It is very difficult if you have been following developments
in the United States for the past thirty plus years not to conclude that we
have developed what appears to be(however unconsciously) a national death wish.
I doubt that most U.S. citizens would acknowledge this and I suspect most are
probably not even aware of it, but it is, alas, true, or so it seems to me. I
do not know precisely when this began but I suspect it began in earnest during
the Reagan administration. There is no indication I am aware of that either
Richard Nixon or Jimmy Carter, whatever their shortcomings might have been,
were anti-government or did not have the national interest at heart. It was
Reagan, the “Great Communicator,” who first told us that “Government is the
problem,” and things seem to have gone downhill ever since. It is obvious there
are those in government today that still cling to this rather ridiculous
belief, the result of which has been extremely unhealthy for our well-being. As
a nation and a culture we are slowly dying while doing little or nothing to
prevent our demise. Consider where we are with respect to the most important
problems we face:
Global warming, for example, is almost certainly the greatest
potential threat to our continued existence on planet earth. What actions have
we taken to attempt to deal with this terrible threat? The answer, I fear, is
virtually none in any truly meaningful way.
What have we done to combat the serious problem we have with
unemployment? Again, virtually nothing of substance, the rate appears to have
stabilized at roughly eight percent.
Our infrastructure is widely known to be badly neglected and
getting worse year after year. We have done nothing to deal with this trillion
dollar problem.
Our environment, too, has been damaged and continues to
suffer increasing damage as a result of unregulated or illegal business practices,
especially from resource extraction and the demands of energy.
Our educational system, from the primary grades to the
highest levels, is little more than a shambles, and, from a national interest
standpoint is dysfunctional almost beyond belief. Our universities and colleges
that should be geared to turning out intelligent well-rounded individuals, have
become little more than trade schools, so expensive as to actually punish, with
massive debt, those wishing to improve their lives and contribute to our
betterment.
Our health care is a disgrace when compared to the rest of
the developed world, far more expensive than health care in other
industrialized nations, and demonstrably not always any better in spite of the
greater expense.
The U.S.
political/economic situation has become so dysfunctional as to be almost
useless when it comes to dealing with the abovementioned problems. Public
service has been replaced with naked greed and the distribution of wealth, if
not curtailed, will lead to even further disaster.
It seems obvious to me that all of these problems, if
continued to be neglected and unsolved, are going to lead to the end of our
nation as a viable socio-cultural entity. The most unfortunate part of this is
that all of these problems could be solved, perhaps not easily, but almost
certainly. If we fail to deal with global warming, unemployment ,
infrastructure, environmental degradation, education and health care how can we
possibly survive for long in the modern world?
One final problem, perhaps the most serious of all, and
inextricably related to all of them, is what seems to be the growing distrust
of science. When 98% of the world’s scientists agree on the problem of global
warming, and a few individuals in positions of power and influence can override
them, you should know you are on the road to national suicide. Some of these
individuals are known bible-thumpers and might actually believe in biblical
nonsense, but others are in the pockets of greedy corporations who simply do
not want regulations on their destructive behavior no matter what the long-term
effects may be, short-term profits take precedence over the human condition.
I have no idea where Saint Ronnie came by his absurd belief
that “Government is the Problem,” perhaps from Nancy’s Astrologer. In any case,
insofar as this belief has informed our “Leaders,” and encouraged them to
refuse to fund vital governmental programs such as education, health care,
environmental protection, and so forth, it has done irreparable damage to our
lives and threatens our very existence as a nation. It’s too bad science will
not be allowed to clone dinosaurs so we could all ride them happily off to the
West and ultimate oblivion.
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