RE: Could Nixon Make A Comeback?

Could Nixon Make A Comeback? - The Dish

“I think of what happened to Greece and Rome, and you see what is left — only the pillars,” Nixon concluded somberly. “What has happened, of course, is that the great civilizations of the past, as they have become wealthy, as they have lost their will to live, to improve, they then have become subject to decadence that eventually destroys the civilization. The U.S. is now reaching that period.”

Perhaps Nixon jumped the gun with his conclusion, and failed to take into account a possible Soviet collapse, which occurred a decade and a half after Nixon left office. The collapse of the Soviet Empire bought the United States some more time atop the global hierarchy. But the point Nixon made is even more glaringly obvious now than it was then. With climbing debt, deteriorating infrastructure, a stalled economy, an ineffective public education system, a failed public health system, expensive foreign wars and a gridlocked political process that refuses to address these issues; it is becoming clear that America is in decline. Political leaders refuse to say it, the American public refuses to believe it, but there is no getting around it at this point. It becomes even more glaringly obvious when juxtaposed with rising global powers such as China, India, and Brazil. While those countries have leaders that at least attempt to solve problems and plan for the future, ours focus on short term political gain and personal aggrandizement. I don't hold out much hope for our leaders to grow up, face these challenges, and pull us out of this tailspin. The only question I have at this point is whether we'll go away gracefully like Great Britain, or be destroyed from within like Rome.