The Decline of the American Empire - I: The Internal Crumbling

My father writes a weekly column for his local paper which I have been posting here. Here is his latest installment.

The Decline of the American Empire - I: The Internal Crumbling

The day following the November elections I offered a column positing that the American empire was in serious trouble and may, in fact, be on the downhill side of history. I offered three reasons for what I believe to be the roots of the crisis. They were :

1-A CRUMBLING OF THE INTERNAL SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

2-AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN WHICH THE RICH GET RICHER, AND THE REST ARE EITHER STAGNATED OR ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE.

3-AN UNSUSTAINABLE WORLD-WIDE MILITARY DEPLOYMENT.

During the next three weeks I will be looking at this trilogy of troubles. This week we will examine the crumbling of America’s spirit.

There is a dark mood hovering over the life of the American people. Perhaps the most obvious symptom has been the anger which boiled over in November. Americans were in a grim mood, but the anger was without clearly defined objectives, and when asked about solutions to the issues they faced, most Americans were unclear. Nevertheless, they were angry about government, the national debt (which in many cases was just a reflection of their own unpayable bills), mammoth unemployment, foreclosures, upside down mortgages, airport indignities, two unwinnable wars, the continual threats of terrorism, and much more.

In addition there exists a serious deterioration in the nation’s infrastructure. Bridges, sewers, highways, utility systems and transportation terminals are all in state of disrepair. If we once were world-renowned for the quality of our educational systems from kindergarten to graduate universities, we are now slipping far down on list of nations focused on educational outcomes. In state after state, budgetary shortfalls increasingly find dollar cuts laid on our schools. Outstanding accomplishments in science, mathematics and technology increasingly find Asian names in the top spots. China and other developing nations are putting substantial resources into these fields. American business, being more concerned with short-term profits than with long-term development, means minimal resources go into the sorts of R and D which may not yield dividends until the out years.

While we stay fixated on fossile fuels, China now produces 90% of the world’s solar panels. Oil is hardly the energy answer for future generations, but who here is willing to confront the energy giants? Perhaps only the government can redirect America’s resources, and you know how any further government expenditures are despised, no matter how sound. Global warming may do us all in, but if doing what needs to be done about it restricts short-term profits, who needs the ice caps?

Perhaps our main discomfort relates to the failure of the economy, with its correlative unemployment. While an economic recovery will, in the long run, ameliorate the sharpest edges of these issues, most of the lost jobs will not be coming back. Industries seeking ever-cheaper labor sources have already outsourced millions of jobs, and technology has made much of traditional labor obsolete. We will not replace these jobs by passing around information. Indeed, many of the new jobs will require the sorts of training not widely available to a significant number of laid-off industrial workers.

The sort of national pride that is content to shout, “We’re number one,” or mouth slogans about how we are the greatest nation in the history of the world, won’t solve any of the problems. Only a change in America’s attitudes and goals will begin to address the malaise. At present, even while toxic symptoms are raging throughout the nation’s body, many among us don’t even want to admit that serious problems exist.

I believe Americans remain a much nobler people than that. But escaping the decline will necessitate an alteration in our attitudes and habits. The simpler life may even be a better way to live. We may again act as if we know that education is our most important product. We may again understand that government is not the enemy, but may be the only vehicle capable of doing the long-range thinking and planning the future demands. America’s best days may be in the future, but it will be a different notion of what is better. And these better days must begin with a sober look at the fragile nature of what is happening in our midst, person by person, family by family, municipality by municipality, state by state. And that includes all of us.

Charles Bayer

Charles Bayer is a somewhat retired theological professor and congregational pastor. He and his wife live at Pilgrim Place in Claremont, Calif., where he is still involved in writing a newspaper column and a variety of other jobs, boards and activities

CBayer, your father's writing style in friendly and approachable. I can see where he would be able to reach people with friendly logic instead of the overly hyperventilating type of partisan passion.We all need more people who both think and care.

A hearty cheers to Charles!
Thank you for posting!