Check for web archive captures
Make America Great...Again
By lindamuralidharan on 2017-03-31 18:33:21
There is a belief among some people that empires fall from within. Whether they wither and die because of failure to adapt
to new circumstance or are attacked and conquered by a competing power, it is the laxness, poor governance, immorality (of
one kind or another), and greed for power/wealth that leads to the downfall and the weakness and inability of the power to
survive. Another belief says that there are cycles in history and it is more a matter of time than anything else that empires
rise and fall. The Western colonial powers dominated the 19th and parts of the 20th centuries and now it is logically the turn
of Asian nations.....or perhaps Latin or African nations to rise to the top. Certainly there is some truth to the growing
economic success and social and political success of some nations on these continents. And for whatever reason, France,
Great Britain, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan and such no longer rule an empire as they once did. Many ancient
civilizations also came and went. We are usually taught in school about Babylonia, the Persian Empire, the Greek and
Roman empires and more. Ancient and not so ancient China and India had many vast dynasties that came and went. The
United States still appears to be at the top of its game although one can look at very recent experiences and wonder if the
greatness of the nation is being chewed up from within. One type of self-inflicted ultimate decline comes from over reach
and excessive militarization. Japan in the 20th Century as well as Germany in that period are examples and many more
come fr0m history. [caption id="attachment_9634" align="alignright" width="300"]
Japanese military[/caption] Sometimes it is the imbalance of resources used
so that civilians are only willing to be deprived of civic services for so long and governments lose support of the masses for
their conquests abroad. Sometimes the conquests have been successful in all ways but ruling an empire is not always
lucrative. Or...not always sufficiently lucrative to cover the stress in people power and money needed to keep the conquered
people in line. It is said that the Roman Empire collapsed because corrupt/lazy/greedy leaders stopped attending properly to
the business of government. In order to maintain their power in the face of growing discontent at their corruption and/or
incompetence, the masses of people were distracted or kept content by bread and circuses. Free food and such as well as
the famous gladiators and chariot races kept people from paying too much attention to what was seriously deteriorating at
the heart of the country. [caption id="attachment_9635" align="alignleft" width="600"]
a a a
oo
USS Theodore
Roosevelt[/caption] Over the last few years I have contemplated some kind of decline of the US. Years ago it just seemed
to me to be inevitable that other places once freed from colonial oppression would began to demand their share of the
world's wealth. Perhaps the US would need to give up some if its own in order for there to be a better distribution since the
US had lived high for so long. I believed, rightly or wrongly, that we might need to adapt to a somewhat lower standard of
living. I guess I would have perceived that many of us would need to wait an extra few years before buying the latest model
car, would perhaps purchase a house with a smaller yard or fewer square feet, would be content with a long distance
vacation every two years, not every year....even eat out at a restaurant twice a month rather than three or four times.... One
thing I did not contemplate was that many people in the blue collar classes and large segments of the white collar classes
would experience a major decline in purchasing power and often complete job loss while the wealthier, more fortunate, and
extreme elites get rich and richer. This wealth gap is destabilizing as well as against the grain of how American values had
been proceeding since the New Deal. We didn't complain much about the millionaires so long as the majority were
comfortable and progress was being made for the poorer segments to become at least somewhat more comfortable as well.
And the comfort for the majority was not just in material goods but in some sense of trust that things were going to continue
to be relatively comfortable. I hate to use the term, but it is fairly true that many Americans and newcomers consciously or
subconsciously believed in the "American Dream". At some level this meant young people maintained an assumption that
they would find "good" jobs and these would be steady and lead to home ownership. Modest two and three bedroom
ranches or homes in stable older city neighborhoods were viewed as safe and secure places to live and raise families. Some,
of course, looked forward to larger and more "fashionable" dwellings but pretty much there was something for everyone
who had the ability and maturity to obtain regular employment. Also, many assumed that their children would do even
better if the family provided the right kind of stable launching pad. I, personally, believe that a basically good, sound
standard of living ought to obtain in every country and that it is reasonable, perhaps moral, for the US to lower its sights a
little. However, the current income disparity within the US is both wrong in humane terms and a threat to our democracy as
we know it. To some extent, then we can see these trends as possibly portending a decline of our "empire". There are other
T DON'T TEACH MINE
ABOUT THE BILL OF
RIGHTS ANT MORE
— IT MAKES THEM
TOO UNRULY.
TEACHERS®
LOUNGE
scary signs as well. == o Bale First nearly everybody...regardless of political party...has
noticed the very strange absence of ethical concern on the part of the current administration. Certainly there are very
different reactions to it, but the absence is blatant. Much as I would not like to go in to partisan politics, the fact remains
that the habit of depending on falsehoods for political gain is much more prevalent on the side of the Republicans who lie
repeatedly about the faults and benefits of the Affordable Care Act. They, as a group, however, have been left in the dust by
their party leader who tells more lies than anybody can keep track of. President Trump has spread the most absurd lie of
all....that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and despite his mother's own American citizenship...he could not be an
American president. President Trump appears to lie about major policy issues (besides his many different claims and
disclaimers about American health care) such as not being clear about why in the world he refused to present a balanced
view of how Russia needs to be dealt with and not presenting any clear explanation ....whether legitimate or not....why so
man of his minions lie about contacts with Russia. We have much reason to fear this amount of flagrant disregard for public
honesty...even though all kinds of public figures in the US have been manipulative and actually dishonest in the past. This
dishonesty is made more alarming by the recent choice by this administration of so many staff people who had to be fired
soon after the hiring or who could not pass either security or competency examinations once their names had been made
public. It has appeared that some kind of loyalty to President Trump or desire for people who pass some kind of far right
wing litmus test have been preferred over people who are competent. [caption id="attachment_9637" align="alignright"
width="520"]F Town Hall meeting with
Representative Amash[/caption] The public cannot be sure, however, that some of this did not fall into the category of sheer
incompetence on part of the administration. In all likelihood, there are a combination of factors. Again, it is not new to
have presidents choose crooks or very questionable staff (some of us actually remember President Nixon's first Vice
President, Spiro Agnew), what is new is that so many appointees have proven questionable or totally unsuitable right at the
start. All of this is further compounded by the kleptomania (and nepotism) running through so many aspects of the
administration. Members of the Trump family including the President are making policy decisions and input while in a
position to profit tremendously from positions and policies that are the power of the Federal government to make. The scary
part is that there is not sufficient outcry in the public about the far flung business interests of President Trump himself that
he refuses to put in a blind trust. I think that I can grasp how awkward his divestment could be as he has "tentacles" of
businesses and investments in so many places often with complex funding arrangements. However, a truly ethical leader
would either have planned ahead before taking office to start divestment, would have been forthcoming about tax disclosure
and other aspects of her or his businesses, or would have said the fortune was more important than running for office so the
person would stay a business person mainly. And then avoid elected office. We also note that President Trump claims to be
in favor of "law and order" while specifically violating the law by drawing a profit from his Washington, D.C. hotel which
he leases from we the people. It is against the law for an employee of the government to profit from a public rented
property. People in general....and in many ways that includes me.....will not obey certain laws unless there is an expectation
that a violation will result in a negative consequence. I don't want to mess with late penalties, possible audits or whatever so
I pay my income taxes on time. I obey most safety laws for my own protection, but I pretty much always stop at stop signs
even if there is no obvious traffic out and about because... well, maybe a police car is somewhere around watching the
intersection. Still it seems to me we have a disturbing lack of respect for rules and regulations that may have increased in
recent years. My state may be an exception, I don't know. We have so many people who don't keep their car registrations
and car inspections current, almost every week some kind of law enforcement person or security personnel are announced to
have committed a current crime or having been guilty in the past of numerous unethical behaviors but were hired anyway.
And we are the state with the lowest percentage of registered voters who vote.
There certainly is some hint that we might be imploding from within
with loosened senses of civic responsibility and/or personal responsibility. We have so little outrage at the lack of ethics
among the current administration staff. As I say, this is added to the recent decades worth of right wing politicians making
absurd comments about "legitimate rapes" or "legs like cantaloupes" and spreading misinformation about our most recent
past president, abortion, and the Affordable Care Act. I will not let the entertainment industry off the hook either as so
much of the programming, especially the humor shows and films, depends on denigrating or glorifying body parts or
denigrating individuals or groups of people. | attribute some of the exploitative bathroom humor to our still raising children
with out dated Puritanical ideas about sex and bodies. I prefer kids to see it as all good while some actions need to be done
in private, "just because", and some needs to be carefully avoided until the moment is right in terms of persons, age,
maturity, situations, etc. While not entirely unique to President Trump (two wrongs don't make a right, remember), he has
repeatedly taken credit for some prosperity that was stimulated by activities and policies occurring during the previous
administration. Well, we are glorifying the military on the other hand in ways that are concerning at the least. This makes it
easier for the likes of this President to propose aggrandizing our defense industry and their lobbyists with huge budget
outlays to expand an already bloated military. (I have written before that improvements are needed within the
military.....repair and maintenance of existing equipment as well as more consistent training and supervision.) Never before
outside of World War II have we had so much misleading commentary about the military. Every person in uniform is called
a"hero". Well aside from the obvious fact that many do proper jobs that have nothing to do with the dangers of a battlefield,
we also know that many are those who happily killed people who were never going to attack the US (no definition of
patriotism there) and many are doing dreadful things to this day. We have so many officers and an admiral who accepted
bribes including prostitutes and the run of the General MacArthur suite in a luxury hotel in order to clue in an Asian
shipping magnate to where our naval ships would dock so he could be there to get all the shore side business the Navy
would need there. We have police officers, school teachers, park rangers, firefighters, social workers, people who invent
better treatments for heart attacks.....all deserving of public thanks for their services. Only a small handful of military
personnel who were in circumstances where they really saved the lives of civilians or fellow military by stepping front of an
attack, disarming a grenade or performing similar self-sacrificial acts can be said to be "heroes". Only these individuals
ought to be praised as exceptional. So many humans help our society to be better without promoting war and violence and
yet we may forget them in our rush to make much our of uniforms and anything related to the military. Empires often fall
from excessive emphasis and spending and deployment of the military. Also we have the bread and circuses side of the signs
of empires deteriorating from within. We let ourselves be distracted (not so much a conspiracy as an example of capitalism
run amuck) by our own bread and circuses. We keep begging the politicians to give us some "bread" (pun intended) either
in the needed form of assistance to lower income families but also in the form of evading taxation that is needed to make our
civic life better. And the politicians obligingly claim we can have the best of roads and court systems and health protections
and so forth...without paying for them. True, I do love the idea of people in the middle so to speak and the folks who are
already marginalized not having to pay any more taxes....in fact they need to pay less of the regressive taxes. However, all
but the truly marginalized need to pay and the wealthy need to pay much more via progressive income taxes and similar. As
to circuses, here, too, we can point the finger at me. I watch a lot of the college and professional sports that have been
overly touted, sensationalized and monetized in the last few decades. We are always going to and urged to go to blockbuster
movies (many which promote violence and sexism and racism) and to tune in to various other media. Yes, we did like the
Doris Day movies and On the Waterfront of old....now TV and the internet give us a more constant barrage of promotion of
sensational entertainment. Oh, yes entertainment is nice, sometimes harmless, and sometimes
downright beneficial in a sound society. I wonder, however, if we are not in a phase where everything from the video games
to raunchy comedians to violence showing programming is not distracting people from taking more than one thought to
serious issues much less to going to see their local legislators! Oh, yes, there is also the proliferation of award shows. We
used to think mostly of the Academy Awards, plus the Tony, and Emmy awards. Now there are many more for country
music and for other genres. All these are accompanied by hype and pre and post TV shows featuring all kinds of celebrities
and fashion commentary. When so easily distracted and/or entertained, who has time to read a serious political article in a
newspaper or in an online newsletter? Who even subscribes to online newsletters and maybe reads one or more from the
left and one or more from the right to get in depth reporting and varied opinions? I guess there are more signs of our failing
from within, and I will mention just one more. The social disintegration most prevalent in certain communities where blue
collar males have experienced much unemployment in recent years. Books have been written about the Gulf region and
parts of Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, etc. Compared to 30 years ago, fewer men are remaining in stable families
regardless of whether they have children or not, there is increased incidence of opiate addiction and fatalities, and of suicide
among white males...although the opioid problem cuts across all demographics. After all this I have also concluded that the
US probably has sufficient resilience and numerous institutions that can mitigate against large scale decline (some
adjustments to expectations are essential). The recent explosion of public activism that blocked a complete devastation of
the Affordable Care Act and both public and governmental efforts to stop the retrograde and racist Muslim ban show we can
7th
truly work to maintain a vibrant and exciting and comforting society,
Thinking of my title, it all depends on what one calls "Great". I don't want to see us become any greater military power than
we are or continue to throw our weight around militarily or economically in the kind of bullying fashion we have practiced
in the past. I want us to continue to strengthen our democratic institutions, to develop and implement economic and social
safety net policies that promote the common welfare ( not so much that of the rich and super rich). I want us to become
more enlightened about substance abuse treatment and the need to have it supported financially and readily available while
we educate the public about the relative dangers of both alcohol...a very destructive drug when misused....and other
recreational drugs all of which are dangerous only when misused. And we need to be forward looking enough to end the
massive interdiction efforts which are both counterproductive and pretty much a failure. Of course, we also need to stop
scapegoating target groups, whether they be Muslim, Jewish, poor, or different in some way from mainstream America.
Decent, positive, civil rights based policies are not antithetical to a thriving economy which...as in many successful countries
such as Finland or Norway...combine thriving but restrained capitalism with tax supported public enhancing policies.
Perhaps we will not quite be "Great" as some people envision it again (if, in fact, we ever were!). Perhaps we will be great
in newer and grander ways and also willing to cooperate multilaterally with any number of other countries...even within the
United Nations.
