The Next 100 Years
A Forecast for the 21st Century
Chapter One
The Dawn of the American Age
There is a deep-seated belief in America that the United States is approaching
the eve of its destruction. Read letters to the editor, peruse the Web, and
listen to public discourse. Disastrous wars, uncontrolled deficits, high
gasoline prices, shootings at universities, corruption in business and
government, and an endless litany of other shortcomings-all of them quite
real-create a sense that the American dream has been shattered and that America
is past its prime. If that doesn't convince you, listen to Europeans. They will
assure you that America's best day is behind it.
The odd thing is that all of this foreboding was present during the presidency
of Richard Nixon, together with many of the same issues. There is a continual
fear that American power and prosperity are illusory, and that disaster is just
around the corner. The sense transcends ideology. Environmentalists and
Christian conservatives are both delivering the same message. Unless we repent
of our ways, we will pay the price-and it may ... read full excerpt from: The Next 100 Years ebook
