Death of the American Empire?

**SteyrAUG** · 10-04-17, 12:53

Originally Posted by chuckman

The US isn't an empire in the classical sense. But we go to and support enough countries that the title may de facto apply. Ironically, the same reason that will likely be one of (if not the biggest) reason for our downfall--economics--is the same reason every 'real' empire has fallen.

This.

**tehpwnag3** · 10-04-17, 13:22

Wishful thinking, sir. You forgot about the need to reverse a completely debauched money system that is solely debt based; pay back every dollar and there will be no more dollars because dollars are debt instruments, not stores of value (or wealth). Look into fractional reserve banking and you'll soon find out that debt is how the whole thing works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nBPN-MKefA

Originally Posted by crusader377

The sad thing is in the whole scheme of things American's problems are pretty easy to fix if we had halfway competent leadership in Congress. It is not like the Late Roman empire which was faced with plagues, barbarian invasions on multiple fronts, a declining population, bankruptcy, etc...

America, honestly if it tightened its belt and reigned in entitlements could fix our debt problem within a generation if not sooner.

**Todd.K** · 10-04-17, 13:41

"Add to this the mounting destruction caused by climate change..."

Is this supposed to be a joke?

**Doc Safari** · 10-04-17, 13:49

Originally Posted by BoringGuy45

Honestly, at this point, we need a war, or something big and bad, that can unite us. It sounds awful, but we need something drastic that will slap this generation in the face and will help us reboot.

Right after 9/11 I would have agreed with you. I am afraid at this point that NOTHING can ever again unite us. Maybe if Kim Jong Un nukes Portland or something we will be united--for a few days--but at this point we are divided to the point of near violence over something like people taking a knee at football games. Unless something happens to restore the notion that we are all Americans first and whatever else second then the country is doomed to come apart.

And I am NOT justifying taking the knee during the national anthem, just that we should be worried about EMP attacks, the country going bankrupt, wars with Russia, China, or North Korea, and such, and not whether a football team does any motherf***ing thing.

**26 Inf** · 10-04-17, 13:57

Originally Posted by Todd.K

"Add to this the mounting destruction caused by climate change..."

Is this supposed to be a joke?

Climate change can also refer to the earth's natural cycles. A lack of a couple of inches rainfall in one area can send a local economy on the edge over the side, leaving folks to starve. Likewise, a fractional degree's difference and you have rain, instead of snow. This quickens the demise of glaciers. Bolivia, for one, is already in crisis:

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...rought-bolivia

**TomMcC** · 10-04-17, 15:58

Yep....it's all doomed, abandon all hope......eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die...right.....right.

Amazingly, I still have hope, but not in men.

**sundance435** · 10-04-17, 16:00

Originally Posted by BoringGuy45

I agree, the moral compass is gone. It's not gay marriage, marijuana, and all that stuff. It's lack of responsibility and lack of unity. Identity politics rule the day, and people are universally more selfish, greedy, lazy, and entitled. Nobody wants to make sacrifices, but they want others to make sacrifices for them. Nobody wants to do anything for themselves, so they elect leaders who create program after unaffordable program to do it for them.

I couldn't agree more with this aspect of your post. The massacre in Vegas is illustrative, to a point; people want the government to step in and ensure their safety by passing a law that will magically make these situations disappear. YOU are primarily responsible for your own safety, you just choose to delegate primary responsibility to the government, which can only react with a hammer and not a scalpel, because that's how governments inherently act. The fact that many things are even framed as "rights" anymore is troubling when all you are really talking about is delegating responsibility.