Is the US a suicidal superpower ??

[JonsZX2SR]

This article makes an interesting read...

Beck on oil prices (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/24/beck.oil.prices/index.html)

Imagine if we spent the majority of US tax revenues over the past 25 years on energy sufficiency, wise use of land, research to help US business pound foreign companies into submission while we minimized foreign involvements, stayed out of the middle east to a large part, etc., etc., etc.

Imagine: lower taxes, stronger dollar, less US oil imports, less $$ sent to enemies who control the oil supply, smaller, better equipped, better paid defensive (but lethal) military (that doesn't get wasted on stupid ethnic squabbles) etc....

I think the American people and our leadership have been asleep at the wheel in terms of hoping for cheap fuel, too many materialistic goods, especially SUV's and McMansions, etc., etc., etc.

The US needs to get back to being a lean, self-sufficient, secure nation. The message is we have things pretty good here, most of our people have can-do attitude and it's because of that attitude things will stay good. If the rest of the world wants to remain mired in ethnic misery, we aren't going to come save people. let the rest of the world pull itself up on it's own bootstraps rather than US money send for cheap fuel...

**** the rest of the world, and **** those who don't want to build strong minds and attitudes to make the US great again. Let's get rid of liberal socialism at home...

(**** = your favorite expletive here...)

[PHeller]

Thing is though, is that many people get caught up in beleiving that the American dream is having a big house, 2 acres, SUV's and wasting money and resources on things they don't need.

Liberal Socialism would suggest a more scaled down "even out the playing field" and limit how much people can spend on stupid stuff, and punishing those who do buy in excess.

To me, its Conservative Traditionalism that has made the US dependent on the rest of the world.

[JC'szx2]

I think the American people and our leadership have been asleep at the wheel in terms of hoping for cheap fuel, too many materialistic goods, especially SUV's and McMansions, etc., etc., etc.

i agree. sad thing about the suvs, is it seems that the higher gas prices get the more it seems i see them around i blame suvs & over sized trucks for high gas prices(partly) the consume too much and are inefficent 24mpgs is not good on the highway no matter what honda says!

[mechtech]

Our welfare aspect is even worse than our SUV infestation.

[zxtwou2]

i was going to make a thread about why gas prices being high is a good thing...but i haven't gotten around to it...so i'll leave that discussion for the thread i make in a bit. but overall, i agree it's our dependancy on luxuries we take for granted that put us in this perdicament.

[JonsZX2SR]

Liberal socialism isn't going to make the US self sufficient or the most competitive nation again...

What we need is to instill a "can do" frontier attitude in people where the US concentrates on success and getting there first. we'll make our own energy, develop new technologies we sell or license to the rest of the world and we'll have a smaller but better trained and equipped lethal defensive military.

What we want to do is pound foreign competition into submission economically...

We'll stop wasting the lives of our troops trying to solve other cultures problems. If other cultures want to kill themselves and live in the 3rd world that's their problem, not ours. however, if someone harms us or our citizens, the response would be to incinerate them, then get on with business at home.

Unfortunately, many of thsoe who have this "can-do" attitude are educated foreigners who want to become US citizens. I think we should welcome them and drain the foreign cultures of their talents and add them to Americans who want to succeed.

It's too bad we can't export lazy, liberal slackers overseas to 3rd world cultures while at the same time welcoming those who want to work hard and build our nation.

[PHeller]

Jon, why are you associating liberals with being slackers?

Many "liberals" are our free thinkers who develop new and progressive social thoughts, that motivate us to make changes, maybe not in building bridges, but connecting community groups with common goals. These are social minds, who want to help others to become better works, who have faith in every American to become something, and not just let them rot in the street. Many of our nations bests minds were people who thought outside of the box, not for wealth, but for a better society, and I don't think they would have considered themselves conservatives or liberals, but they considered themselves the product of American Ingenuity.

I'll take your stance and say that many conservatives have this "entitlement complex", where they feel that if they earn it, they should get whatever they want. This includes fuel from overseas, sometimes multiple big wasteful houses, big wasteful SUV's, hiring immigrants to do cheap labor because it makes their business more profitable, not paying legal workers good rates because they are too concerned with their own profits, etc etc etc.

Many of the conservatives I meet have a "blow up whatever nation we need to in order to get cheap gas".

Socialism is giving that entitlement to everyone, making the workforce less efficient.

What we need is a society that rewards those who aren't wasteful. Who contribute to the independence of United States by not buying an SUV, or multiple houses, but by buying and renting low income housing, or maybe even high income housing in cities, those investors who put more into efficiently designed buildings and regional structures.

I'm not a wasteful guy when it comes to material goods. I horde old parts, boxes, recycle, ride bike, turn off the lights, don't like living leftovers, and don't see a need for driving a gas-hog everyday to work. I wish I didn't have to drive to work. I prefer open windows to A/C. I'm not the most efficeint with my time though, as i'm not overly organized or methodical, but I don't think anything is entitled to me, and I don't think I would ever need to live the Old American Dream.

This is not a liberal/conservative problem, this is a "Old American Dream" problem. One that still entitles all Americans to 2 acres, a 4 bedroom house, with 2.5 children, 2 cars (both SUV's) a dog, a cat, a pool, a big screen tv, and a 45 minute commute to work.