The end of an era
End of an Empire
When I was a kid, I was a big fan of the United States. I was a big sports fan and America was the greatest sports nation in the world. Every Saturday I would watch Wide World of Sports and America would always win. They were the greatest. As I got older and eventually visited the USA I grew disillusioned. My family went to Disney World in 1976, the year of the
Bi-Centennial, driving through Georgia there were still hotels where we weren’t allowed to stay. “Whites Only”, 1976. My thirteen year old mind snapped to attention. This country was not all it was cracked up to be.
As I entered my 20’s I became convinced that America was in decline and I had mixed emotions. On the one hand they were arrogant and self important, but on the other hand they were confident and a bit ostentatious. I kinda fit the mold of the latter so there was some empathy for that aspect of their culture. The last 12 years of American history have convinced me that it is pretty much over for America as the preeminent nation in the world.
Rolling Stone recently published an article addressing everything I’ve been thinking about for the last decade. It’s a little long but it’s worth a read.