The Unraveling of America
I have not ever (to my memory at least) used a “RollingStone” magazine as a source. But this seems very legitimate - and ties with a blog a couple of weeks ago.
The thesis is this: America blew it!!!
From the article we have this statement:
“In a dark season of pestilence, COVID has reduced to tatters the illusion of American exceptionalism. At the height of the crisis, with more than 2,000 dying each day, Americans found themselves members of a failed state, ruled by a dysfunctional and incompetent government largely responsible for death rates that added a tragic coda to America’s claim to supremacy in the world.
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So, the author says that COVID has somehow brought us to our knees. His words are striking “Americans found themselves members of a failed state”. In some respects, COVID did catch up with us. We took it lightly as the beginning - kind of like the biggest kid in a playground fight “Hey - we are American - the strongest nation on Earth - no stupid little virus is going to get to us.” - but COVID did get to us.
We have aided our own downfall (if we are in a downfall that is) - as left is shooting darts at the right; and the right is shooting darts back at the left. It took us a long time to agree that masks would be good - and even then, we don’t have agreement across the board. The second article (from a television station shows a map with about 15 states requiring a mask). Now, some of the states that don’t require all citizens to wear masks have provisos - like Texas “Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order that will require residents in counties with 20 or more active Covid-19 cases to wear face coverings in public.” - so some of the smaller counties that don’t have active cases are exempt currently.
Let’s look at the second phase of that same sentence “ruled by a dysfunctional and incompetent government largely responsible for death rates that added a tragic coda to America’s claim to supremacy in the world.”
Is our government dysfunctional AND incompetent? According to this author, it is. The House of Representatives (controlled by Democrats) has produced its programs to help the economy. But, then the Senate (controlled by Republicans) has produced entirely different programs. We have a President who, at least early on, made fun of the virus.
Let’s look more at this article.
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The article continues:
“For the first time, the international community felt compelled to send disaster relief to Washington. For more than two centuries, reported the Irish Times, “The United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: love and hatred, fear and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger. But there is one emotion that has never been directed towards the U.S. until now: pity.” As American doctors and nurses eagerly awaited emergency airlifts of basic supplies from China, the hinge of history opened to the Asian century.
“No empire long endures, even if few anticipate their demise. Every kingdom is born to die. The 15th century belonged to the Portuguese, the 16th to Spain, 17th to the Dutch. France dominated the 18th and Britain the 19th. Bled white and left bankrupt by the Great War, the British maintained a pretense of domination as late as 1935, when the empire reached its greatest geographical extent. By then, of course, the torch had long passed into the hands of America.
“In 1940, with Europe already ablaze, the United States had a smaller army than either Portugal or Bulgaria. Within four years, 18 million men and women would serve in uniform, with millions more working double shifts in mines and factories that made America, as President Roosevelt promised, the arsenal of democracy.
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The author - identified as Wade Davis holds the Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia implies that “Every kingdom is born to die”.
I found the next statement to be jarring:
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“But freedom and affluence came with a price. The United States, virtually a demilitarized nation on the eve of the Second World War, never stood down in the wake of victory. To this day, American troops are deployed in 150 countries. Since the 1970s, China has not once gone to war; the U.S. has not spent a day at peace. President Jimmy Carter recently noted that in its 242-year history, America has enjoyed only 16 years of peace, making it, as he wrote, “the most warlike nation in the history of the world.” Since 2001, the U.S. has spent over $6 trillion on military operations and war, money that might have been invested in the infrastructure of home. “China, meanwhile, built its nation, pouring more cement every three years than America did in the entire 20th century.
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I mentioned in the previous blog how China had invested in high-speed railroads. Here, China is noted for pouring more cement every three years than America did in the entire 20th century? Our roads, our bridges, our interstate highway system - our infrastructure - is next to nothing as compared to how China is building their infrastructure.
I’m assuming Dr. Davis has done his homework. The analysis that out of our 242-year history, we have been at peace ONLY 16 years - really shocked me. We have spent 6 trillion in 19 years on military operations and war.
Where have we (America) gone wrong? Yes, we fought in World War I, World War II, Korean War, Cold War, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and (going into my memory), Panama, Grenada, Serbia/Croatia/ Nicaragua, and more.
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Have we failed as a nation? Dr. Davis seems to suggest that. Politicians seem to be more interested in re-election than in statesmanship. They seem to want to feud against the other main political party instead of compromising and finding solutions.
The premise that COVID has somehow brought us to our knees as strong factors in its viewpoint. Has the innovative Americans, land of immigrants, underdogs, and the hopeful.
I used part of the New Colossus poem on the Fourth of July. Have we lost sight of who we are - our basic mission as a country as we cater to special interests and entitlement?
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
I don’t know - but I sense that Dr. Davis has some valid points!!
Hugs - and LOVE WINS!!!
Karen
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