obama's fault?!?!? :cry:

It's all your fault no-goodnik.

And about the democracy comment, what we are grey is a democratic republic.

Edited by OverSword
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If we can fix it, why hasn't it been done?

Because turning around a nation of 300 million people and fifty separate states takes quite a bit of time. Look at FDR and the Great Depression, the recovery lasted about a decade and things didn't really pick up until the war.

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I think lack of proper Education. And lack of children learning respect, is what is ending this nation, not politics... unless you want to link those to politics. Americans are getting more ignorant and only caring about entertainment. Religion is actually dying off too, so ignorance cannot be laid at religions door. People treasure the political opinons of Gwen Stephani, Katy Perry and John Mayer then about people who have been in politics all their lives and who have helped countless people... because, those people are CELEBRITIES and thus Need to be Worshipped and followed on Twitter and Facebook. It is downhill from here people, regardless of who wins the Presidency.

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I think lack of proper Education. And lack of children learning respect, is what is ending this nation, not politics... unless you want to link those to politics. Americans are getting more ignorant and only caring about entertainment. Religion is actually dying off too, so ignorance cannot be laid at religions door. People treasure the political opinons of Gwen Stephani, Katy Perry and John Mayer then about people who have been in politics all their lives and who have helped countless people... because, those people are CELEBRITIES and thus Need to be Worshipped and followed on Twitter and Facebook. It is downhill from here people, regardless of who wins the Presidency.

Celebrity is the new religion...

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It's all your fault no-goodnik.

And about the democracy comment, what we are grey is a democratic republic.

Thank you!

It is such a nonsensical comment by so many people "we are a republic, not a democracy". Technically accurate, but missing the point.

I don't see what is so hard to understand about "republic, based on democratic principles"?

The media keeps harping on "democracy", but never define the term. It suggests that the people control their government, and that is an illusion. Special interests control the government, and the evidence of that is abundant.

As Lady Kasey has noted, if "We" can fix it, and people have been saying that for decades, why is it NOT fixed? Why is it worse than ever?

Simple answer: Special interests control the government, we DO NOT.

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You just keep hitting them out of the park there! Of course it is all the fault of the liberals. Always!

Keep singing that mantra as you rock yourself to sleep :yes:

Br Cornelius

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I think lack of proper Education. And lack of children learning respect, is what is ending this nation, not politics... unless you want to link those to politics. Americans are getting more ignorant and only caring about entertainment. Religion is actually dying off too, so ignorance cannot be laid at religions door. People treasure the political opinons of Gwen Stephani, Katy Perry and John Mayer then about people who have been in politics all their lives and who have helped countless people... because, those people are CELEBRITIES and thus Need to be Worshipped and followed on Twitter and Facebook. It is downhill from here people, regardless of who wins the Presidency.

Entertaining as it may be, it is an effort by people like Gwen, Katy, and John, to try to get people interested in politics, by using their influence to open diologe. But It is unfortunate that a massive amount of people will hear what their opinions are and never think to look up some information for themselves. And then pass themselves off by repeating what they heard. Educators in this country do work hard to educate the population, but are often in direct competition to cell phones, internet, gossip, TV, movies and so on. Students know more about the NFL, or NBA than they do about us history, government, lit, math, science etc. Its sad. So what do we do to get our young people to focus? If the economy really takes a dump, and there are less toys to distract, maybe then people will pay more attention.

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Entertaining as it may be, it is an effort by people like Gwen, Katy, and John, to try to get people interested in politics, by using their influence to open diologe. But It is unfortunate that a massive amount of people will hear what their opinions are and never think to look up some information for themselves. And then pass themselves off by repeating what they heard. Educators in this country do work hard to educate the population, but are often in direct competition to cell phones, internet, gossip, TV, movies and so on. Students know more about the NFL, or NBA than they do about us history, government, lit, math, science etc. Its sad. So what do we do to get our young people to focus? If the economy really takes a dump, and there are less toys to distract, maybe then people will pay more attention.

But those celebritys are not like, "Let's discuss why my points are well thought out." Most are on stage screaming things like, "Obama is the Man.... Vote Democrat... Romney's Evil and a Idiot and a Fool!" I don't think when celebritys are brought into rallys that they are there to discuss with those gathered about the Democrat Platform, it is all about whipping the people into a frenzy so they go out and try to get others to vote the way that the celebrity wants them to. When you see these people on talk shows they usually haven't got any reason for what they promote, other then they think it is the Nice thing to do, or because they believe someones opinion over someone else. Rarely are they well informed and actually worth listening to.

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But those celebritys are not like, "Let's discuss why my points are well thought out." Most are on stage screaming things like, "Obama is the Man.... Vote Democrat... Romney's Evil and a Idiot and a Fool!" I don't think when celebritys are brought into rallys that they are there to discuss with those gathered about the Democrat Platform, it is all about whipping the people into a frenzy so they go out and try to get others to vote the way that the celebrity wants them to. When you see these people on talk shows they usually haven't got any reason for what they promote, other then they think it is the Nice thing to do, or because they believe someones opinion over someone else. Rarely are they well informed and actually worth listening to.

I guess I live in the past, listening to people like Zach Dela Rocha, Eddie Veder, Flobots and such. People and bands who spoke out about politics and were also well informed. My generation and the generations before us seemed alot more focused on politics and the world in general as kids than I see with young people today.

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Some very interesting points, although of course the response would be:

(a) it's all Obama's fault;

( b ) Euro-lefties should butt out and mind their own business; and

( c ) and

(d): it's all Obama's fault.

You could probably just go with this one:

( a ) Both Bush Jr. and Obama are at fault.

16 years, that's all it will take apparently.

Edited by WoIverine
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One thing that will be sure... in 4 years, whatever is going on... will be Obama's fault. I hope and pray for Obama to get to work and not repeat the last 2 years.

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You could probably just go with this one:

( a ) Both Bush Jr. and Obama are at fault.

16 years, that's all it will take apparently.

I think the government was hijacked decades ago, and maybe that's what Ike was somehow talking about?

Anyway, we have had poor governance for quite a few decades, and it has been essentially a bipartisan effort.

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