Why do we fight?

[Robert]

As a Canadian I dont think my country plays as large a role in world conflicts that result in war. Nor does my country really push its military power, I do however feel the strong sense to 'fight' for what I beleive in.

I am relocating my family and my life to the US in the coming year and something has started to bother me. With the contiued conflict, removal of democrocy and mounting wars; where is the US headed?

Where do you see the country you live in in 50 years?

Do you think you might one day pay the price for the wars fought abroad?

Do you think the US might one day lose its Super Power status and ultimating forever change the way you live your life?

I am personally, for the first time in my life, second guessing my judgement that this move is for the better. I am wondering if I am not knowing putting my life, and the lives of those I care about in danger. Maybe not in the next 10 years but maybe in 20-30 years when I will be less able to fight those changes.

Open to all. Steve, feel free to weigh in.

[Wren57]

To understand the future of world politics, you must first address and understand the present state of world politics. America is a superpower because of its economy, not necessarily its military. America's GDP is something like 4 or 5 times the size of the #2 GDP, and greater than the entire EU by like 2x. Hell, California has the worlds #4 or 5 GDP alone. So where does that leave the rest of the world? Behind the curve, thats where... but a few countries are emerging as threats by becoming semi-specialized. India is beginning to import/export large quantities of intelligence, and China imports/exports large quantities of manufactured goods. In addition to these external threats, the internal threat of credit over-extension must be addressed ASAP to ensure a long-lasting economy. Just like a family struggling to pay the bills, America is racking up debt and costing itself billions in oppurtunity costs by paying ridiculous amounts of interest. Nobody can retire with credit card debt, and no country can last long with a great debt burden either. And yes, I know all about debt levreging, but it is not nearly as healthy as keeping books in the green. These great external and internal economic threats must be addressed before any militaristic threat; on that front, the only real problem America faces is alliances and fighting on mutliple fronts. We are stretched thin now, but not nearly thin enough to break... however, another front could possibly expose an American military weakness; sheer size.

America has several decisions it needs to make. If we continue on the tax-little spend-much fight-much campaign, we will break ourselves in the long run. It is of the utmost importance we finish the job we've started and turn our focus on the internal health of the country rather than the external health. Every great superpower has declined eventually, leading to the rise of another... it is simply the cyclical nature of civilization. The key is managing natural resources and internal policies in order to project an effective exterior policy; we're doing this now, but our internal policies are starting to falter. I'm not entirely sure where America will be in 30-50 years on its current track, but I am quite sure I won't want to live here.

That said, here are some things I think would improve the chances of America lasting longer than it might otherwise:

1) Deport illegal immigrants. Make being an American something to be proud and something to be valued; then people will respect/honor it more and desire greater to be a better American.

2) Phase out social security. Promote individual economic freedom and self-responsibility. There are literally hundreds of private plans that work like social security- only better.

3) Work foreign matters with better finesse; "Speak soft but carry a big stick"... right now we are speaking tough and barely sending in enough forces to get the job done... "speaking tough and carrying a barely big enough stick"

4) 100% revamp of public school system. My private HS costed 12k/year, while it costed taxpayers 14k/year per child in public school. My HS is top 5 in the southeast, while memphis city schools are among the worst in the country. One idea I've had is to provide economic incentive for good grades and good behavior; only the money would be to the parents... so the parents would have a shallow incentive to get involved. Sadly enough, thats what would get bum parents w/ kids in public schools attention the best.

5) Goes along with #4. Less gov't wherever possible and more private, regulated businesses. Privately-run police forces and fire depts would in theory provide better databasing, response time, accuracy and effectiveness.

I could go on and on, but everyone probably gets the idea of private vs. public by now and is tired of reading this, so I'll wait for another poster to say more...

[Robert]

I get the point Wren. Where are you planning on moving too?

It has crossed my mind to keep one foot in each country to keep my options open. I suspect that is the only way to protect myself.

[ChrisCantSkate]

yeah ive kinda had this thought but about going to canada or europe, doubt i will, but ive had the thought from time to time. im not sure where this counrty will be in 20 years, but its gonna be different.

wren i like the idea of a more "private" over public country but it would take a long time to get it working right some of services are monopolies and being a gov industry keeps mass corruption(only minor) from really doing some damage. im not sure how i feel about a private law enforcment, it could end up being alot worse and make a business too powerful in a district. also SS, i hate it, i would like to see the money stop coming out of my check every week, but if it wasnt there then when people dont plan right we have starving, homeless, sick, 3rd world country status. this keeps the people who dont invest or make enough to comfortably retire to still stay afloat... til they uhh.. ya know.

[Wren57]

When people don't plan right, they simply don't retire. If they never save enough to retire, they work until they die. Tough shit, should've thought about that ahead of time.

Lots of demand for Wal-Mart greeters.

[AzCivic]

SS is a damn joke, it pisses me off that I have to throw money away every month because there are a bunch of dipshits in this country too stupid to think about their futures. but hey they got that new (insert random useless piece of crap that poor people like to waste money on) so they're cool, why worry about the future when you can enjoy 24" rims on your '86 buick POS right now.

what are your (anyones) thoughts on the value of our dollar and the proposal (or just rumor) to get rid of the penny? do you think lowering the nat debt would strengthen it? well obviously it'd only help, what do you think we can do to achieve that goal? thats one thing I certainly don't like about this administration, its refusal to do anything in that arena but further dig us deeper into debt.

where will the US be in 30-50? hell if I know, what I do know is that we're at a cross roads and someone better start making some good decisions to make this country what I know it can be.

[GT40FIED]

I think the direction that this country takes is entirely dependant upon the people who live here. Until now we've put up with partisan bickering like it's something we have to live with. We've put up with corruption like it's part of daily life. And we've put up with theocratic ideology like it's a form of law. All of that needs to end here and now.

America needs to wake up. people need to make their voices heard. Far too many people who are of even keel keep their mouths shut assuming that eccentrics will speak for them (this goes for both sides of the political spectrum). For once, republicans and democrats need to come together and decide just what the fuck reality really is. They're both fucking it up for all of us. Bush veto'ed a bill on stemj cell research which could have helped untold amounts of people battling various diseases (and that was his first veto...ever), while democrats stopped a minimum wage increase despite that fact that there are more working poor now than any time in recent history.

Social security is a joke. Why am I paying for something that will be bankrupt long before I can possibly collect it? This goes for so-called "life line" services as well. I've known people who worked their asses off but were still on welfare anyway, but the sad thing is that the majority of social services cases aren't like that. Put "workfare" into effect. If you have a job and can't make ends meet, I'm more than willing to help. However, if you just sit on your ass all day and shit out kids, you can go fuck yourself.

With the U.S.'s current stance in the world as a whole, I don't think we can be too optomistic about what will happen 50 years from now. We currently have the president with the leadership skills of your middle school vice principal. I'm sorry...I don't care if you voted for him or not...he's a joke and the only ones who haven't picked up on it yet is us. We need a president who can unify rather than polarize people. Maybe if we can start to look at the islamic world with understanding rather than fear and contempt we can start gaining allies there. Maybe we can find someone...I don't care which party...who will see the world for what it really is and understand that people who aren't like us REALLY aren't like us. In the last 6 years I don't know of many people who can say their lives have gotten better and that tells me it's time for a change.

The bottom line depends on how much the American people want to make their voices heard. Right now you heard a resounding cry from the extreme right, but I suspect once Bush is out of office that will be ignored as it should be (or as any extremist voice should be). I think if we can find more moderate people to represent us then things will go much more smoothly since compromise will be much easier. That might be unlikely to happen, but it's what we need to move forward rather than this political polarization that's geting no one anywhere right now. If things don't change in the next 5-10 years, god help us all (and I'm moving to Germany).

Finally, we need to remove those in power who would label dissenting opinions as being traitorous or "enemy sympathizers". We need to remember that without dissneting opinions this country would not even be a country. I firmly believe that this is what has kept so many people silent for so long. They're afraid of being labeled as a person in league with our perceived enemy. Well fuck that. The only way anything gets done in this country is by the will of the people, and any person who calls a dissenting opinion anything orther than what it is should be branded a coward and promptly removed from office. They will only hinder progress by squashing legitimate debates.

[Robert]

Steve, that was a good response.

I brought this up after seeing the movie 'Why we fight' it was very interesting. To sum the movie up, the president doesn't have the power we think he does, but the military industrial complex holds the power and has the money to maintain its dominance. They have think tanks, own votes and decide on military conflicts.

I agree more people must speek up, but how do you do that? I suspect there are more questions then answers when it comes to how we change the nation for good.

[Mischief]

we fight to prove who has the biggest penis.

[AzCivic]

Originally Posted by GT40FIED

Bush veto'ed a bill on stemj cell research which could have helped untold amounts of people battling various diseases (and that was his first veto...ever), while democrats stopped a minimum wage increase despite that fact that there are more working poor now than any time in recent history.

from what I understand he veto'd a bill to spend tax money on stem cell research, he didn't outlaw it.

Originally Posted by GT40FIED

Social security is a joke. Why am I paying for something that will be bankrupt long before I can possibly collect it? This goes for so-called "life line" services as well. I've known people who worked their asses off but were still on welfare anyway, but the sad thing is that the majority of social services cases aren't like that. Put "workfare" into effect. If you have a job and can't make ends meet, I'm more than willing to help. However, if you just sit on your ass all day and shit out kids, you can go fuck yourself.

From the research I've done nothing showed SS was going to go bankrupt anytime soon, however it is still stupid. The program began as something OPTIONAL but of course the very people who would need it are the ones who sure as hell wouldn't contribute to it. There should be rules in place to prove you will not be a drain on society when you retire and therefore do not need to pay into it.