A Betrayed Generation
In a recent five-part series of columns, I have posed the question, “Why won’t America follow the Egyptian model? That is, as we have recently seen in Egypt, why won’t millions of betrayed, out of work, and or underemployed young Americans flood the streets of DC, committing civil disobedience on a massive and permanent basis? Moreover, I posit—isn’t it conceivable the American military will side with the young freedom fighters in a military coup?”
In this and in several other columns to follow, I will focus on why tens of millions of young Americans, many of whom voted for Obama, should feel betrayed and secondly, what are the clear indicators of America’s decline. Churchill famously remarked, “Countries don’t have friends. They have interests.” Under this president, America is in an inexorable decline in terms of our economic strength, military strength, and our ability to influence events on the world stage. In short, our interests are being squandered by bad decisions and by appallingly bad governance. And the likely net effect of this is civil unrest or worse.
For America which, in the 20th century, led the war to defeat the Axis Powers in World War II and went on to win the Cold War, it’s becoming obvious that its 21st century decline emanates from its massive insolvency, its inability to pay for the hugely-bloated regulatory and welfare states it has created.
When I tell acquaintances that I have written a book entitled, “Lessons from Fallen Civilizations,” they will invariably pose a version of this question, “Well, are we doomed?” To which I answer, “By my reading of history, you can’t have a world-class welfare state and a world-class military. You might have neither; but you can’t have both.”
I made this observation while appearing on Jim Bohanan’s syndicated radio show. ‘He challenged me by replying, “You’re not saying that the late Roman Empire was running a welfare state are you?”
I said, “No. By the fifth century AD, the dying Roman Empire of the West was a kleptocracy. But the net effect was the same as to what is happening now in the US. The fifth century Romans of the West stole from and then destroyed their middle class.”
We’re the Worst Generation
If we celebrate my parents’ generation, dubbing those who fought and won World War II as our greatest, it seems logical to conclude that there can be a “worst” generation. That would be my generation, “the boomers,” because we will be the first generation to turn the country over to our children in worse shape than when they inherited it.
Thus the question—why won’t the appalling state of our union precipitate the next American Revolution? Given the current jobless decline, amplified by the rapid escalation of tax rates in Obamacare and elsewhere, it’s arguable that the American youth, dubbed the millenials are now being subjected to far worse oppression than our founders faced under 18th century British rule.
A Food Stamp Nation –A Key Indicator of Decline is Spiking
The Weekly Standard reported that the number of food stamp recipients in the US had risen from 30.9 million in 2008 (the year Obama was elected) to 44.7 million by June of 2012. This meant 1 in 7 Americans could not feed themselves. This month, Newsmax Magazine reported an extremely alarming trend. “The 23,116,928 food-stamp households, an all-time record, was an increase of 46,000 from the previous month. Now 1 in 5 households depend on food stamps.” Consider the trend, Americans!
How on earth can we expect young Americans to shoulder the cost of all our dependents who now need help feeding themselves? Their numbers exceed Poland, Hungary, and Sweden combined? How can we expect our young to fund the $17 trillion in actual debt, the 50 to 100 trillion in unfunded liabilities, the federal, state, and local governments with their vast minions of highly paid retirees? The answer is they can’t and they shouldn’t even be forced to try. Just as the fifth-century Roman officials stole what little gold came in from their disappearing empire, America’s young are being defrauded and betrayed by their ruling class.
New Evidence our Military Could Join an Insurrection
Quoting a recent study of Army morale, the Boston Globe reported, “only a quarter of the Army’s officers and enlisted soldiers believe the nation’s largest military branch is headed in the right direction – a survey response that is the lowest on record and reflects what some in the service call a “crisis in confidence.”
But if the enlisted men and women are suffering from low morale, many in the officer core are in full outrage. Investor’s Business Daily accuses Obama of a military coup. Over the five years of his presidency across all branches of the armed services he has fired 197 senior officers. Just this year, he fired nine commanding generals, including General Ham head of US Africa Command who publicly stated that he disagreed with the order not to send a rescue mission into Benghazi on the night of the attacks when our people were pleading for their lives. Retired and active members of our most elite warriors are openly speculating that an Obama purge of its commanders is under way.
Retired Army Major General, Paul Vallely puts a fine point on this. “The White House protects their own. That’s why they stalled on investigations into Fast and Furious, Benghazi, and Obamacare. He’s intentionally weakening and gutting our military and the Pentagon and reducing us as a superpower. Anyone in the ranks who disagrees or speaks out is being purged,” Vallely said. Add to that, the sequester which was designed by Obama and which allocates 50% of all spending cuts to the military, is a perfect vehicle for him to do just that.
Iran is Playing Obama and Kerry for the Declinist Fools They Are
In my book, I develop a list of ten immutable laws governing the fall of great civilizations. My Immutable Law #3 reads;
As long as there have been civilizations to prey upon, men of property domiciled there have attempted to appease their predators. Yet when dealing with a ruthless outside power, appeasement is not only a foolhardy tactic but an incitement.
Despite fact that Iranians continue to refer to the US as the Great Satan, have not renounced their vow to destroy Israel, or pledged to stop funding terror organizations such as Hezbollah, our secretary of State and, by extension his boss, keep referring to “progress,” in nuclear weapons talks in Geneva. In an ominous twist of fate, Israel is now more closely allied with the Sunni kingdoms of Qatar, the Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia than it is with the US. All five nations are openly contemptuous of this most recent delusional attempt to get Iran to halt what has been its thirty-year quest to get the bomb and to dominate the Middle East. In a recent poll, even 62% of Americans don’t believe the US will be able to use diplomacy to stop Iran from getting nukes. A sizeable majority seems to instinctively know what this president doesn’t, that this charade is naked appeasement of a nasty little rogue state and as such is the signature of a nation in decline. It may not be hope but it’s certainly change.
Next week in the series – What American Decline Looks Like? How the soon to be nuclear Iran is creating new emboldened alliances that will threaten the US
