Theres nothing wrong with the US

[Boosterman]

Ok these are rambling smoke, and 2 beer thoughts.

Theres nothing wrong with the US people per se. Oh sure we have our kooks on multiple sides of the spectrum. We have religious and scientific wackos. Enviromentalists and rapetheearth type People who are so convinced they are right they will slander and even kill their opponents. Fortunately, this is rare, although becoming more prevelant.

I am convinced that the majority of the problem is the entrenched politicians. Although it is easily argued that the political process itself is flawed I admit I lack the expertise to critique, much less fix something this complex. The jackasses who sit in DC though are for the most part lifetime politicians. THEY are the problem IMO. Ross Perot (kook that he was) will always be a loser in my eyes because he had a legitmate chance to establish a 3rd political party and blew it. How much more of a legacy do you need?

Just my 2 dollars

[bemildred]

1. Eh, not bad.

I've been toying with the idea that one reason we got two terms of
Clintoon was Perot and Gingrich and there populist-right movements.
I mean if they seriously wanted to beat Clintoon, would they put up
Bob Dole?

[Sleepysage]

2. The problem, as I see it...

...is that we have all of that and gobs of power--possibly more power than any nation in history. It won't last.

[autorank]

3. Yes, and the is the basis of much fear in this country.

People are just terrified that if we're no longer number 1 we will lose our standard of living and be prey the the 400,000 Red Chinese massed on the Mexican border (old '60's paranoia). That assumption is incorrect if you just look at how people live in France, Germany, Switzerland, etc. Unfortunately, it's a hard sell. The irony is that the fear of losing our goodies promotes aggressiveness which promotes international hostility. Once we generate enough international bad will, our goodies will, indeed, be threatened.

[Boosterman]

4. I agree

the power wont last much longer in all likelihood. Seems a shame that we wasted our time in the sun. Its possible we can still pull it out...but it would require tolerance all around the board for our fellow man and a Ken Starr for every politician. :)