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I've been thinking about this a lot over the last week
It's important to put this in historical context
How do great republics end? https://twitter.com/theroyalonee/status/1263378893681184770
It's important to put this in historical context
How do great republics end? https://twitter.com/theroyalonee/status/1263378893681184770
Our earliest relevant example is Athens, which was eventually swallowed up by Alexander the Great
So, a republic can be overtaken by a vastly superior military empire
So, a republic can be overtaken by a vastly superior military empire
The next relevant example is Rome, which was usurped from within by Julius Caesar, and formally became an Empire later under Octavian, after the dust had settled
So, a republic can also fall victim to military coup
So, a republic can also fall victim to military coup
History is full of smaller republics that were never influential on an international scale, and eventually faded into obscurity... these do not offer much insight as it relates to a global superpower like the United States
So what other examples do we have to examine?
So what other examples do we have to examine?
We could look at the USSR, which, although obviously a Communist Dictatorships, at least *called* itself a union of republics...
It collapsed under its own weight, with the pieces splintering off into smaller republics, for the most part, while mother Russia remains totalitarian
It collapsed under its own weight, with the pieces splintering off into smaller republics, for the most part, while mother Russia remains totalitarian
Great Britain is another close example; a parliamentary democracy mashed up with a hereditary monarchy that peaked in the Victorian Era, and collapsed under the stress of two World Wars and the subsequent loss of its colonial holdings
So, based on this analysis, the United States really has only a few likely outcomes
Being conquered by a larger empire, a la Athens, is unlikely at this point in time; although not impossible, it would require a military coalition of several adversarial powers to achieve this
Being conquered by a larger empire, a la Athens, is unlikely at this point in time; although not impossible, it would require a military coalition of several adversarial powers to achieve this
Military coup leading to dictatorship is certainly possible; as is a socialist revolution that renders the Constitution invalid
I suspect this is the goal of present-day leftists
I suspect this is the goal of present-day leftists
However, the socialist revolution would almost certainly lead to the third option, which is a fracturing of the nation
There is certainly precedent for this with our own Civil War
The secession of states along ideological lines could happen with or without armed conflict
There is certainly precedent for this with our own Civil War
The secession of states along ideological lines could happen with or without armed conflict
The fourth option is the path we are on presently; persistent decay and erosion of influence
The only thing keeping it from happening at a more rapid pace is the fact that the rest of the world is just as much a mess as we are
The only thing keeping it from happening at a more rapid pace is the fact that the rest of the world is just as much a mess as we are
I don't really see a more optimistic fifth option
Frankly, as bad as 2020 has been so far, it hasn't been bad enough to jolt people into real change
We're a largely ignorant and easily-manipulated population, controlled by wealthy elites who profit from this petty chaos
Frankly, as bad as 2020 has been so far, it hasn't been bad enough to jolt people into real change
We're a largely ignorant and easily-manipulated population, controlled by wealthy elites who profit from this petty chaos
Maybe if the #CovidHoax had been real, and millions had died
Maybe if government oppression had been more overt, and millions had been allowed to starve
Maybe if police had been more violent, and millions had been shot
THEN you'd spur real change by culling the weak
Maybe if government oppression had been more overt, and millions had been allowed to starve
Maybe if police had been more violent, and millions had been shot
THEN you'd spur real change by culling the weak
But nobody in charge really wants that
They just want the sheep to dance, and to blame each other along the way
That's what we're doing
Republicans blame Democrats
Blacks blame Whites
The middle class withers away
The American dream dies a slow death
They just want the sheep to dance, and to blame each other along the way
That's what we're doing
Republicans blame Democrats
Blacks blame Whites
The middle class withers away
The American dream dies a slow death
It's our own fault
We're all dumb as shit and weak as kittens these days
Nobody reads
Everybody watches TV or surfs social media
We have short attention spans and are afraid of deep thinking and hard work
We don't deserve any better
We're all dumb as shit and weak as kittens these days
Nobody reads
Everybody watches TV or surfs social media
We have short attention spans and are afraid of deep thinking and hard work
We don't deserve any better
So we'll continue to drift onward
A fat, stupid worker bee population obsessed only with consumerism, short term gratification, and melodramatic bitching and infighting
Fortunately, the rest of the world only hates us only because they want to be just as soft and comfortable
A fat, stupid worker bee population obsessed only with consumerism, short term gratification, and melodramatic bitching and infighting
Fortunately, the rest of the world only hates us only because they want to be just as soft and comfortable
So I don't know if there's any real external existential threat
China wants to dominate us only so we can feed and employ them, but if they had their shit together, they wouldn't need to
They can't even manage their own country
Russia has a cultural inferiority complex
China wants to dominate us only so we can feed and employ them, but if they had their shit together, they wouldn't need to
They can't even manage their own country
Russia has a cultural inferiority complex
The Middle East is back-asswards and fanatic
Europe has been dead for 75 years
Latin America has never known an advanced civilization
If we don't end up invaded by aliens
America will continue to lead the rest of the world into global dystopia
Europe has been dead for 75 years
Latin America has never known an advanced civilization
If we don't end up invaded by aliens
America will continue to lead the rest of the world into global dystopia
And that's what should alarm you
Because America is the world's best hope
And we are shitting the bed right now
We have been since about 1970
Fifty years of decline, and no real sign that any generation is ready to step up and pump the brakes
Because America is the world's best hope
And we are shitting the bed right now
We have been since about 1970
Fifty years of decline, and no real sign that any generation is ready to step up and pump the brakes
Turn your televisions off
Put down your smartphones
Read books, lift weights
Create more, consume less
Way less
That's the only solution I have for you
Put down your smartphones
Read books, lift weights
Create more, consume less
Way less
That's the only solution I have for you
