Face to face in America

I believe we are witnessing the waning days of American Hegemony. George W. Bush is not an accident of politics, he is a genuine representative of the worst of American values and beliefs.

Bush represents unbridled arrogance; blind ambition; hubris; Religious intolerance and rigidity; racism; rage; emphasis of style over substance; 'quick fix' mentality; 'wealth makes right'; belief in inherent supiority; acceptance of the overwhelming power of the State; Fear of loss; intellectual laziness and ignorance; confusion of reality and religion; belief in punishment over discussion as a means of learning; rampant paternalism; and lastly, naivety. This is not to impugn that America has no redeeming qualities. Obviously it does. But these are the worst of our traits and they have come back to haunt this land.

These traits far outweigh the good and their accumulation without question in this society has brought us to this state.

Their will be new super powers to take our place, but, curiously, they won't be based on petroleum. They, China and India for example, are doing their level best to be a clone of American's success, but they can't do it. America succeeded because we had unlimited access to cheap oil. This is no longer possible.

Is this just a depressing perspective? Perhaps. But it is also true. Like individuals, societies must occasionally look in the mirror and check their beliefs against the real world. America, and Americans have been on a blind drunk ever since Oil was 'discovered' in Pennsylvania. We have built a standard of living unparalleled in modern times because we were fortunate to have lots of good land and lots of inexpensive energy. These fortunate circumstances gave America the belief that we deserved these riches, when in fact these are nothing more than favorable luck. Like a drunk that mistakenly gets into a Mercedes BEnz instead of his 1954 Ford, the people of America assumed they were entitled to these riches.

Perhaps the loss of 'superpower' status will be a good thing. Perhaps we will begin to soften our harsh and punishment oriented culture. Perhaps we can let go of our arrogance and realize that we are part of a larger world and that we belong, not as a ruler, but as a participant.

Perhaps we will learn that all humans are part of the living planet, we are not French, American, Indian, Iranian, Japanese, Chinese, what ever, these are just labels we have given ourselves to create power. If we could ever learn to drop the nationalistic barriers and see each other as equals on a finite planet, we might finally learn what it is to be human.

I know, won't happen. Too much time and money is invested in the power positions now girdling the earth. For humanity to change there will have to be a cataclismic event.

brace yourself.....