In my opinion, America only has three viable options for the future when considering the condition we find ourselves in today. Here I give those options in the time frame of 2030, looking backward.

It’s January 1, 2030, and a TV anchor renders this report: For roughly the past 120 years, we’ve been on a gradual slide towards national suicide. In the early 1900’s the communists began to infiltrate our society, keeping their affiliation secret but securing work and influence in the media, entertainment, the unions, the education field, government and even in religion. Slowly but surely our people were indoctrinated with propaganda counter to our actual founding and founding documents, our history, patriotism, the free markets and our God-given rights. Our core values gave way to secularism, materialism, immorality, self-serving goals and indifference to others and to what made us a great nation.

This slow march towards socialism, big government and our loss of liberty picked up steam in the 1960’s, during and after the war in South Vietnam. The country was divided over our participation in that war. During the next few decades principled people dwindled in number and voice while leftist radicals became more vocal. There were voices of reason and alarm but they were few in number, easily drowned out, particularly by a biased media. We moved into warp speed in 2009 with the election of President Obama. We now know he usurped the office through corruption, weakness of the Legislative and Judicial branches, massive voter fraud, lies and a growing number of citizens who were uninformed and uninvolved in the political process yet who were enamored with his race and charisma. We ceased to judge and vote on qualifications, experience and vision in favor of superficial qualities. That weakness continues.

Mr. Obama’s blatant disregard for the law, appointment of communist, socialist and statists, by then known as “progressives,” to key positions in government, escalated our demise. The number of citizens who supported socialist theory and policies outnumbered those who supported capitalism. The number who voted based on who best served their desires for “free stuff” outnumbered those who were paying the bills. In 1950 it was considered dishonorable to be on welfare, to act immorally, to not go to church on Sunday, to have children out of wedlock, and to expect the federal government to be your keeper. By 2015 it was considered the norm to do these things by the majority of the populace. With subsequent elections of progressives, and the continuing weakness of conservative leaders, policies and teachings, we had become a nation of men, not a nation of laws. The older generation, reared prior to 1960, were aging fast, dying off, and of less influence on affairs of state. As communists, socialists and progressives must do to reign supreme, Mr. Obama succeeded in dividing the nation and getting the various factions fighting against each other; Muslims against the Christians, blacks against the whites, welfare recipients against capitalist enterprise, unions against nonunion, students against their own parents, law enforcement against law abiding citizens, leftist organizations and the government (IRS) against conservative groups, the Pentagon against their own active duty personnel and veterans, and on and on it went. “Divide and conquer,” and “the ends justify the means” became their policy. Their call to action - “that’s racist.”

Today, as we start a new year, approaching mid-century, America is in shambles. Taxes are exorbitantly high on the 20% who still pay them; our military is ranked 7th in the world in power and influence; inflation averages @ 15% a year; middle class private wealth is nonexistent; 40% of our people live below the poverty level; the middle class is disintegrating; the DOW is down to the 1980 levels; the homeless in America are estimated to be in the millions; the Social Security, Medicare and Universal Healthcare systems are in default; half our cities are bankrupt; unemployment is 37% nationwide; turmoil and violence is a daily occurrence in most cities; mobs roam the streets day and night looking for food and someone to rob or molest; the illegal population is especially aggressive; law enforcement protects the celebrities and political elites but few others; our birth rates have plummeted and hundreds of colleges and universities have closed their doors. Even Wal-Mart no longer exists in the US. America is a shadow of what it was in the 1980’s and prior. Not a pretty picture to those of us born before 1950. By 2050 we’ll probably become a series of separate, independent states, or regional republics, unaffiliated with the US Government and America of old. The strongest, most American-like section of the country, most likely to survive similar to our old constitutional republic, exists in the near west - the Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska region. There has been talk for several years of secession and the formation of a new republic by these states. The west coast is a lost cause as in the northeast and upper mid-west; the epitome of failed states. There’s still some hope in the old south (Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, etc.). By using terminology of the early 2000’s, the red states have fared far better than have the blue states and the latter deeply resents the former. They’re clueless. Can’t recognize themselves as their own worst enemy.

We can all second guess what went wrong and blame someone else. But when looking at the history of the world over time, and the US in particular over the past 120 years, it becomes an obvious “light bulb moment” that big government socialism, high taxes, proliferation of tax supported programs, government controlled industry, a dumbed down, noninvolved, morally-challenged citizenry, and career elected officials looking out only for themselves, results in tyranny, loss of liberty, massive poverty, a small clique of “rulers” above the law, and a failed nation. Our Constitution and Republic went out the window with Obama and we never seriously questioned it. But history told us going into the progressive era that socialist utopian dreams only work in your dreams, not in the real world, ever! We just didn’t listen. We didn’t do enough to prevent it. Too many “old school” folks waited for someone else to do it. After all, it sounded so easy - let the government pay for it. Unlike our Founding Fathers, we lacked their courage when it really mattered. We just sat there; submitted to it. We threw out God, the lessons from history, common sense, rational thought, and self respect for a banana republic. We’re ALL to blame. Now our posterity will live a third world country. Lord help us.

Question: Will America choose this scenario for the future, or another? (See also #2 and #3.)