The USA what went wrong and is it fixable?

I am from Australia and have visited the USA twice the first time in 1981 with Reagan in charge the second time last Christmas with Obama president.In my first trip in 1981 I was impressed by everyones' enthusiasm and can do attitude the place had a zap or feel that this was a special or powerful country and that power was on display too I recall going through the valley in California and seeing hundreds of B52's ,the flag was on display everywhere and people believed in America and American exceptionalism.

My second trip was different I no longer felt that weird light or zap about the place,people are no longer as gregarious or confident,Caesars had just gone into receivership when I was in Vegas this to me indicates the middle class is either broke or not taking holidays or both.In Washington I visited the museums and monuments and like most others Im sure, as I walked through the air and space museum marvelling at the deeds of guys like Chuck Jaeger,John Glenn etc I couldnt help but think maybe Americas halcyon days are over...so what went wrong and is it fixable I will post some of my ideas but yours too will be appreciated.

a reply to: khnum

Chuck Yeager. Not Jaeger. Yeager.

I would make an education system joke and point to that as what's wrong, but you're an Aussie so it wouldn't work.

The slow creeping death of socialism topped off with years of Obama at the helm.

a reply to: khnum

While the freedom lovers basked in the ray of freedom the plotters that would roll us in the folds of socialism/communism were hard at work.

Some would say we as Americans took freedom to literal and totally forgot that freedom is not free.

People are trading self respect and liberty for government assistance and FREE STUFF !!!

Can it be fixed ? the men of steel and honor are all but gone except for our vets, but even they seem complacent for the moment.

Thanks for asking the question, sad it took an outsider to ask it.

Mainstream America is brainwashed into that false sense of weakness. There are the underground people who still have that quality but is drowned out by the circus we call media. I don't let them dictate my mindset. There is still greatness here and in oneself as you are probably aware because this isn't just a United States problem. There seems to be a real agenda to make people dependent and dumbed down enough to fall for it.

The # heads are in power but they won't be forever. People will rise up to the occasion and that is a full grown conclusion.

My first observation is growing wealth inequality in the late 1970's the top 1 percent of families had less than 10 percent of income by 2012 this had grown to over 20 per cent the top 160 000 families are now worth the bottom 145 000 000 so the rich are getting richer and the poor well the net worth of the 50 percentile in 1983 was $80150 in 2013 $81400,the poor have gone nowhere so all your food stamps and social welfare programs dont seem to of helped.

Well, in 1981 the US had just experienced 3 solid decades of explosive economic growth, a seemingly unstoppable expansion of the middle class, shrinking wealth gaps, low energy prices, high wages, and social policies swinging toward equality. We were optimistic about the future because we saw our past as a success. Many people had it rough, but almost everyone was doing better than they had been a decade earlier. We were on the right track.

At the end of 2014, the US has had 30 years of "supply-side economics" sapping the middle class, expanding wealth gaps, low and stagnant wages, a series of booms and busts in every economic sector, dwindling investment in infrastructure and education, and a culture war that has put lunatics in charge of almost everything. We are weary of war, spied on by our government, killed like dogs in the street by the police, and we're constantly being bombarded with so much useless information we can't even hold a conversation anymore.

What went wrong? Who knows. Who cares? The US is a rickety old empire built on the empty husk of a fundamentally flawed republic that died out a century ago. The only way to "fix" it is for Americans to quit pretending the US is God's gift to humanity and stop trying to rule the planet. But we won't, because "hurr durr 'MURICA!" and if we weren't barking orders at somebody we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves.

a reply to: khnum

Well another issue in America is the rise of the Police State

Malcolm X on Police Brutality

originally posted by: vexati0n
Well, in 1981 the US had just experienced 3 solid decades of explosive economic growth, a seemingly unstoppable expansion of the middle class, shrinking wealth gaps, low energy prices, high wages, and social policies swinging toward equality. We were optimistic about the future because we saw our past as a success. Many people had it rough, but almost everyone was doing better than they had been a decade earlier. We were on the right track.

At the end of 2014, the US has had 30 years of "supply-side economics" sapping the middle class, expanding wealth gaps, low and stagnant wages, a series of booms and busts in every economic sector, dwindling investment in infrastructure and education, and a culture war that has put lunatics in charge of almost everything. We are weary of war, spied on by our government, killed like dogs in the street by the police, and we're constantly being bombarded with so much useless information we can't even hold a conversation anymore.

What went wrong? Who knows. Who cares? The US is a rickety old empire built on the empty husk of a fundamentally flawed republic that died out a century ago. The only way to "fix" it is for Americans to quit pretending the US is God's gift to humanity and stop trying to rule the planet. But we won't, because "hurr durr 'MURICA!" and if we weren't barking orders at somebody we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves.

I have no say so over policy. I live my life and don't think I'm better than anyone else. I do see the crumbling of values because the money isn't there for everyone. I am content with what I have. I can default to chaos and thrive if the need arises. What I'm saying is that I'm enjoying the circus while planned ahead. When the bottom falls out, I'll be there to lend a helping hand.

a reply to: LOSTinAMERICA

There is still hope here in my state the prior government was the medias darling and the Premier made the assumption that people were stupid and deserved to be treated like children word got out however about their outrageous fracking approvals and corruption and arrogance we voted him out despite him having a huge majority,no its not just a US problem this dumbing down media and all the rest of it but try as they may you cant eliminate basal common sense the masses do sniff you out eventually.

originally posted by: khnum
a reply to: LOSTinAMERICA

There is still hope here in my state the prior government was the medias darling and the Premier made the assumption that people were stupid and deserved to be treated like children word got out however about their outrageous fracking approvals and corruption and arrogance we voted him out despite him having a huge majority,no its not just a US problem this dumbing down media and all the rest of it but try as they may you cant eliminate basal common sense the masses do sniff you out eventually.

I see things every day that lead me to believe that the greatness will shine again. I'm not conceited, I'm convinced.

a reply to: vexati0n

I dont find your constitution or bill of rights fundamentally flawed and there was a time where to the rest of the world America was the light on the hill if it wasn't for the USA I would be speaking Japanese but Im no expert on such matters your loss of faith in the system is very common,yes the world is tired of your country trying to run it but there does have to be a top dog and would Russia or China be any better,I think not.

originally posted by: khnum
a reply to: vexati0n

I dont find your constitution or bill of rights fundamentally flawed and there was a time where to the rest of the world America was the light on the hill if it wasn't for the USA I would be speaking Japanese but Im no expert on such matters your loss of faith in the system is very common,yes the world is tired of your country trying to run it but there does have to be a top dog and would Russia or China be any better,I think not.

I have a unique personality and don't take after anyone making policy. Don't label me with the evil bastards. I'm stocking up and living in the middle of nowhere just waiting for the revolution to pop off. We don't need you crying about how bad it is, we live here.

a reply to: TinfoilTP

This guy covers all that pretty well

a reply to: LOSTinAMERICA

I think your post might of been for someone else but if you think I believe Americans are evil you are very,very wrong for example in Vegas I asked a couple where I could buy good American goods they took me to the Fashion show mall and showed me round no the average American is a very good person,but as you comment no they dont run the show.

a reply to: khnum

The American experiment in democracy and fair government was so hopeful and, for its time, one of the few steps is the right direction. But it was only one of a number of such experiments.

America fell into a mindset that it was the one and only source of democracy and justice. As such, it began to try and police the world. At that point, its government abandoned the intentions behind the foundation documents and became another dictatorial group. It has led America to be the most warlike nation on earth. No other country has participated in as many wars and conflicts.

Popularly, America has become the land of the gun. The notion that carrying a piece of hardware will ensure the safety of you and yours is plainly a lie. Gun related deaths in America, per head of population, exceed anywhere else in the world, even countries enduring armed conflict. Once super-heroes with amazing powers did not need guns or weapons to defend the greater good. Now, every super-hero carries a gun or a weapon and in most contemporary fiction, the hero is compromised and the line between right and wrong is blurred and subverted by the evil doers.

It is sad but I believe that the American empire is in decline, as all empires will decline. The answer isn't to wallow in its failure but to stand up and oppose what is wrong.

Large swathes of any society where things are relatively comfortable will be apathetic. It is just a fact of life.

America once had to defend itself from external threats and its will and attitude excelled. Now it has become the external threat to so many others.

originally posted by: khnum
a reply to: LOSTinAMERICA

I think your post might of been for someone else but if you think I believe Americans are evil you are very,very wrong for example in Vegas I asked a couple where I could buy good American goods they took me to the Fashion show mall and showed me round no the average American is a very good person,but as you comment no they dont run the show.

We are taking this country back. We are about to exhaust peaceful means. We really do need to try the peaceful method first before a full out revolution. I'll rise to the occasion. I love my fellow man. I help where I can within society. I can say I took an oath but if I don't honor it, it isn't worth a #.

Well what went wrong? People became complacent and complient.

Where once the belief that government was there to aid the people was true, it is true now that the government serves to make men wealthy and powerful.

There were always demons at the doorstep of the US, warned about by the Founding Fathers, we just didn't heed those warnings. Slowly the demons took over and with each event that transpired they used it as an excuse to gain more power. 9/11 was the benchmark and the turning point of the modern age.

It's all downhill from there.

But can it be fixed? Nay. Not in the old ways. People were silent for so long that their voices of displeasure no longer matter to those in power, and distractions of technology and pointless political debates over social issues keep them content and quiet regardless.

There is no way to fix it besides collapsing it and starting over, careful this time to heed the warnings and stay vigilante. And it will indeed collapse eventually.

Will it be a natural calamity, an economic collapse, a military coup, or a violent revolution of the people? Only one of those gives power back to the people. Only time will tell which happens first.

a reply to: starwarsisreal

Police brutality for the 99 percentile you mean,the big banks have been fined $300 billion since 2008 yet not one employee has seen a holding cell let alone a prison cell meanwhile in the posse commitus threads a homeless guy gets shot 47 times for a stolen cup of coffee or you get shot in the back for a broken tail light.

originally posted by: TheNewRevolution
Well what went wrong? People became complacent and complient.

Where once the belief that government was there to aid the people was true, it is true now that the government serves to make men wealthy and powerful.

There were always demons at the doorstep of the US, warned about by the Founding Fathers, we just didn't heed those warnings. Slowly the demons took over and with each event that transpired they used it as an excuse to gain more power. 9/11 was the benchmark and the turning point of the modern age.

It's all downhill from there.

But can it be fixed? Nay. Not in the old ways. People were silent for so long that their voices of displeasure no longer matter to those in power, and distractions of technology and pointless political debates over social issues keep them content and quiet regardless.

There is no way to fix it besides collapsing it and starting over, careful this time to heed the warnings and stay vigilante. And it will indeed collapse eventually.

Will it be a natural calamity, an economic collapse, a military coup, or a violent revolution of the people? Only one of those gives power back to the people. Only time will tell which happens first.

People became complacent and complaint.

Very true. Sometimes reality makes you get up off your ass and do something about it. Only time will tell if the masses have the balls to do just that.