America At Crisis

With the turmoil being reported in the countries in North Africa and the Middle East it is easy to neglect the crisis in the USA. Here there are battles raging for the minds of the people. The Republicans, Democrats, the Tea party People, the Green Party and every shade of ideology in the spectrum. America once had two parties who squared off every four  years to determine who ruled Washington for four years. Usually a party who did well had at least two terms and then there would be a change.

This system was workable until the Second World War when America emerged as the great world power. The USA changed from a rural base to a strong urban based country. The revolution in the manufacturing field placed millions of people in unions and they faced a conflict with management. Blacks from the south moved north seeking and obtaining jobs in the automobile industry. A huge influx of immigrants from war torn Europe flooded the cities and became part of the mix in the great melting pot of America. The two traditional parties tried to represent their turf by assuming policies that neither fitted the needs of the people nor represented the new America.

From that time until now America had to or willingly took on the role of peacemakers or policemen of the world. Nation building became a word used when circumstances forced America to send her sons into harms way. Today we have a military presence in over 100 countries and men in arms in places like Germany and other European countries sixty years after the end of the conflict.

With this responsibility America is slowly putting herself further and further in debt maintaining her leadership role. Where will it end? Every great country meets a point where economic considerations cause the government to examine its role.With debt looming over its head and more deficit budgets being passed America could become a third world country with its economic future in the hands of people who are not their friends.

The two political parties have to get to grass roots and manage a program to reverse this trend and bring the USA back to stability. On one hand we have parties feeling the need to help everyone at a cost and another party saying cut everywhere it hurts, but give tax breaks to the very rich.

As I see it we all have to help to live within our means and accept more responsibility for our own well being. There are basic needs which every government should attempt too meet but today it may have to be less. It must start at the top some say but I feel the reverse is probably true. If everyone lived a little more frugally and kept their personal debt in order it would behove the governance of our political institutions to do the same. In America the civil service workers receive nearly twice as much as a person doing the same job living on the economy, Why? Because governments need their support and caudal them.

We are a service economy and we used to be a economy where we made things. Today you can walk in a store and be hard pressed to find something made in America. The global village concept is reality and we must compete. Enough as I could go on for hours about the state of our western society. We are in crises and my wish would be that our political leaders in the western world start shaping policies for the future and be prudent stewards of the wealth of our great nations and make this crisis an opportunity to rise again to past status.