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If it wasn't for computers, the biggest numbers generally known in this country would be solely in relation to our national debt. We are the break-away colony of the Last Great Empire (TM) who has tried our best to become an even bigger empire. And maybe we succeeded in some respects. But the days of the United States as a SuperPower are over, except in regards to our possession of the world's largest arsenal of thermonuclear devices and, as mentioned above, the world's largest debt.
Largest debtor nation AND largest stockpile of thermonuclear weapons. Ever wonder how that combination might play into our future?
Also, it's likely that our consumption of fossil fuels will continue to skyrocket until it eventually causes direct confrontations with other nations also greedy for a better spot at the energy trough.
And it all does hang, seemingly, by something like a thread. Our economy, once fairly stable even under the massive debt before Bush took office, has been weakened by outsourcing, grotesque over-spending, fraud, etc.
I think about these things. There doesn't seem to be many easy answers.
Hrm. That's not quite true. I think there are at least a few "easy" answers to some of the quandaries above. I don't think Americans have it in them, the majority of Americans, to knuckle-under and make it right. I also feel that America doesn't have politicians, on the balance, who are willing to lead America by making some necessary (but wildly unpopular) decisions to save our ass.
I have no idea where this country is going, but to me it looks like it's already falling into the abyss. Maybe not the abyss of fiction, a truly bottomless pitt. I think of it more like the abyssal region of the ocean. There's a bottom. It's very very deep down and the pressure will destroy almost anything that reaches the depth.
I try to focus on things that all of the above can't touch. We go out and bring our children to the park and they play. My son is white and my girlfriend's two boys are much darker skinned (she's half-Mexican). I see our children play with other children from all different colors and social and economic backgrounds. When I walk down the street, I usually smile at strangers and toss in a "Good Evening" or "Good Morning".
I think America's diving into a shit hole of a future but I reckon if I make sure that my children grow up right and try to bring a little more friendliness into my community when the hammer drops maybe we will be the city that doesn't entirely degrade into shooting each other for a can of tuna.
Sometimes when the worries grow broader I take a moment, especially in the summertime, and lie on my back looking up at the stars. When things appear very hopeless I like to recall that the cold vacuum of space and vast interstellar distances help act as something like a "firewall" to prevent humanity from inflicting itself on the rest of the universe until, presumably, we learn to behave ourselves a bit better and start getting along.
PB
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