America No Longer The Worlds Greatest nation

It just struck me last night as I was watching Hannity and Colmes, as Sean Hannity was berating a guest who had recently taken a job as a reporter for the Arab network Al-Jazeera. The former American soldier was asked repeatedly whether he thought America was the worlds greatest nation.

 

The soldier turned reporter answered in the affirmative, but it seemed to me as if he did so by rote, that his heart wasnt' really in it. And I understood quite well the reason for this. What does it mean, really, when somebody states that the Untied States of America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth, the greatest nation, in fact, to have ever existed?

 

Well, the answer to that would depend on who you ask. Some people, the more simple minded, would say because we are the most powerful nation, militarily and economically, and because of our "freedom" and our purported belief in God. A great many would agree with this assessment only in part.

 

The real answer, of course, should be because of our founding documents, the Constitution, the Bill Of Rights, the Declaration of Independence. Because of our history of adhering to the principles inherent in these documents, and of being the shining light to the world for those who long to live in liberty, and propserity, and the promise that everyone who "works hard and plays by the rules" stands a good chance of achieving their dreams-the so-called "American Dream."

 

Unfortunately, the American Dream may well have turned into a nightmare. No longer are we the worlds greatest nation. Oh sure, we are still the greatest economic power, the greatest military power, and we still have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and in fact the infrastructure of our government is still very much in place, as strong or stronger than it has ever been before.

 

But none of that is important, when you get right down to it. A country is not it's government, nor is it it's military or economy. It is not even it's founding documents, admirable though these all are. The greatness of a nation, of any nation, is in it's people. So, let's rethink this assertion of greatness.

 

When, ever, if at all, was America truly "The Greatest Nation On Earth"? I submit that there was indeed a time when this was the case. Never was there a time when this was more true than during the onset of the nineteen thirties, during the darkest days of the Great Depression. This had been ongoing by 1932 for some three years, and the country was now at it's bleakest period. Franklin D. Roosevelt rallied the people after this, and though the struggle was long and hard, the people persevered. Note I said the people persevered. Not Roosevelt, not the Democratic party. Although Roosevelt and his Party were indeed instrumental in harnassing the power of the collective will and faith of America, it was the spirit of the people itself that enabled the long term transformation. It was a story that is itself the stuff of greatness.

 

This greatness continued, as we persevered through the horrors or World War II in the 1940's, on through the on-set of the Cold War in the late forties and throughout the fifties. Despite the trepidation that existed then, again America persevered, throughout even the tumltous decade of the ninteen sixties. It was perhaps this decade during which America was tested like never before, when our very values were called into question, and when we were forced to really examine whether or not American justice and values were only for the chosen few, or for all Americans. The unrest of the Civil Rights and Viet Nam era was cetainly a testing period. We lived through the assassination of a President, a former attornedy general and Presidential anti-war and pro-civil rights candidate, and the greatest of all civil rights leaders. All this culminated with the end of Viet Nam war, and the resignation of a President in disgrace.

 

Things had indeed come full circle. Throughout the decade of the nineteen seventies, America was going through a healing process, what Jimmy Carter mistakenly referred to as a "malaise". America was, in fact, an exhausted nation, a nation sufferring from an advanced case of collective clinical depression.

 

For just a brief time, Ronald Reagan inspired a kind of revitalization of the American spirit during the decade of the nineteen eighties, but this was illussory, based on empty premises of a new "morning in America", where most of the people were still left in the dark, until the glaring light of Iran Contra temporarily shocked us out of our complacency. But still, we didn't really care. Not enough.

 

We continued to live our delusions, on into the nineteen nineties. Then came Clinton, and, quickly following his ascension to the presidency, in 1994, came what was billed as the "Republican Revolution". Lead by Newt Gingrich, soon to be the first Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives in more than forty years, this was the one event that set the stage for the ultimate downhill slide of America, into the doldrums of a Third World Backwater.

 

Clinton, who was luckily re-elected in 1996, managed to maintain some semblance of control over events, enough to oversee probably the greatest economy in American history. But by this time, the bitterness and factionalism between Democrats and Republicans had manifested to an extent not seen since the days of the American Civil War. By the time Clinton left office, there was no way to go but down.

 

Yes, we still have the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights. Our democratically elected leaders should read it every now and then. Both sides. The way it stands now, both factions have become so intransigent, their heels dug in so deeply, as they become more and more controlled by PACS and spercial interest groups, as oppossed to being guided by the will, and the rights, of all American citizens.

 

Because of this, precious little is ever accomplished anymore. Moderation and compromise have become as rare, if at all existant, as the civility which used to at least pretend to exist among our elected leaders.

 

We are, in effect, in the middle of a Second American Civil War. But it is one fought not for the achievement of a lofty goal, or for the righting of one of humanities great evils. It is a war fought for the simple acquisition of power, and wealth, and control. And the American people, for the most part, either sit on the side-lines, wathcing in dismay and disgust, or they take sides, some rather tentatively,without really giving a whole lot of thought to the choices they make. In fact, a good lot of them, I am afraid to say, are really too ignorant to make an informed choice, they just act accordding to what they perceive their own selfish best itnerests to be, rightly or wrongly, and try to tell themselves that they are doing it for the "good of the country", or to please some supposed divine personnage.

 

Perhaps it was a little harsh to refer to the country as a "backwater". But that is exactly where we are headed, and quicker than one might think, if things aren't changed, and quickly. But this is unlikely to happen. The factionalism, the bitterness, and the outright hatred that has overtaken the country tells the true story of the state of our nation. And it might well be the final chapter. What's liable to replace it afterwards could very well be an entirely different type of volume, one based on totalitarianism, with an economic system that would probably be best described as a modern kind of feudalism.

 

Not exactly what the Founding Father's had in mind, in fact a far cry from the lofty ideals as set forth in the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights. And that is all that matters. The greatness, long term, of any nation, is not where it has been, but where it ends up going.   

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