Are you being serious?

Your caliber of ignorance baffles me.

Our military DOES NOT kick ass, it stopped kicking ass as soon as other nations got nuclear weapons; with those, it really does not matter how many tanks you make in a month. You wonder who will win? Whoever pushes the button first.

Plan ahead you say? Well I would love to see your schedule, let's see on which days of the year you plan on getting the flu. Or perhaps cancer? Can you plan ahead for that?

Weed out the sick? God forbid you or a loved one of yours would contract a terrible terminal illness and you find yourself in a situation where, unless you come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars, you won't be treated. I'm sure in that situation you'll be taking all that you said. Heck, Perhaps you would even agree and say that the US should stop spending so much money on "the gun show" and more money on caring for its people because, after all, that is part of the government's job isn't it?

What is the point of spending all the money in being able to fully defend your borders when everyone inside is dying?

America and the rest of the world need to understand that "business as usual" is dead. Either humanity enlightens itself and unites as ONE; in true care for one another and the pursuit of things that matter (IE: Space exploration, scientific advancements) or humanity wipes itself out.

Did you know? We are approaching that cross-roads very fast.

You apparently don't need us to butcher your language. You're doing a pretty good job all by yourself.

Seriously... you ought to look at the policies of your own government. You're in Iraq too, much as I wish your PM had the temerity to stand up to the shrub. You also live in one of the most surveiled societies on earth. What's up with that?

Don't get me wrong, I love Europe and Britain in particular. I've been there many times and have very good friends there. But, I find that many Europeans often make the mistake of assuming that Americans all think alike. We don't. There are plenty of us on this side of the pond who are just as sickened at all the flag-waving blind-obediance crap profferd to the town idiot.

Rest assured, we are going to fix this in the next election.

*sighs*

I think some people are sorely lacking in education on matters like these.

People do not 'give' the United States their power, the United States has power because of its military and economic strength. If everyone decided one day that they would prefer Uganda to be a superpower, it's simply not going to happen.

A post like this is a perfect example of the ethnocentrism that I spoke of earlier. This type of thinking is what I like to call 'deservist.' Now, not all Americans (or people from other wealthy nations) think this way, but a significant percentage does. It's the view that Americans (or whomever) are powerful because they deserve it and the rest of the world 'bestows' it upon them. This isn't the case, and this type of thinking is analogous to a child in a rich family that believes they deserve to get everything handed to them because they are somehow inherently superior to the poorer people around them.

The reason people think this way is that this type of thinking is inherently embedded in a capitalist system. We are taught that if you work hard, you will succeed and live 'the American Dream.' Unfortunately, this isn't how it really works (the vast majority of wealth in countries like the US an Canada is inhereted). Things like GDP and 'economic growth' rarely effect the majority of people, and with our hyper-materialistic economic system, we are all taught that we are defined by what we own.

Anyone who has done a little bit of travelling (and I don't mean to Americanized tourist destinations), and actually spoken to people of different origins and learned about separate cultures and histories will quickly realize that Western nations are not the centre of the universe. Remember that we are lucky to have been born in nations like Canada and the US. If you had been born in any periperhal nation, your idea of how things work in this world would be VASTLY different. Be thankful that we lead comfortable lives, and don't ever assume that we deserve it.

Lets be honest most americans are gonna die of obeseity.

There is story, out of Colorado I think, where a loud (but apparently not very wealthy) Republican businessman was able to get tort-reform passed. It limited the medical damages that anyone could recover from an individual or corporation to $250,000. He was lauded by the insurance industry as a visionary. That year, his wife was hit and crippled in an auto accident. He sued and recovered the maximum amount he could: $250,000. A quarter-mil sounds like a lot, but healthcare is amazingly expensive. He is now bankrupt and living in an apartment somewhere because all that money barely covered all the surgeries and therapy needed over the years. Poetic justice much?

Just goes to show how far people are willing to go to destroy their own lives in the name of a morally-bankrupt and unworkable ideology. People are happy to talk about "limits" and "caps" and letting the "lazy b****rds" go without treatment because "its not my problem." But when you're the one under the knife, it all changes.

I leave you with a letter that was written this last march in the rocky mountain news:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/10/tort-reform-must-not-neglect-injured-victims/?printer=1/

A salient quote:

"You see, this client, an advocate of tort reform, who supported and in fact testified for tort reforms similar to those which were the subject of your editorial, had an epiphany as that snow machine ran over his midsection - the same realization that anyone would have, likely including anyone on your editorial board. These limits all seem well and good when talking about other people, but God forbid anything ever happens to you. If and when it ever does, the caps for which you so strongly advocate transform themselves into a system which simply and seemingly arbitrarily restrict your rights.

And so, whether its the doctor who “accidentally” punctures your colon during a laparoscopic procedure and the resulting infection claims both ovaries so that you can never have kids, or the anesthesia mistake that takes the life of your young child during a dental procedure, or the car accident which robs you of your ability to walk or even breathe on your own, your readers and editorial board need to ask yourselves if you are troubled by the fact that legislators are contemplating raising 20 year old damage limitations related to personal injury claims. I suggest that there is no way to fairly balance the policy considerations of the proposed legislation without, even for one painful moment, putting yourself in the shoes of those future and unfortunate victims for whom these proposals are designed to aid."

Even in Red-state Colorado, we in America are waking up from a period of profound lack of empathy.

True patriots who understand the Constitutional meaning of the "commons" will keep America in the Superpower category a while longer.

You do realize, your entire bit about the nuclear weapons is all wrong yes? Afterall, EVERYONE has nukes, so if ANYONE uses them, then THEY get nuked right back, which basically keeps everything in check.

I beg to differ with you on this, The United States is powerful in world affairs only because others allow us to be and it is "bestowed" upon us.

The Soviet Union challenged that view and for about fifty years, there was a running competition as to who should call the shots. In the end, the people and nations of the world decided it was the United States, otherwise more people and nations would have placed their efforts and resources behind the soviets. They did not! They chose the USA. (Was it our military might that crushed them?)

As for the distribution of wealth or social justice or any other individual factor you want to bring up you will always be able to find a deficiency in what is being examined if your objective is to find a deficiency. We have our economic strength due to the fact that people chose to buy our products back when we used to actually make things. People if they so choose could and some do, buy elsewhere. When people decide that they no longer wish to continue to contribute to America’s power they will stop doing so. This is not an attitude of "entitlement" I am "entitled" to nothing! if you do not want me to have this power then stop giving it to me, I cannot take it from you, you can only give it to me and if one day everyone decides that Uganda is going to become the world’s super power then it will become the world’s super power because those who can yield power will begin to gravitate toward Uganda, people will chose to model what they want to have and do and be after the examples that Uganda brings forth. And if they don’t want, or like it then they will take it away from Uganda and give it to someone else. Any no military on earth can prevent those forces from happening.

As far as my view being different, would you be so kind as to tell me what part of the world I am from? What part of the world did I grow up in? What part of the world is my heritage from? What part of the world is my Culture?
I will let you know this much, over the last 200 years my family watched as the country if helped form was invaded and destroyed, our lands taken from us and some surviving family members became refuges in other countries, hunted by the government of the country that had invaded and conquered them. A truce was reached about 5 years later when said family members began to assist another county that was also facing invasion and conquest from that very same country build a coherent military force to overcome the invading forces! We never got our lands back (about 200,000 acres) we never got back any of our property nor were we compensated for it in any fashion. The only thing that we got was a “if you stop we will not hunt you down and kill you; you can return to the place of your birth and live.”

Now about 200 years before that we had an uprising in the country we were in (not the same one we helped form) and our lands were taken from us and many of our family members were burned at the stake. We fled as refugees to another land.

So where is my culture from? It started in Ireland and came to North America in 1685. That was part two above. As for part one It was not the United States! We were instrumental in the creation of The Confederate States of America. And the creation of that was to protect our nation of Virginia from Invasion from the United States! After the war, it was Mexico, Cuba and Canada that we fled to. The other country we assisted was the Indian Nation; Family members were instrumental in the bringing of the development of a comprehensive training program to train 50,000 Comanche Calvary to invade the western portion of The United States. So we are not what you would call “The greatest supporters of America” if you would like to check this out you can reference the main ancestor to whom I refer Jubal Anderson Early.

Now what does The United States being a “western” power have to do with being the center of the universe? What makes you think that because America is a super power that even those of us who are in the ruling class here think it is the center of the universe? Nice attempt at a label there but you missed your mark buy about 12,000 miles.

And I am just wondering how many different countries around the world and how many different people do I need to speak to to qualify for you’re oh so elitist view of knowing better then I currently do?

Do you know where I have been and with whom I have spoken? I will tell you this much back in 1980’sI dated the daughter of a mid level Chinese communist party leader and I was schooled with a person who was involved in fomenting revolution in his native Venezuela. A girl friend of mine from the late 70’s died in a French Prison for an anti American Activity she was involved in while traveling from her native Spain.

So do I now qualify for your ever so self righteous “I would know better” metal? Would you like to sigh again, I mean I guess I should be bowing down to your so superior education on such matters... so please “bestow” upon me your great wisdom so that I can understand the obvious error of my thinking. I mean after all, being an American I “deserve” to have your wisdom “bestowed” upon me cause after all I do live in the center of the universe.

I think the question is beyond silly. If you've any decent amount of common sense: you needn't even need a single reason to fully understand why it's silly to consider that as a real "possibility".

America if you beleive some people is no longer a superpower do to its interdependence with other nations. If we are such a superpower we would not be using other nations for jack. No nation can remain a super power just for example look at the british empire a prenuke superpower not a superpower in a big way these days. Out of curiosity did anyone bother to look up what defines a superpower.

All things end. America however is still young compared to other nations culturally. I believa that it is not anytime in the lifetime of anyone currently living that amerca will lose its status. Sever4al reason are space and extraterrestial coloization. While many nations are helping ,the EU is not a nation any more than the US canada and mexico if we all had the same dollar, America is likly to be one of the most important players because it has already been there. Damn our congress for cutting spending. After colonization and the selfsustainablity the colonies will gain is reached and they take control of all off Earth travel things might change, but until an Martian battleship is in orbit not much will change to drasticly expect maybe the second coming of christ before then

Some very good points made on this thread. Nothing lasts forever. America is decreasing for several reasons.
Illegal immigration is draining our financial resources.
Islamofascism is a serious threat. 9/11 was a sample. Wait until Iran or a similar country gets a nuclear bomb. It can be brought to the US in a suitcase. With open borders that would be easy. They want to transform the world into sharia law and are well on the way.
The decline of the dollar. Very serious.
Dependence on arab oil and all the problems that go with it. Gas now almost $4 a gallon. This affects the price of almost everything we buy. Including food which is starting to go way up.
We no longer produce smart kids. The education system caused by liberal educators has made a mess of the schools. Tech companies recruit engineers from abroad or there wouldn't be enough qualified to work in American companies.
Wussie politicians on both sides of the aisle continue to make things worse. America's downward spiral is accelerating because of self-serving stupid people in congress and the presidency.
That's just the way it is.

1. The Soviet Union didn't crumble because people of the world stopped supporting them. The Soviet Union imploded on itself due to a number of factors, namely corrupt governments and a very poor standard of living for the people. Much of the world did stand behind the Soviet Union's ideology, and still do today. However, due to the financial structure of the United States, huge corporate owners now basically run policy all over many parts of the world.

2. Industrialization and the introduction of the assembly line made products widely available to people in wealthy nations all over the world. Since the United States (Ford, namely) began using the assembly line, products began to disperse everywhere. Additionally, because of Ford's idea to pay higher wages, people were able to afford these goods. Therefore the wide distribution of goods to a large number of people started primarily in the United States. Coupled with abundant natural resources, this allowed for enormous growth. The United States obviously still benefits from this, though other nations are catching up. People don't have much choice to buy products built elsewhere, or manufactured by non-American owned corporate entities. I realize there is a wide availability of foreign goods, but American-owned corporations still control a vast amount of goods sold worldwide. People simply don't care enough to bother buying other goods - they will buy what is the best quality for the best price (to the best of their knowledge).

3. Your family history tells little about who YOU are, and I am basing my judgements on what you are saying, not on your family history. Many people have a rich family history, and EVERYONE (other than Native Americans) were immigrants at some time. I don't really know what your Irish history has to do with this discussion. If you're family has been in North America since 1685, then I believe I can safely say you are an American. My families fought in the Russian civil war, and my other ancestors spent hundreds of years fighting the English - but, all that is irrelevant.

4. As for America being the centre of the universe - this is a method called 'hyperbole.' You see, a fair number of Americans I speak to or encounter have this sense of entitlement that I spoke of. They also seem to think that they are the only nation that matters. Now, of course, not all Americans are like that, and I have also encountered many who I grew to respect. Since you are American, perhaps you don't realize the extent to which people think this about Americans they encounter. Once again, not all Americans, but enough that the tag has stuck.

5. If you wish to know my credentials, I have travelled significantly, and actually served as an ambassador to the Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers held in 2003. The conference addressed problems in education in Commonwealth nations worldwide. There were 2 ambassadors from every Commonwealth nation (most Commonwealth nations are located in Africa). Additionally, I have been studying issues such as poverty, racism, economic oppression, gender inequality, problems with technology and scientific development, and globalization for the past 3 1/2 years at the University of Alberta. I have dedicated my life thus far to social issues worldwide.

6. My significant other is Metis. I was good friends with an African man who claimed amnesty in the UK. I have been schooled with a wide variety of people from extremely diverse backgrounds. In my opinion, this is irrelevant.

7. I will respond with this. Claiming that the world 'bestows' power upon the United States implies that it is deserved (I'm not debating whether the United States 'deserves' to be powerful, simply that this power isn't a result of people all over the world deciding that the United States should be powerful). Of course, the United States is supported worldwide, and for a number of good reasons. However, there are so many factors that lead to American dominance, that believing that the world 'bestows' power on the United States simply isn't true. The US took this power, and currently holds it. Hopefully, the good ideals that the US stands for will take hold in nations worldwide (along with other Western nations). However, the United States is also responsible for horrible suffering in many parts of the world. Don't be fooled, there is a reason that many people worldwide dislike the US. Due to the economic and military dominance of the US, people simply don't have many choices.

There was supposed to be a link in there.

15 CCEM

America's space technology is very very advanced. They dont even release half the stuff they have. Colorado springs has a very large number of goverment agents working on the sattelites and weapons we have in space. If you ever watch the news you will see how China and Russia want us to discontinue our space program. Pretty soon if not yet we will have an anti-nuke missle defence system and missle nnukes will be a thing of the past.

I wonder.... Do they have Weed?

Then I guess I must ask how you know about it?



The United States is the only nation to use nuclear weapons in wartime. Most nations won't seriously consider this as an option any more, and with good reason. I don't think the US needs to fear nuclear missiles. However, a space missile defence system doesn't stop all the other nukes that aren't attached to ballistic missiles. Once again, I don't think this thread is about 'who can conquer the United States' but rather a question about whether the United States will remain dominant. I think that in our current path, Western society needs some serious revisions in order to survive. We cannot continue living the consumerist, materialistic lives that we lead.

Your points about the Soviet Union still relate to a support of the people, rampant corruption is a sign that the people do not support (respect) the existing structure. Which to me concerning communism is very understandable, I personally equate soviet Communism with slavery. It is slavery with a nice sounding label wrapped around it.



The rest of the world had a major setback that prevented them from maintaining par with the United States (WWII & Communist Ideology)



I beg to differ with you on the title of “American-owned” but do not have the information to contradict this so I will concede this point as I do know it is at least in part correct.



People do not care, you are correct, that is why there are so many goods sold in America that are made by slave labor. The goods are often labeled correctly with the information easily seen and yet still, they buy the goods, I am referring to my prior statement that communism is the equivalent of slavery, so anything made in a communist country is therefore, by definition, made by slave labor.




But you were making your judgment based on my family history

“A post like this is a perfect example of the ethnocentrism that I spoke of earlier”

Ethnocentrism
Belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group.
Overriding concern with race.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
My “Ethnic group” is my family history



This is known as the ugly American syndrome, well aware of it. Your associations have been with people outside of America; within this country most people do not have any sense of entitlement concerning our continued position beyond the extent that we were the ones that provided the tools, supplies, cash & organizational wherewithal to rebuild most of the world after WWII. The payback for that was to the Generation of Americans that provided that aid. That debt has been paid in full by most countries (not the monetary aspect but any entitlement to a disproportional yielding of political power)



I am grateful that people such as yourself are out there doing what you do


I disagree with you on this point; it is a result of people deciding we deserve it, for as soon as the world decides otherwise America will be in a permanent decline.


We did not so much “take it” as we were the only ones still standing and it was entrusted to us.


Oh how I hope, and we could were it not for the International corporations with American names sullying those ideas.


I could name several that would make Hitler look reasonable (The Trail of Tears comes to mind as well as the official government policy of handing out small pox infected ((that is deliberately infected)) blankets to the native tribes under the Indian reservation act.



They would hate whoever was in power unless it was they themselves.

The united states is still at this time #1 econmically, agriculturaly and militarily in the world.

United states based corporations hold more capitol then nearly every other nation combined.

There is enough grain and rice stored in reserve in the usa to feed the entire planet for over 5 years. Not to mention the unused millions of acres of virgin topsoil farmland that the govenment still pays farmers not to farm.

The military has been touched on a few times but simply put The united states navy controls the worlds seas and the united states airforce dominates the skies. The only reason thier is an iraqi resistance is because the army does not want to create undue civilian casualties. If the us wanted to they could reduce iraq to dust and rubble within weeks using only conventional forces.

that being said thier are numerous factors that point to a potential decline in Americas economic dominance mainly in the form of technical experts not being produced or induced to come to america in the vast numbers they once did.

Also america is no longer a manufacturing economy and is now a service economy. once you lose the potential for economic self sufficiancy you really are at the mercy of symbiotic relationships created by poorly tarrifed foreign trade agreements (see china)

China really has been playing the control the world game better then the usa for the last few years but that is one of chinas greatest strengths they always take the long view.

I have to agree with this. Generally, power will be resisted, unless it is totally benevolent. Like you stated: This simply reflects that any nation can commit atrocities, despite the ideals it is built upon.



This is partially true. The United States served an (if not the) instrumental role in rebuilding much of the world after WWII. However, like I stated earlier, these debts now cause the policies of many nations to adhere to standards put forth by institutions such as the IMF and World Bank to attract investment and build 'economic growth.' Unfortunately, this growth rarely benefits the people of such nations.



A gradual decline is all that could happen, but as it stands, powerful people within the United States would ensure their ability to remain economically dominant. It would be a long, slow, hard battle, and the US military is willing to fight for this dominance. We've all heard that the Iraqi war is really about oil, and really, that is a major factor in the invasion. Refer to the economic 'changes' made in Iraq after the invasion:

1. Suspending all tariffs, customs duties, import taxes, or licensing fees on goods and services entering or leaving Iraq.
2. Granting full immunity from Iraqi law to all security firms brought to work in Iraq.
3. Privatizing some 200 state-owned enterprises, permitting 100 percent foreign-ownership of Iraqi businesses.
4. Allowing investors to take 100 percent of the profits they made in Iraq out of the country with no requirement that the profits be reinvested.
5. Prohibiting any requirement that foreign companies hire local workers, recognize unions, or reinvest any profits back into the country.
6. Allowing foreign banks to open in Iraq and take a 50 percent interest in Iraqi banks.
7. Lowering the corporate tax rate from 40 percent to a flat 15 percent.

(Robbins 2008, 132).
This information is quoted from Richard H. Robbins' text, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism published by Pearson Education in 2008.

These changes are a blatant sign of the intentions behind the Iraqi war.



Communist nations (other than China, which is a different sort of Communism than the Soviet Union was) do not really have the same materialistic focus that capitalist nations do. There are much fewer 'products' offered, and most exported materials are raw materials, etc.



This is a tricky one. Many things that are manufactured do not appear to be 'American made' but really the profits end up in American pockets. What I mean is this: "The economic resources available to corporations rival those available to most countries. Thus, of the top one hundred financial entities in the world, over half are corporations..." (Robbins 2008, 133). The number one spot on this list belongs to the United States, second to Japan, etc. General Motors is the first corporation on the list, at number 25. It has more revenue available than Hong Kong, Poland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, etc. Wal-Mart is number 27, and as well has greater revenue than Iran, Finland, Greece, etc. There are a large number of corporations on this list (like the quote said), and the vast majority are American-owned. IBM is a measly number 55, and it has greater revenue than Egypt, New Zealand and Ireland.

With such an incredible amount of wealth comes incredible power, greater than that of any army. This dominance will not be easily overthrown, because people simply aren't aware of the incredible power that these institutions have.

When I speak of Ethnocentrisim, I am referring to your cultural identity - IE: American, Western, whichever. Your original post seemed to have an air of this, though perhaps I misinterpreted what you meant by 'bestowed.' However, I think that the issues that we are talking about are FAR more complex than many people believe. I am simply fortunate enough to have studied these exact issues for a number of years.



I think you are right, that most people don't really have a sense of entitlement, or at least would like to think they don't. However, the capitalist mode of though (the strongest, smartest, and hardest working succeed) runs rampant, and it is only partially true. What I am referring to is the general ignorance that so many Americans tend to have about the rest of the world. Like I have said many times, this does not apply to ALL Americans. However, there is certainly a significant percentage that truly believe (even if not consciously so) that America is the most important nation in the world and that civilization would collapse without it. Anyone who does a little research into the history of mankind will recognize that this isn't true. Of course, our world as we know it would certainly not function like it does if the US were to drop off the face of the earth, but civilization would survive. There would be both great people to replace the great people of America, and terrible people to commit the same atrocities committed by Americans, though under a different name.



To clarify - I don't believe it's about who you know, or have encountered, but what you have learned from them.



Thank you - I am glad to end this on a positive note.

I believe that perhaps I misinterpreted your tone in your original post, but I certainly am aprehensive when reading an American's response about the future of America and it's position in the world. Too many conversations with haughty Americans have left a bad taste in my mouth, but like I said, these issues (and the factors infuencing the future of America) are extremely complex, and impossible to truly predict. I think the only thing we can rely on is what we have learned from the past, and that is that those with the money hold the power - and often for a long time. As long as corporations are predominantly American owned, and they continue to hold the immense power that they do, we will not see America decline as a world power too soon - though it may look different in the future. Hopefully more corporations can take a socially responsible role.

Rome conquered by shield and sword, peoples were subjugated and lands taken.
Spain grew great with musket and pike, foreign resources filled their coffers.
Britain dominated by cannon and sail, their ships sailed the seas uncontested.
and all that is dust and memory.
Today the United States stands above all.
Power like never seen before was not won but given? Elected? Delegated? Is the united states powerful simply because they, the anointed of nations was deemed most worthy of dominion? Or is it taken with the combined might of CVBGs, embargoes, Alliances and economic mastery in which the world grants the USA foreign military bases, exclusive oil and mining contracts, and control of the worlds shipping lanes?
Real power comes from the barrel of a gun, anything otherwise is but an illusion of power, and you know that the United States of America is the very definition of real power.
But this too shall come to pass.

Is this the same UK where they had to pass a law stating that you could not wait more than 4 hours in an emergency room to be cared for, so hospitals were holding patience in the ambulance so the 4 hr countdown would not begin right away?That is good health care my friend.

If you wish to see how Bush's war machine wants to limit Iraqi casualties, perhaps watch this short video:

Fallujah

If this link doesn't work, simply search for "Iraq - Caught in the Crossfire" in Google Video.

This is an anomaly, not a common occurance. At least they are getting the care they need, and not going bankrupt for it.

personally I don't see the point of taking over any state to be anywhere close to a better world. The economy doesn't function by itself, each states take its role and that is how global economies have taken place. Despite with current news about US economy recess, the consuming power for Amercians as I know are still the highest and will not be surpass in anytime. Until other strong potentials able to replace US's role in consumers and market exchange, I don't think we will see a superpower in anytime soon.

concerning about the technological advancement, it can be easily replace with resource distribution, greater funding provide results. with US still upholding the greater portion (quite large portion in deed!) of resources in the world market, in my understanding at least in economy scenes, US still in control.

Simple answer - no.

No one stays on top forever.
Just look through history.

lol your a moron, we have the technology to shoot down nukes, good job but you fail.