Once we inspired the world with hope. The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, these defined the rights of man, all men, and women, and denied the privilege of the self-proclaimed nobility.

Today:

We export food and raw materials.

We import most of our manufactured goods.
We have created a huge private army.

We are in debt up to our eyeballs.
Unlike every other Western country, we don’t provide health care for our citizens.
We teach to the tests, but our education systems are failing. Most, if not all, the Republican Presidential Candidates, and the President, deny scientific theory.
We manufacture less and less.
We don’t do basic research. American companies that still do basic research do it in Asia.
We, who flew to the moon and back, are giving up the space program.
We design less and less.

We are even selling our infrastructure: our roads, highways, and bridges, to the highest bidder.

Once we inspired the world with hope. The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, these defined the rights of man, all men, and women, and denied the privilege of the self-proclaimed nobility.

Now we allow the government to read our mail and listen to our telephone conversations – for our own protection.

Write your Rep in Congress: in the Senate, and the House.

David Axe reports that the navy is considering reducing the number of helicopter models in service from at least seven to two. (Our minimum number was derived by carefully reading Axe’s piece). This, of course, is very sensible in terms of procurement policy – and, things being what they are – sometimes not politically possible.

Axe makes the case that the two proposed pieces might not suffice, but would if a third, higher-capacity and longer-range model were added.

For those not familiar with his work – I read Axe’s work in Danger Room

and his personal blog, War is Boring – Axe is routinely insightful and original on matters military; and making connections that I find quite helpful and illuminating. (And an excellent cartoonist and artist).

Like crossing S.L.A. Marshall

(I’m thinking here of The Soldier’s Load, rather than his more controversial work) with Malcolm Gladwell and Scott McCloud .