Oct 29th 2004, 19:05 GMT #

October 29, 2004.

The Descent of the American Empire | Acts of Volition:

Growing up a couple hundred miles from the U.S. border in Canada’s smaller province, I’ve always had a sense that we in Canada have a unique vantage point on the United States of America. From here, we can see that America is a large beast, but we are too close to see the whole thing. Sleeping with an elephant, we sometimes say.

I grew up with a feeling that America was the center of the world. There were people in the rest of the world, but that was just the backdrop to America. Maybe someday, the whole world would come to be like America.

[via Bryan] Interesting read, really. I tend to agree to a certain degree, although I’m not really sure the US might become be irrelevant, it’ll always be big and powerful and influential. Still, at some point people just won’t care about them anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a couple of friends in the US, intelligent, caring, passionate people. People I like. Still I refuse to visit the US. As long as the isolation and paranoia continues, as long as I’m forced to leave my fingerprints and a retina scan like a criminal, the only viable option for me is to not visit the country. (It’d be the same if it’d be UK or France or some country in Asia, the place doesn’t matter, the way I’m treated does.)

It’s just a small thing, but it’s a piece of a bigger, disturbing picture. A country I liked is isolating itself. On a global scale it’s like seeing a friend starting to go batshit crazy.

Look at me, it’s Friday night, and I’m rambling. Oh well. Off my lawn, you damn kids, off my lawn. mumblemumble

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Xyleth

[Quote]
The rest of the world, however, is finally learning how to stand on their own. We don't need a single super power anymore, the world is too diverse for that.
[Quote]

I think that hits the nail on the head. For the last 50/60 years we've been living in the shadow of WW2, one result of which was that the rest of the world looked to the US for leadership and support.

With the cold war over and several generations between us and WW2 the world is starting to learn to stand on its own again.

Another sign of this is the way Israel is viewed and treated by the international community. Once upon a time the critisim that Israel faces today on a regular basis would have been unthinkable. The memory of the horrors of WW2 were too close in our minds and people were simply too afraid to say anything. Now that is no longer true and people are beginning to wake up to the fact.

It's also one of the reasons I think that a more integrated EU is not only desireable but a requirement if Europe is going to stand in the future. The only way we are going to be able to deal with emerging powers like China, Asia and the probable re-emergence of Russia is together and without the US.

I think the next 50 years are going to be interesting because we are the first generation to grow up without the shadow of the Cold war or WW2 over our heads. We haven't grown up viewing the Americans as saviours who keep us free and safe and we've made peace with out past. As we grow older and move slowly into the positions of power in the world our outlook will be radically different to that of generations before us.