Perhaps it’s better to not be a “superpower”

[Cyrano]

Being a superpower is hard: All those pesky little countries that occasionally need to be slapped around; Aspiring “superpowers” that think, because we owe them, we’re going to pay them; Religious fanatics that believe they’re any different from our home-grown religious fanatics; Those building military strength that they think can match our military strength. Yeah, the Roman Empire really had it tough.

Good thing they didn’t have any nuclear weapons.

I really believe we’re witnessing the final throes of America’s world dominance. The dominance of the Roman and British Empires can be measured in centuries. Our control of all the levers of world power seems to have lasted about a single century.

Unfortunately, we do possess the power to destroy the entire planet.

But short of a nuclear Armageddon, perhaps most of us would be better off if America didn’t control the world. And perhaps we’ll come to realize, as did most Europeans, that “world dominance” is a self-destructive illusion.

Perhaps we humans will survive long enough to grow up. On the other hand, perhaps the wingnut lunatics who spout hate from our radios and TVs will convince us to destroy all the “Thems.” But then, there’s the inconvenient fact that the “Thems” include all of us.

Anyhow, it’s hard being a “superpower.” Maybe, someday, that word, and its meaning, will disappear from our language.

Then again, it's possible that five crazy people on our Supreme Court have enabled a new world power called “The Corporation” that will be harder to “defeat” than any other power that has ever existed on this planet.

[timeforpeace]

1. If we are dominant it's by default. The rest all fell by the wayside. Not our fault.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. Not our fault.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Oh, cut it out - cut it out. You're KILLING me.

[Make7]

6. Apparently all those US military and CIA interventions coincidentally led to dominance. ( n/t )

[Skink]

2. We forged a good country.

Now let's focus on domestic policy.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. The decline of empires is often a messy, and bloody, business.

We, like our predecessors, have become dependent on our colonies. We need them to sustain our standard of living, and are obliged to "defend" them when our dominance is threatened. We are now at the stage of flailing around helplessly because we can't afford to maintain the empire.

At best, we could go quietly and humbly to our own demise as a superpower and prepare wisely for a new beginning as a second rate power and enjoy the fruits of not being dependent.

Alas, history says that we are more likely to follow Rome's example than the relatively quiet demise of the Dutch or Belgians.

[Warpy]

5. Empire is a rich man's enterprise

and benefits only rich men as poor men find their civil rights eroded, their taxes jacked up to support it, and their children's bodies sacrificed to protect it.

Empire is a bad idea for we the people, in other words.

In addition, the American Empire is characterized by a rich class that not only reaps 100% of the benefit, but which has been relieved of the necessity of paying for it as the tax burden has been shifted onto working people.

I hope we can let go of Empire gracefully, but most other imperial powers have needed to be conquered. Empire will fall, though. It always does.

[Captain Hilts]

7. It's better than Russia or China being THE superpower. nt

[HeresyLives]

8. There won't be any more 'empires'.

Multi-polar world, no one country 'dominates.'

[Captain Hilts]

13. Empires are already dead. It doesn't mean one country won't dominate. nt

[notesdev]

9. You got my vote

The world needs to reach an equilibrium that doesn't require the US to maintain a trillion-dollar-per-year military capability. We could strip our military to five percent of what we have now and it would still be more than enough to dissuade anyone from attacking us.

Take the savings, put half towards deficit reduction and the other half to middle- and lower-class tax cuts, there's something in it for everyone except the oligarchs. Then we can create a vast number of jobs exporting military equipment to all the countries that will no longer be sucking off the US teat for military protection, while no longer having US soldiers' lives on the line for God-forsaken foreign lands.

[DeadEyeDyck]

11. not bad n/t

[Edweird]

10. Nah. It's dog-eat-dog out there, and you want to be the biggest dog on the block.

[Warpy]

12. Bullshit, there's always a bigger dog or a pack of little dogs

that will chew your ass to shreds.

Best to have just enough teeth and muscle to keep them out of your yard. As long as they have their own garbage cans to eat out of, they won't bother yours.

[Edweird]

14. Dream on.

[daleo]

15. Huge national debt and a huge military

Equals a deline in power, and one difficult to arrest.