Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Logic is merely the most accurate translation of reality into language and vice versa.

posted by Wild 1:30:00 AM |

THE END OF AMERICA?

Patrick Buchanan, former Presidential Candidate, writer and commentator has written a book titled: "The End of America".

Such a title would seem hyperbolic if it were not for the credentials held by the writer.


A few years ago, Buchanan wrote an article detailing the population collapse in Russia and the political effects that this collapse would have in relation to Russia's democratic development and the relationship that Russia had with China.

The article gained prominence when it was picked up by Pravda (Russia's state newspaper) and since that time, political shifting in that country seems to have followed the patterns described by Buchanan well over four years ago. A good example of this is the state-mandated procreation campaign that has been championed by President Putin. In response to Russia's imploding population, the country has resorted to fascist rhetoric and methodology to try reverse the trends that are pointing to the dissolution of the motherland.

The prescience of Mr. Buchanan's look at Russia makes his examination of the United States worth looking into.

In excerpts from his book posted by Drudge, Buchanan suggests that America is decomposing in an existential meltdown leaving global forces like China and Islam to scramble for control over regions of the earth that the weakening US is unable to influence.

The US is indeed suffering from an existential crisis. Much of what passes for political debate in the US is no longer about the interests of Americans as a citizen block but rather the interests of sub-groups inside (and increasingly outside) the United States. Having conducted its political discourse in this tone for nearly 40 years, it is not entirely surprising that a single unified narrative of America and the promise that she represents no longer exists.

Without a single national narrative, the country has balkanized into competing interest groups with evidence of this discernible in legislation (from the bench and otherwise) that increasingly pits seniors against youth, women against men, civilians against soldiers, race against race and class against class.

Whereas the American political system was designed to operate on a competitive model, players in the political system, in efforts to gain advantage, began converting what should have been the competition of ideas into the competition of grievance. Each grievance having a constituency, the political competition became that of encapsulating as many grievance labels into a party platform in order to command the greatest number of votes.

It is wrong to suggest that there was a time in American history that such political machinations did not exist and that only recently have grievance politics come into play. There has always been a place of grievance politics in America but in my opinion, only in the last 40 years has the discourse surrounding sub-group politics been loud enough to almost entirely drown out the American story.

With a generation emerging within the US that has no direct contact with the singular American idea (think of the people emerging from colleges where courses are offered by the names of Womyn Studies, African-American studies, Queer Studies and others that directly oppose the existence or desirability of a single American people) it is possible that the America of 2015 will not be able to define itself and its reason for existence the way that the America of 1861 and the America of 1939 was able to.

In 1939, German Americans did not represent a voting block impeding America's decision to go to war with Germany. Why? Because American Germans were not cultivated to be a voting block with interests that opposed the interests of the rest of America. There did exist a single American narrative at the time that most Americans including Germans could identify with.

This is sharply in contrast to the current American inability to show a united face to the world due to obstreperous political entities countering the self interest of the US in its fight against Islamic terrorism.

So what will become of America?

Is Buchanan right when he prognosticates America's fall from preeminence?

There are two prongs to this question.

The first is: Can America maintain its dominance as a global power?

The second is: Can America maintain its economic strength and the attendant high standard of living?

Addressing the first is the emergence of political realism that has taken root in American politics. More and more people are resisting their classification within subgroups and identifying with the larger American political body. It is now common to see women fighting the establishment on behalf of men, blacks fighting the establishment on behalf of whites and a general push towards justice.

This trend may set a course on which America may be able to unify its story. If people are able to trust that their interests are the same as the interests of all other Americans, reasoned pursuit of the country's interests may reestablish itself and the parties that represent the grievance groups will decline in influence. With a single sense of national purpose, America could retain global dominance simply by being the voice that holds to the strongest and most compelling standard of justice backed up by a population that itself holds to a high standard of justice.

Regarding the second prong to Buchanan's query, I believe that America's increasing productivity is the key. People outside America have been struggling to understand this counter-intuitive trend.

With industrial manufacturing growing in China and elsewhere at the expense of American manufacturing, it was thought that productivity would be seen to decline alongside an increase in unemployment numbers. This has proven to be wrong over and over again.

This indicator suggests that the American population still believes in work, risk and innovation even though political forces have been working hard to erase incentives to do so. This bodes well for America's future. Productivity is everything when it comes to sustaining a standard of living.

If the US sees a true reduction in political balkanization, the resultant reduction in special-interest liabilities may result in the reduction of disincentives to productivity in the US.

Americans have the privilege of choosing what their futures will look like through the electoral process. If enough people overcome identity politics and vote for America-First politicians, the country might retain its strength for many years. If identity politics plays a major part of the upcoming election, the one of last few remaining chances for America to reclaim a unified voice for America's promise will slip by.

posted by Wild 9:26:00 AM |

RIDERS WIN




SASKATCHEWAN ROUGH RIDERS WIN THE GREY CUP.

posted by Wild 6:38:00 PM |

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