Thought for the Day 7/16/07

When scanning my subscribed sites, I decided to look into "The Fischbowl". I found a question that took to my liking; it stated: Everyone grows and dies; the same is true of countries. The only question is how long one can postpone the inevitable. In the case of some countries, life spans can be very long, so it is worth asking whether the United States is in adolescence, middle age, or old age. Do science and technology accelerate or offset the demise? And finally, how many stars will be in the U.S. flag in fifty years? There has yet to be a single U.S. president buried under the same flag he was born under, yet we often take continuity for granted.- Juan Enriquez, p. 282

In my own personal opinion, I believe that as stated, countries are personified to an extent where they can "live" or "die"; life and death in this sense presents the reader with two conclusions. One, that the nation is prosperous in one or many perspectives and exists at the present time (living) or two, the nation simply becomes nonexistent or has failed to become prosperous in many aspects (dead). Yes, once a nation of the world falls into a state of lacking in a significant number of fields, it may be considered dead.

In a situation where a country is undoubtedly weakening, it depends heavily on the rate of the country's abolishment to determine the time until the "death". If the rate at which the country is declining is slower, then, the time until "death" will be longer. On the contrary, when the rate of declination increases the time until "death" will also decline.

If adolescence is defined as the "learning" stage in life, if middle- aged is defined as "the starting to get it point", and if old age is the "reaching death" point in life, then, I believe that America as a country is basking in the warmth of its middle period. When the lands of North America were settled by early English Pilgrims, the territory entered a new era in its time period. As America developed, many mistakes were made and many lives lost, but America persisted through its early career. It then arrived at its "proficient" point where it developed based on its own learned lessons of the past. America has not met its old age, for, it is in no immediate danger of becoming nonexistent or a lacking nation.

When faced with the question of technology slowing or accelerating the “death” of a country, I will present the following. It depends. If the “death” is very evident and unavoidable, then the scientific and technological knowledge we as humans possess will not suffice in order to prevent a “death”. If the country is at a stage where it can see death in the future further away, scientific and technological advances may be able to aid the country in its climb towards proficiency. As normal “deaths” of nations are primarily caused by the poor marketing conditions and economics, technological advances in goods may help companies sell more products, earn more money, and as a result, pull the endangered country out of jeopardy. Likewise, scientific breakthroughs may lead a country to fortune through the utilization of their science in sold products. Although science and technology can be used in such a way as to postpone “death”, it can also be used negatively to speed the process. When products are stripped of their scientific and/or technological values, sales for the product will diminish. If enough products are affected, the process of “death” will quicken.

The question of America’s lust for power or belief in freedom is imperialism. Imperialistic societies are ones that encompass great amounts of land and the natives who inhabit the possesed lands. They do not view the conquered natives as valuable and do not grant them many freedoms. Today, we know that the American flag bears fifty symbolic stars. If new territory is gained, more stars will be added. Is America power hungry or freedom driven? If in the future America becomes maybe intimidated by neighboring empires or bored, it may turn to the idea of imperialism for answers. If so, our flag will bear more than the fifty stars it does presently. If, on the other hand, America is still the way it is today and values freedom for any person, our flag face may never change.