The title of this diary borrows from the late Soviet dissident Andrei Amalrik, who, in 1969, wrote a book titled "Will the USSR survive until 1984?". At the time few commentators took him seriously and, of course, strictly speaking, he was wrong. The USSR, in fact, survived until 1991.
The point is, though, that although the USA appears impressive, DT very much fears that it's collapse may be just around the corner.
DT recently spent a few days in San Francisco and Berkeley, mostly sightseeing and attending a scientific conference. Like most things in life, there were good points and bad points.
Firstly the good points:
Berkeley itself. The independent cafes and restaurants were a delight. the food and drink were terrific and it was great to hear people sitting around, drinking coffee and engaging in serious intellectual and scientific work with friends and colleagues. Cal Berkeley works!
The BART. It is sometimes reported that American cities have overcrowded roads and useless public transport. That may be true of all other American cities, as far as DT knows, but, happily, not true for the Bay Area.
The Oakland Athletics. Did I ever mention that I spent time in Berkeley growing up as a kid. Well, the A's have more than a passing cultural resemblance to the Australian football team from which DT derives his name. One huge regret: DT was too jet lagged to watch the record come from behind win over Minnesota. Just like the Dockers; occasional heroics interspersed with, frankly, crap. Amd always the promise of the promised land next season.
Rachel Maddow. A bit loud for some Australian viewers but unlike most TV personalities, she clearly knows her stuff and actually believes what she says. (You know, I honestly don't believe that most of the bloviators on TV actually believe their lines, it's just a feeling I get when I look at their dead eyes and fixed smiles. Talk about working for corporations being bad for the soul). Differing in personality, she somehow reminds me of Eric Sevareid for sincerity.
Daily Kos and other like minded blogs. Well, you need to suck up to your audience, don't you? But seriously, progressive American blogs inspire the world. And they are a brilliant adaptation to the degeneracy of the corporate owned media..., which leads to a list of categories of reasons why the USA may well collapse quite soon. Much of this analysis draws from the work of Kevin Phillips. Before readers object to the use of work of a Nixon electoral stategist on these pages, let me point out that I firmly believe that one learns best in politics from those who started out on the other side, and changed their minds as mature adults with a significant career behind them.
Factors that threaten to cause the USA to decline and fall
political system
American corporate governance
overall economic structure
science, in particular wilful ignorance thereof by significant sections of the American elite
religion and morality
legal and justice system, in particular jails and gated communities
Military Industrial complex
health care and health status of Americans
agriculture, resources and environment.
I will expand further in Part 2. It won't be a hugely long diary, because most of the categories feed off each other. In Part 3, I will propose a radical solution. More to come....