Michael Anton recently published an article titled "The Pessimistic Case for the Future". It really is pessimistic, but it's hard to argue with his analysis.
Recently, I was asked to make the “pessimistic case for the future.” I present instead more of a “pessimistic take on the present.” The future, while imminent, is obscure. The present, by contrast, is knowable. This is also not so much a “case” replete with exhaustive evidence—there isn’t space for that, nor is there a need—as a quick tour through our present hell. No one who thinks “everything is fine” will be persuaded otherwise. Those who see the seriousness of our problems hardly need proof. Nor have I made any attempt to be evenhanded, much less philosophically detached. My account is perforce one-sided. I hope it is wrong.
There's much more at the link. It may be depressing, but I do recommend reading his article in full. It lays out the facts of the matter in stark detail, so much so that it's no longer possible to hide from the reality that so many would prefer to avoid.
I think one of the biggest obstacles to "fixing" our country is that so many people believe - or hope - that somehow our problems will fix themselves. One day we'll wake up to find that we've had a free and fair election, and our politicians have all turned overnight into honest men and women, and the bureaucrats have been tamed or dismissed, and our economy has turned around, and the future is all unicorn farts and rainbows. Sadly, none of that is likely. This article shows why.
The only advice I can offer is what I've been saying in these pages for a long time now: prepare as best you can, and build or join a network of mutually supporting people that can help each other survive the hard times. They're not coming - they're already here, and they're not going to improve in the short to medium term.
I have faith we'll make it through the present crisis. What our nation will look like on the other side is, however, open to question. There will be many who sit back and wait to find out. There will, hopefully, also be enough who are willing to work hard and make sure that it's something better, stronger and more meaningful than what we have now. May it be so!
Peter
The people who believe the media already KNOW they had a fair election (Trump is a poor loser), our elected leaders are honest, the economy is doing well and the bureaucrats are not a problem.
ReplyDeleteThey are told this every day...
As an amateur historian, every civilization's collapse ends in a long period of lowered possibilities. People just scrabble for what is left over and society collapses back into a more feral ans lawless state with the authorities weaker and controlling smaller and smaller territories. This pattern goes back to the Bronze Age collapse in about 1200 BC. Why should we be any different?
ReplyDelete‘A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.’
ReplyDeleteHmm, the USA may have peaked in 1965. We have spent so much blood and treasure on wars since then that went straight onto the federal debt.
ReplyDelete