Do you see this Happening?America Collapsing

[Hellion]

I think that most likely, our country is going to enter into a period of economic decline and internal violence, followed by a breakup into several smaller countries (or just a greatly weakened government).

Its interesting to note that the top dog in the world seems to shift every hundred years. For instance...

Portugal (1450-1530)

Spain (1530-1640)

Holland/Netherlands/Dutch (1640-1720)

France (1720-1815)

Britain/U.K. (1815-1920)

U.S.A. (1920-2010)

China (2010-?)

Also, researching Russia after the breakup of the USSR, as well as the economic problems which hit Argentina in 2001 would be a good idea to know what to expect.

This is exactly what the large corporations and the government want to see happen

[peelingchrome]

*dons tinfoil sombrero, sized extra-large*

Since I haven't seen it yet, I'll bring it up: John Titor. Yup, I said it. And, from some perspectives, his "predictions" are highly plausible. If you don't know who he is or claims to be, google it.

Also, anyone else know about Yellowstone National Park? It's supposed to be a supervolcano that's 40,000 years overdue to erupt. Again, google it for more details.

What if there's eventually another American Civil War, but this time it's the cityfolk against the countryfolk, or the Haves against the Havenots? And what if the coup de grace is Yellowstone belching forth her unrestrained fury? */tinfoil sombrero*

Seriously, though, I'm not sure I have any say in my government anymore, at any level. This means that I feel powerless when in the presence of the government or any of it's agents or executors of will. Cops, governmental offices, and possibly banks now are all places or people that ON A WHIM can screw up your life if someone is having a bad day. And we have to jump through hoops just to TRY to correct it, but no guarantees. With the economy falling apart the way it is (and I expect it to get MUCH worse), what's to stop a riot from occuring when people run out of money for food? Sounds like a recipe for another Boston Massacre to me. But this time, it'll be the military (trillions of dollars spent on weapons, tactics, and weapons R&D) against a bunch of hungry people (who have had access to weapons increasingly limited through legislature). Who wins? The country folk who grow their own damn food. The common man will villianize the military man (who is just following orders) and the military man will justify "keeping the peace" with the common man on the shaky legal grounds his CO informs him of. The Haves against the Havenots. After the first few riots and looting sessions, how long do you think it'll be before the government declares martial law to control the widespread unrest? During that time (when no one has money or adequate food, and possibly unclean water), I imagine there will be an increased possibility for a medical epidemic to take foot. Now people are sick, hungry, and afraid of the people who are supposed to protect them. How much further does it need to go before there is widespread fissioning of the populus? Who helps us then? What if, instead of a medical epidemic there's a natrual disaster? After food riots, people will not trust the goverment or its agents to help them in a sensible manner. Any spark can ignite that powder keg, if this country ever gets to the point of rioting for food. If the stalemate goes on long enough, I could reasonably expect to see the cities in total lockdown a la V for Vendetta, and the rural areas returning to some sort of wild west scenario.

This is the fear that keeps me up at night. The fear that our government, through intention or ignorance, is driving us into the ground. At what level does the fear become intolerable? At what point do we say "Enough is ENOUGH!"?

I will be more open about myself than I have in a long time here. I think too much. To keep myself occupied, I flirt with farfetched ideas or tinfoil hat theories. It keeps me sane, as long as I remember to keep perspective. It seems that lately, though, some of my worst fears are moving from a joke to a remote possibility, maybe even a reasonable possibility. If anyone strongly disagrees with the thought process behind the theories I have presented above, I would ask that we hang out to discuss it in person so that they can logically persuade me to another point of view. I don't wanna go crazy, no offence meant Rev. I like to believe that I'm a sane man, and that I use logic combined with experience to understand the world around me. Lately, I've been wondering if all of this is really happening. It's really scary to live in America right now, at least from my point of view.

If there's anyone out there that thinks I'm completely batshit nuts, please talk to me. Until that happens I'm going to continue on as I have, assuming that I'm sane and there are just a bunch of people in denial about the state of our country.

P.S. I apologize if the masculine pronouns in the above rant offend anyone, it was meant in an asexual tone.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Living in a more and more globalized society traditional ideas of "nations" are slowly eroding. History goes back much farther than the national group. We started out as familial bands, then into tribes, then loosely grouped "super tribes" then into towns/cities, then City-States then only in VERY recent times have we organized and defined ourselves by national groups (vastly oversimplified not to turn this into a novel).

Comparing how we are doing by comparing nations is useful, but will become less and less relevant as time goes on. We are evolving into larger and larger society all the time, a global society. The level of interconnectedness we have now is on an order never seen before. Its more and more a conversation about global economics than any particular country. We are more and more becoming citizens of Earth rather than citizens of any particular nation. Not that we we ever anything else to begin with.