Eversio Americano (American Ruin) Part 2: Circuses for the Rabble

A few days ago on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the audience were given free watches and cake--to much inane applause. A while before that, on Martha Stewart Living, Martha gave away a free exercise device and a book--to much inane applause. Both shows, in an apparent attempt to boost their ratings, have a consistent tendency to give away "gifts." Add on to this shows such as "Deal or No Deal," "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," and older shows such as "The Price is Right" and their ilk, again with people acting more akin to chattering monkeys than humans.

By now, after this, along with the title, you can probably see where this is going.

This decline of America tuning in to such venues goes beyond merely being couch-potatoes. It is a startling revelation at how base the country has become. Just as in the waning days of the Roman Empire, the Roman people were given their gladiator fights, their chariot races, their munera and luda to distract them from their nation crumbling around them. As they watched there crude spectacles, they were oblivious to threats all around them. And they fell.

Now it is America's turn. Now it is American plebeians who gawk at their televisions. And these plebeians do not come from any particular social or financial strata of society--they occur at all levels. The bloody executions have been replaced by a large infusion of cash, but its effect is the same. As China and India rise once again, America wanes. The United States is increasingly in less and less of a position to stand up to them, to rival or even keep its preeminence over these potential superpowers.

Instead, the American people blindly watch their televisions.

See "Eversio Americano (American Ruin) Part 1: Introduction"

Eversio Americano (American Ruin) Part 1: Introduction

This is to be the first in a series of blogs explaining the current decline in the American civilization--titled Eversio Americano in the style of Pax Americana--and what the United States should do to try to prevent such a slide. Rather than fall into a status of second-rate power, the United States can keep the strength it has today, and indeed can build on it.

The American nation is blessed with many gifts. It has the largest economy in the world. By far. Japan, next in line has a nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) some seven trillion American dollars less than the United States. The following European countries and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are even smaller, with an average GDP of around two trillion dollar. The American military is the strongest and most powerful of all the Earth's armed forces. In sheer numbers, it is the second largest after the PRC, and the skill of American troops far outweighs the slight advantage that China has in numbers. The United States is one of only two countries that fields a blue water navy, the other being the United Kingdom, a close American ally. Its popular culture spreads across the world in the form of movies, music, fashion, and literature. And of course there are very few people in the world who have not heard (or read) of Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Microsoft, or a number of other globally recognized American brands.

And yet, the United States is in decline. Its rate of economic growth is not as strong as it once was. Through blunders from the leadership, its military is now considered "overstretched" in Iraq--in what could have been a relatively simple conflict. Its popular culture is criticized for being too materialistic, vulgar, and crude.

This last point is what drives the point home. The American loss of American values is what will lead to the nation's downfall, moreso than any other thing.

Of course there are the rivals. The PRC is set to overtake the American economy by the year 2050. Some even predict that India will also beat the United States by this time. Plenty of Europeans (all you need do is take a glance at relevant articles in Wikipedia) are ready to point out that if the European Union (EU) was considered a single entity, the EU would have a larger GDP than the United States, along with a larger population. Increasingly American jobs are being outsourced to other countries where the labor is cheaper. China is building up its military, and a number of countries are pursuing nuclear weapons development as a "strategic deterrent" to the United States. Russia has fielded the idea of an alliance between the Russian Federation, the PRC, and India as a counterbalance to American hegemony, sometimes including Brazil to make the BRIC countries. Even American popular culture is being challenged, from Bollywood (Mumbai) to the Golden Globes--where foreign films made a big mark.

Yet these potential usurpers to the United States' pre-eminence are not the root cause of American decline, the eversio americano. Ultimately, it is the decay in American values that will lead to the nation's ruin. And it can be a renewal of these same American values that will lead this nation to new heights.

See "Eversio Americano (American Ruin) Part 2: Circuses for the Rabble" posted on Monday, January 29, 2007.