The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
Growing up in the America of the 50s and early 60s, I had no doubt that America was not only the greatest of all nations, but that its well deserved supremacy among nations was assured far into the future.
But a few decades later, there are troubling signs that the American Century is all but over, and that in fact, our great nation may already be fast-forwarding towards the fate of all once-great nations.
I'm talking about signs like waging unjust wars of aggression. An increasing reliance on mercenaries to fight those wars. Torture. A willingness to abandon our most fundamental principles. Deep class divisions.
And now Congress is likely to pass a law to allow something that, to me, epitomizes a nation in serious decline — a guest worker program.
The idea of importing "guest" workers is offensive on so many levels, it's hard to know where to start. It creates an entirely new underclass in America. It keeps wages for American workers artificially low. It takes jobs away from hundreds of thousands of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed. It swells the ranks of Americans who live in poverty. And it stretches the gap between rich and poor to potentially dangerous levels.
Don't think for a minute that Congress is considering this law out of compassion for poor foreign workers. This is exploitation, pure and simple.
Comments
Agreed... Look at how successful such programs have been in the past. From imported Hindus in British South Africa to imported Turks in Italy and France, it has been the gateway to instability and the development of a permanent underclass.
Posted by: Kvatch | May 22, 2007 02:33 PM
With respect, I have never read such nonsense.
I know nothing about this Immigration bill and I agree "guest worker" programs are a slippery slope if that is what you fear. But to read into this the decline of the US as a bastion of civilisation is absurd.
Your country does not wage unjust wars of aggression and judging from the number of young Americans who have given up their lives in recent years, I don't you have a valid point about merceneries. Just about every country in the world thinks Iraq needs to be stabilised and that a victory for the "insurgents" and Al quada would be a disaster. It's just that Russia Europe et al expect America to do more than its fair share of the fighting. And bleeding. As usual.
Yours is a noble and grand country of which you should be richly proud. Its contribution to human progress, civilisation and freedom is enormous. Consider for just a second how different and horrible recent human history would have been had the US been less grand, and powerful, than it is. Consider for a moment the history of the last century.
Iraq may or may not have been a terrible mistake. But it is far from what you have said and to suggest that it, or some immigration bill (needed incidentally because of the vast "pulling power" of the US economy, standard of living and quality of life) are harbingers of decay is just so long it's tragic.
The world is full of America-haters. Mostly they don't like individual liberty, material affluence, aspirational progress and democracy. Naturally they hate America.
Stand up for America. I am. And I'm not even an American.
Posted by: geoff | May 22, 2007 05:18 PM
Thanks for supplying the examples, Kvatch. I've been busy lately trying to counter insinuations that I'm a bigot and a nazi. ;-)
And that brings me to Geoff...
That fact that I am richly proud of what America has stood for is exactly what makes me sick about what's happened in America the last few years. Standing up for America requires criticizing it when it deserves it. It deserves it for the reasons I posted, and more.
If you really believe America is fighting an altruistic war in Iraq, you're delusional.
As for mercenaries in Iraq, there are 48,000 of them (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-scahill25jan25,0,4485578.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions) - hardly an insignificant number.
The issues I raised in the post are serious and disturbing to me. I see us losing the country that my father's generation left us, and that isn't something I accept quietly.
Let me respectfully suggest that you're a little weak on your facts. Let me also suggest you not presume you know better than I how to stand up for what America is supposed to stand for. I don't think you get it.
Posted by: abi | May 22, 2007 06:55 PM
"I'm talking about signs like waging unjust wars of aggression. An increasing reliance on mercenaries to fight those wars. Torture. A willingness to abandon our most fundamental principles. Deep class divisions."
What a load of crap. I hear plenty of talk from America's enemies. In case you haven't noticed they are numerous, determined and powerful. And they talk just like you.
Don't you presume to know you know better than I about what we are up against. My country stands for the same things and has stood beside yours for a hundred years now. Nothing has changed. Without disrespect.
I think you don't get it. At all.
Posted by: geoff | May 22, 2007 10:53 PM
You're a sad case, geoff. Long on insinuation and invective, and short on sound argument.
Posted by: abi | May 23, 2007 07:20 AM