The End of the American Era.

Sean Gorham

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I wonder if this is how the Romans felt when they realized their empire was falling apart.

In a dark season of pestilence, COVID has reduced to tatters the illusion of American exceptionalism. At the height of the crisis, with more than 2,000 dying each day, Americans found themselves members of a failed state, ruled by a dysfunctional and incompetent government largely responsible for death rates that added a tragic coda to America’s claim to supremacy in the world.

For the first time, the international community felt compelled to send disaster relief to Washington. For more than two centuries, reported the Irish Times, “the United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: love and hatred, fear and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger. But there is one emotion that has never been directed towards the U.S. until now: pity.” As American doctors and nurses eagerly awaited emergency airlifts of basic supplies from China, the hinge of history opened to the Asian century.

Related: American decline - Wikipedia
 

Sid

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Yup, China is on the brink to take over the pole position.
They help out in Africa in a way never seen before. That will bring them a lot of positive credits on the by others largely forgotten continent.
 

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the hinge of history opened to the Asian century.
Would someone close the door attached to that hinge on their way through it? It's pretty cold outside right now.
 

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It’s going to be weird watching election result protests and armed militants on the news and realize it’s from the US not some far away dictatorship.
It'll be our first time too, so I apologize in advance if we look a little awkward at it.
 

Jopsy Pendragon

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The writing has been on the wall for decades.

More than 50% of the federal discretionary spending goes to defense.

Put into human terms, non-discretionary spending would be things like school loan repayment, mortage, car payments, health insurance premiums.

Discretionary spending would be food, home repair/improvements, entertainment, internet, travel, clothes... additional/optional insurance coverage.

Our federal government is basically spending more to be the biggest scariest kid on the planet than it does for transportation, education, veteran benefits, health & housing assistance and numerous other things - combined.

Rome collapsed due to corruption and unsupportable militarization / over-expansion. We've clearly got 2 out of three, so it doesn't surprise me to see our empire likewise being cannibalized by ravenous predatory plutocrats.