Just like the Roman Empire and every other empire down through history the American Empire is imploding from within and is nearing its inevitable end. Some say that when this empire collapses from its own colossal weight that this will open up a great opportunity for this nation to rise from the ashes and rebuild itself; and these visionaries may be entirely right. So let's think about what such a new America might be like.
*There would be no more Military-Industrial Complex. There would be no Pentagon but rather a Department of National Defense that would have no foreign military bases and would not have an agenda of world domination. It would be dedicated to using every form of negotiation and diplomacy to solve disputes with other nations before ever thinking about initiating military actions.
*There would be no such thing as banks that are too big too fail. The financial sector would be regulated by reasonable and effective legislation and government agencies that would monitor their activities very closely to prevent manipulation and deceitful practices, and bring legal action against any of them who crossed the line of ethics and laws.
*Corporate America would be non-existent and America would have a capitalistic system that, as in the case of the banks, would be subject to effective regulations and monitoring of business practices. Corporate CEO's would no longer be making anywhere near 700 times the salaries of workers. The U.S. manufacturing sector would be restored because the U.S. Congress would have made the creation of jobs for Americans its #1 priority, with the greatest concentration being on new sources of energy. Corporations would be totally banned from any involvement in the Congress, the government in general, and in the election process.
*America would have the opportunity to begin the process of restoring its ethical and moral foundations. Yes, we'd still have a very necessary separation of church and state but there would be an excellent opportunity for religion and the principles of ethics and morality to become a much greater part of our society.
Could this really happen? Well, this is certainly not the first time in world history where a society and its people were caught in the midst of an expanding world empire, with an inept and corrupted government and a situation where the money and power of the ultra-wealthy ruled. But every empire folded, many corrupted regimes fell by the wayside and nations and societies were rebuilt. It has happened time and again and it can happen once again.
There are those who would label these thoughts as an impossible dream. But maybe that's what America really needs right now; those who will not accept the fact that we live in a country that seems to be entirely incapable of instituting critically needed change; those who believe that the American Dream as we have come to know it may be on life support but maybe, just maybe, we can find the ways to resurrect it.
Michael Payne
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
2
