A friend of mine, Matt Lewis, tweeted this out:
Why are people applauding that statement? Because that is exactly what a lot of conservatives believe and to them, it seems almost incomprehensible that so many Americans in general and Republican politicians, in particular, seem so almost spectacularly unconcerned about it. It’s like seeing someone who just got diagnosed with COPD continuing their two-pack-a-day smoking habit.
Granted, it is fair to note that this is a great nation with a lot of advantages and historical accomplishments. It’s also worth pointing out that conservatives do tend to lean towards pessimism about the state of the nation, our media tends to exaggerate threats and legendary economist Adam Smith was right when he said:
All that being said, there are a lot of signs, both great and small, that things are going horribly awry in America with our government, our culture, and our people. This IS NOT a time for complacency about our nation’s future. Look at these headlines and tell me you still can’t see it.
1) Debt:
2) Mental Illness:
3) Americans have lost faith in our institutions:
4) The Fed printed more new money during COVID than at any time in our entire history:
5) Social Security is in the red and doing worse every year:
6) Declining values:
7) A rapid and enormous increase in LGBT identification:
8) IQ is dropping:
9) By far the highest drug use death rate in the world per 100,000 people:
10) Growing hatred of the other party:
11) Trust in the government is close to historic lows:
12) Race relations:
13) Income inequality is reaching extraordinary levels:
14) Christianity is declining sharply:
15) Life expectancy is declining:
16) Antidepressant usage:
17) Surprisingly high support for civil war and secession on both the Left and Right:
I wonder ... when the Roman Empire was in decline, did the average Roman think, "The empire is falling apart! What can we do?" Or did they think, "Yeah, so we evacuated Britannia and left a few thousand people behind. That province was just costing us money anyway. And so the emperor likes to have sex with little boys. What he does in the privacy of his own palace is no one else's business. And you say barbarians are crossing the border unchecked? Well, we need the extra population. The empire is as strong as it's ever been. There's nothing to worry about."
Distressing especially in the rate of acceleration of these trends. Number 10, growing hatred of the other party is a recurring event for me. I can hardly stand to watch the news because I can predict the narrative- Christians shot and killed? Those poor (insert disadvantaged group here) had no choice but to fight back against those right wing EXTREMISTS! What is a woman- "anyone who claims to be one" is the only "non-violent" response. Not enough to accept, but to celebrate and introduce to the children in schools, without their parents' involvement. Decriminalize drugs- what could go wrong? Narcan should be freely available everywhere. Universal basic income- let some other sucker bring food to my house, I've got an EBT card to pay for it. Barack and the media certainly fixed racism, just like we were told that they would. And Christianity is now so infested with SJW's pastors who are afraid to preach from the bible for fear of offending someone that the Holy Spirit has left the building. I do see that our nation is in a death spiral, thanks to the progressive left, and yes, to the idiots who vote for them in spite of the consequences.