June 4, 2005

No country lasts forever. That’s an inarguable fact.

History reveals three primary reasons why countries fall, governments change and ways of life vanish.

The Taliban, Saddam, Nazis and many other governments fell because of war with other nations.

Revolutions brought on by internal strife, an insurgency, social unrest and disillusionment, reduced respect and admiration of the nation’s military (note that the Marines and Army are finding it very difficult and sometimes impossible to meet their recruiting goals), loss or reduction of social values and norms, and political extremism bring down some governments. Examples include Iran in 1979, France in the late 18 th Century, China in the late 1940s, and Mexico and Russia in the early 20 th Century.

Sometimes governments just quit for a variety of reasons, resulting in ethnic fragmentation, like in the case of the Soviet Union.

Perhaps you noted that America is currently suffering from two of the three aforementioned reasons why countries fall.

Right now, America is fighting a type of war–global asymmetric warfare–that has never been fought before by any nation. Our enemies wear no uniforms, abide by no rules, attack civilian targets, are in 90 countries including our own and want every American dead and the country destroyed.

We are suffering from political extremism mostly on the left; a clear reduction of social values and norms; widespread disillusionment when it comes to the war, social issues, politics, and the economy; and even some strife (a huge homeless population, high bankruptcy rate, a massive illegal alien population consisting of between 16 and 20 million people, etc.).

What makes many Americans think America is invulnerable to collapse or destruction? Such a belief is spectacularly arrogant.

History applies to all countries. According to history, we are far more at risk than what most Americans believe.

Extremists in the media (the Denver Post’s Reggie Rivers, the Rocky Mountain News’ Jason Salzman, the New York Times’ Tom Friedman, Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd; Bill Moyers, Air America’s Al Franken, Michael Moore, Barbra Streisand, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Ed Asner, et al), politics (Howard Dean, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Barbara Boxer, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Robert Byrd, et al), and our collective societal commode (Ward Churchill, Louis Farrakhan, et al) are trying to dramatically change America as we know it. From their influential (upon many Americans suffering from muddy thinking) positions, such radicals fuel the flames of hate and discontent among those who are repulsed by the very idea of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Fury, frustration and disbelief replace reason and respect when these types are forced to accept major political losses and when they realize most Americans disagree with their fanatical agendas. Their shrill fanaticism acts as an accelerant in creating an emotional inferno among the followers of such would-be tyrants, which increases the chances America falling while advancing the time line for our demise.

Nevertheless, many if not most Americans, in their complacency and ignorance of history, believe we have no reason to worry; that America will always exist regardless of history and the threats currently facing our nation.

How very, very wrong they are.

Bob Newman