Search This Blog

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Future America


By the ruler's cultivation of his own character there is set up the example of the course which all should pursue.

CONFUCIUS


        How much influence do we want and expect from the U.S. in the modern world? From the heydays of isolationism before WWI to the modern concept of "Realpolitik", America has undergone profound transformations both politically, economically and militarily. We changed from a 'sleeping giant' just before WWII to the most powerful nation on earth after the demise of the Soviet empire. Can we imagine USA 2075? Will we blossom into a model nation, transcending our political bickering and reaching decisions with a rational consensus? Will we eliminate borders north and south and become truly the United States of America?



Our multiple forceful interventions in various parts of the globe have earned us the pejorative appellation of 'imperialistic'. We still have troops in Japan, Korea, Germany and another 20 countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. The main difference with former empires is that we no longer seek adding more territory; we simply consider theses bases as strategically essential to our security and economic interests. That presence has not prevented us from suffering terrorist attacks on our own soil and in various parts of the world, but we should ask ourselves whether it has actually played a part in such declared hostility.



Realpolitik is the guiding force behind our foreign policy; its definition according to Wikipedia is:" .. politics or diplomacy based primarily on practical considerations". It is therefore to be expected that the U.S. will support dictatorships and authoritarian regimes in the future such as Saudi Arabia, China, Jordan and Kuwait in modern times, even though our avowed ideal is to foment democracy. We did nothing to defend Tibet when Chinese troops invaded the Buddhist country because we had no special interest in that part of the world, thereby tacitly recognizing Beijing's rights to annex that small nation. Can we justify our occupation of Puerto Rico? Guam ? Samoa? Guantanamo? Etc.



Article IV of our constitution indicates the following :" the congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United States;" Without being a lawyer, I can surmise that the quote refers to any conquered territory that is not a state; our Founding Fathers therefore had planned the possibility that the United States might extend the boundaries through military power, although perhaps limiting the scope of the young republic to the American continent. We actually did during the war with Mexico and with the Philippines, but these times are over. It is inconceivable nowadays that we might occupy and annex a foreign state.
 

The vigor and strength of the early days during the 19th century when the U.S. exploded as an industrial power, have been replaced by a certain complacency – we are the only superpower left and we can do anything – and by a political bottleneck that effectively impedes the solution of urgent national problems. We have been fortunate that the private industry has, in many cases, taken over the search for new venues in replacing fossil fuel for example; we knew since FDR and Lyndon Johnson that a large portion of the population does not have access to proper medical care and if Obamacare survives, universal coverage will correct that. As a "superpower" we should dedicate the majority of our resources, which are considerable, to the welfare of American citizens, including the fight against global warming.


We really need a new social contract and unshackle the modern American('Man is born free but everywhere is in chains' said Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Enlightenment philosopher). The average citizen is chained to a big SUV, a never ending mortgage, humongous college costs that rise faster than his income, a Congress that spends his taxes and more on futile overseas ventures, an environment that has become more toxic, medical care that leaves him in debt for the rest of his working life and television programs that brainwash him day and night into buying useless trinkets.



We have been lucky to receive thousands of new immigrants every year who dream of achieving their version of the American way of life; we are still strong and vigorous as a nation, but we face the danger of failing our future generations by neglecting the basic values that made us a role model for the rest of the world. Hopefully Future America will evolve into an example of justice, equal justice not based on income, complete care of each and every citizen, and tolerance toward different races and cultures.

1 comment:

Elena said...

Once again I must say, author, where have you been all my life? Today all of us are struggling to survive and overcome a minority of people intent upon flushing this country down the toilet for their own personal gain. Obviously, if any of us have any moral resposibility towards continuity of this great nation, we would all join together and demand support and respect for our President and demand accountability regarding those bent on bankrupting all of us through their own greed and deceit. Congress and the Senate take note, "we the people" will no longer tolerate your disrespect towards our great nation nor will we tolerate your blackballing of each and every issue and piece of legislation our President, with a grave sense of urgency, proposes for the future(all of our children's future)of this great nation. We can no longer waste precious minutes disputing racially motivated negativity. Our graet nation is in immediate danger of imploding upon itself initiated through greed of a one percent, free trade is a slap in the face and shameful action by and through our very own politicians and their personal interest groupees. Do you politicians really believe you can sit on your thrones and snub your noses at the rest of us? If you can't work for the American people then step down and stand in the unemployment line for a reality check. "We the people" have no respect for this present congress and their deceitful and corrupt inability to unite and get the job done. Where will you be when it all falls apart? For those of you incapable of seeing the writing on the wall, our country needs responsible leadership, Obama has many solid proposals and he also needs to step it up - tick tock, tick tock, time is of the essence here. God bless this great nation and God help us all.