Fall of Another Roman Empire?

China has spent decades laying tracks for the future. 

We’ve been digging graves in the past. 

They’ve built cities, schools, trains that move faster than thought. 

We’ve built military bases, debt, and an empire of rust.

This is the first stanza of a poem written by Henry Morgenstein, titled "Tracks in Future / Graves in Past". Apparently it is part of a regular newsletter Henry sends out. He attributes these beginning words to Jimmy Carter. 

I am not a big fan of China by any reach of the imagination, but I do have to concede that these words seem to point out China's interest in moving forward, while America is busy wallowing in the remnants of a decaying past.

The rest of the poem is a salute to China's material and economic growth while not even mentioning their horrific human rights record that continues to this day. Just because a certain population or populations are in a wonderland and loving it, there are billions of Chinese who are not. Too many struggle in dismal conditions while 10 lane highways and bullet trains crowd out their communities. If this is what we want in our future, I say fuck that. Growth should never override the freedoms of the populations who created that growth. That is just repeating the ugly models of the past again and again and again.

History is cyclical and filled with too many repeats to mention. Empires rise, empires fall. Given the hard times and decline we Americans have created for ourselves starting in the 1980s of Ronald Reagan, it would be easy to conclude that though America was once on top, we are now working hard to find the bottom. The class divisions have never been worse, the economic divisions never more profound, and worst of all, we are now struggling to save the country our forebears created so, so long ago.

Yeah, I don't have a very optimistic vision for our country at this point and only a slightly rosier vision of the future of  Humanity in general. We keep shitting in the nest we live in. We deny the negative changes the planet is going through by wasting time pissing on each other's feet while those who don't care continue on their merry way raping the planet and poisoning the chances we might have had to save ourselves. Short term thinking always comes at a higher cost than careful planning.

Whatever happens in the future America will deserve what it has sown and the rest of the World will deserve what they end up with if they don't pay attention to what America did to itself. 

I'd say, "Keep it 'tween the ditches" ..... But why bother? We seem intent on driving into them.

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I know A.I. is causing controversy wherever it pops up. But I have to say, so far when it applies to A.I. manipulated music videos, most of the ones I have seen are awesome. Here is "Child in Tiime", by Deep Purple. This song was released in 1968. The song combines with visuals more in tune with the madness that is our current reality. It hits its mark wonderfully.

Enjoy the visuals and don't forget Deep Purple is generally better enjoyed when the volume is wound up to WOW.