Dobbs: It's good to be a superpower

[Red1]

I like the sarcasm, the obvious trend towards oblivion, irregardless of your politcal persuasion, this piece pretty well sums up a dead end game for us. Unless of course we decide to address the issues;

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Soviet Union, Marxist Leninism, the Evil Empire and their ugly metaphor, the Berlin Wall, crumbled and collapsed almost 17 years ago.

At the time, I thought it was strange that the United States didn't have the inclination to celebrate. There were no victory parades and no fireworks; nor did Congress declare a V-CW Day, as in Victory in the Cold War. There weren't even any grand speeches about America's emergence as the World's Only Superpower.

But a grand smugness did grip most of Washington. And hubris became the foundation of almost every national policy, foreign and domestic. And why not? We were entitled as the World's Only Superpower.

What a blessing, all these superpower advantages. What other people besides Americans can afford not to make their own clothes? The world has other people for such menial tasks, and they sell us all but a few of our shoes, shirts, slacks, suits, dresses and coats (and, of course, accessories). We now import around 96 percent of our clothing.

-uh, snip-

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/15/dobbs.august16/index.html

[EFerrari]

1. Welcome to DU, Red1.

:hi:

[Taverner]

2. I don't always agree with Dobbs

But his clarity on our debt and deficit is spot on.

[patrice]

3. Yeah Dobbs, stop being a Nervous Nellie. Go out and buy a Hummer.

You'll feel better.

[GOPBasher]

4. Wow, that was pretty scathing, and perfectly said. eom

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. It's also nice to contain such a small percentage of the

world's population and consume prolly 25% of the worlds natural resources. Call us "conservative".

[Strelnikov_]

6. “We Will Certainly Come Out On Top Again If We Succeed In Being Defeated"

"America," he said, "will lose the war. And Italy will win it." "America is the strongest and most prosperous nation on earth," Nately informed him with lofty fervor and dignity. "And the American fighting man is second to none." "Exactly," agreed the old man pleasantly, with a hint of taunting amusement. "Italy, on the other hand, is one of the least prosperous nations on earth. And the Italian fighting man is probably second to all. And that's exactly why my country is doing so well in this war while your country is doing so poorly."

"I'm sorry I laughed at you. But Italy was occupied by the Germans and is now being occupied by us. You don't call that doing very well, do you?" "But of course I do," exclaimed the old man cheerfully. "The Germans are being driven out, and we're still here. In a few years, you will be gone, too, and we will still be here. You see, Italy is really a very poor and weak country, and that's what makes us so strong. Italian soldiers are not dying anymore. But American and German soldiers are. I call that doing extremely well. Yes, I'm quite certain Italy will survive this war and still be in existence long after your own country has been destroyed."

"America is not going to be destroyed!" he shouted passionately. "Never?" prodded the old man softly. "Well..." Nately faltered. "Rome was destroyed, Greece was destroyed, Persia was destroyed, Spain was destroyed. All great countries are destroyed. Why not yours? How much longer do you really think your own country will last? Forever? Keep in mind that the earth itself is destined to be destroyed by the sun in twenty-five million years or so."

"I don't believe anything you tell me," Nately replied... "The only thing I do believe is that America is going to win the war." "You put so much stock in winning wars. The real trick lies in losing wars, in knowing which wars can be lost. Italy has been losing wars for centuries, and just see how splendidly we've done nonetheless. France wins wars and is in a continual state of crisis. Germany loses and prospers. Look at our recent history. Italy won a war in Ethiopia and promptly stumbled into serious trouble. Victory gave us such insane delusions of grandeur that we helped start a world war we hadn't a chance of winning. But now that we are losing again, everything has taken a turn for the better and we will certainly come out on top again if we succeed in being defeated."

Nately speaking to the old man who lives at Nately’s whore’s brothel.

From Catch 22, by Joseph Heller

[BushOut06]

7. Sigh - would be nice if we used our status to make the world better

Instead of trying to shove our brand of democracy down everyone's throat, imagine if the US used its status as the sole superpower to actually improve the world? With our vast resources, we could really help alleviate many of the world's problems. Can you imagine if we took merely half the money we spend on defense, and used that to help combat poverty around the globe? What if, instead of taking sides in regional conflicts, we tried to act as a impartial mediator? Imagine how much good the US could be doing.

[bobbolink]

8. WElcome to DU, Red1!

:toast:

Dobbs is doing a good thing with his reporting on the electoral fraud, too!

:thumbsup:

[William769]

9. I don't always agree with Dobbs

But I like him more than most other commentators.

[enigma000]

10. The "Evil Empire" was nothing but

Progressives should not celebrate its fall. Not when the United "Wall Street" States was the victor.