The Next Super Power!

@TG:

Hmmm… it’ll be pretty hard to defeat a country like the US in the event of a World War… again,

I think the US will lose their superpower status by growing decadent out of ignorance out of arrogance…
just my two cents, but that usually is the way superpowers fell in history. Maybe in the last breaths a war by emerging other powers helped to speed up the “falling down process”, but i don’t think that a war is needed.

I am just wondering… do you have any hard evidence to support this statement? :o

the brits ignored india

@TG:

I am just wondering… do you have any hard evidence to support this statement? :o

geez TG.
F_alk prefaced everything with “i think” and “my two cents”. That’s the best “this is my opinion sign” on the planet. He didn’t cite facts, so i think that he’s prolly somewhat immune from having to supply hard evidence.
To be honest, although i do not entirely agree with him, i definitely agree that much of what he says has a lot of merit. IMO, not prepared to supply hard evidence.

I am just wondering do the vast majority of Americans hold his “decadent out of ignorance out of arrogance…” Also pure arrogance alone cannot lead to a downfall of a power as long as those claims can be backed. So far, I see no views of Americans getting less ignorant. This seems awfully subjective to me… :o

It’s only ignorance depending on which direction you’re viewing it from. Did it ever occur to you that maybe they’re the ones who are ignorant? :roll: Have you ever stopped to think that they’re ignorant when it comes to living peaceful and meaningful lives? :-?

We live in the most just and fair country on this planet. It’s this way becuase we don’t wage “war” against each other simply becuase of religious beliefs. We support leaders who practice and uphold our own ideals of freedom and democracy, and we’d be quick to knock down those who wish to oppress us. :-?

If we’re going to speak of ignorance, look at the entire picture. EVERYBODY IS IGNORANT is some aspect of their thinking. I get tired of hearing people throw out fallacious comments that Americans are ignorant. What the hell are we so ignorant about, that it’s going to destroy our country eventually??

@F_alk:

@TG:

Hmmm… it’ll be pretty hard to defeat a country like the US in the event of a World War… again,

I think the US will lose their superpower status by growing decadent out of ignorance out of arrogance…
just my two cents, but that usually is the way superpowers fell in history. Maybe in the last breaths a war by emerging other powers helped to speed up the “falling down process”, but i don’t think that a war is needed.

It really sounds like you’re talking abut the German reichs F_alk. I only wish the Third Reich would not have taken so long to fall.

On the issue of the British, yes they were doomed, but they did some wonderful and some horrible things in the 20th century. Thanks to Churchill and the British World War 2 was won, had they given up in the Battle of Britain who knows how it would have ended. but they also did some horrible things such how they treated India, their control over South Africa and how they left the Jews to die in a war against he Arabs in 1948. All empires eventually fall, Germany had two world wars to seeped up her fall, the Soviet Union fell and I predict that the US will fall. I have no hard proof, but I just have a feeling that history’s repitition will keep on going. Maybe it will be another American Civil War, or maybe it wil lbe over a long period of time, but I still believe it will happen.

@Deviant:Scripter:

It’s only ignorance depending on which direction you’re viewing it from. Did it ever occur to you that maybe they’re the ones who are ignorant? :roll: Have you ever stopped to think that they’re ignorant when it comes to living peaceful and meaningful lives? :-?

We live in the most just and fair country on this planet. It’s this way becuase we don’t wage “war” against each other simply becuase of religious beliefs. We support leaders who practice and uphold our own ideals of freedom and democracy, and we’d be quick to knock down those who wish to oppress us. :-?

If we’re going to speak of ignorance, look at the entire picture. EVERYBODY IS IGNORANT is some aspect of their thinking. I get tired of hearing people throw out fallacious comments that Americans are ignorant. What the hell are we so ignorant about, that it’s going to destroy our country eventually??

Based on conversations w/ Americans, i can easily answer the first part of your last question:
the rest of the world (sans vacation spots). Every Canadian has several personal anecdotes about dealing w/ Americans and their absolute ignorance about what happens once you cross the border. It really is amazing.
“Canadian? Do you know John Smith in Toronto”?
“do you live in an igloo?” “have you ever been attacked by a polar bear?”
There’s an entire tv show that showcases American’s ignorance about Canada (Rick Mercer Speaks to Americans). George Bush in the Michigan primaries thought that our Prime Minister’s name was “Poutine”!!! Poutine is fries w/ Gravy and cheese curds!!!
idiots.

I actually know people who’ve told me that Americans have asked them if they live in igloos when they were in the United States. In Vermont, the americans couldn’t believe we Canadians spoke English because they kept on getting all the people from Quebec coming over.

I think you are taking satire on too high of a grounds. Certainly I am a American and I know enough of your country to know that “Canada is not filled with Igloos and rampant Polar Bears…” :o
I can say that ever person is different. You see it where you go, you see it on these forums. To simply label one group as ignorant is a severe miscalcuation. And if we are ignorant than you should have no problem thrashing me. Go ahead, do it if you dare…

Well TG, you’re obviously correct.
I am ignorant about a great many things. I pass by many news articles that hold no interest to me. I don’t know the names of the heads of states of many countries whose names i don’t know as well (or prolly couldn’t pronounce).
I think that if you compared “world geography and history knowledge” between citizens of the US and those of many other 1st world countries, you would find a large margin of a difference (in general terms, of course). Whereas Americans know a great deal about their own communittees, states and even much of their country, they tend to know less about the outside (relatively speaking).
I could not presume to find the poll on this or the hard evidence. Maybe give me some time and impetus . . . F_alk? you have anything?

And how long before “history repeats itself” I may ask…

the US will fall :evil:

:wink:

@DasEwokSS:

omg why is it that peoples only arguement is that History Repeats itself. History doesnt always repeat itself, for example u could say that in early 1940 Germany would never conquer France becuase History has shown that in WW1 they got into a slow moving war of attrition and eventully lost. (excluding the Franco Prussian War) ;) just because it happend before doesnt necisarily mean it will happen again, as of right now we are in the present and we can change the future, so if us Yanks play our Cards right, maybe we wont end up like ther other EMpires. i mean u never know ;) thats my two cents

ps
and thats just my opinion ;)

Maybe the US won’t fall. But let’s look at those empires that did fall:We have the Egyptian Empire, the Babylonian, Empire, the Assyrian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Ptolmeic Empire, the Parthian Empire, the Seleucid Empire, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire(First German Reich). The Spanish Empire, the Portuguese Empire, the Russian Empire, the French Empire, the Aztec Empire, the German Empire (Second German Reich), the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, the Third Reich, and the Japanese Empire.

BTW, I missed quite a few. But there’s a list. Do you honestly believe America can actually avoid this trend?

America will fall, but don’t be so sure that it will be anytime soon…

We are an empire, just like all of those others listed, but ONE factor must be kept in mind. We are the first empire to WILLINGLY cease expansion. In fact, when we stopped expanding, we grew in power. This factor throws a monkey wrench into the idea of how long we may last. Most of those other empires continually invaded other places to grow in wealth and power, but we found a way to do that from home. Many other nations still hate us, though, even though we send so much aid out… or maybe it’s just unneccesary jealousy? They would have the same wealth and power if they would also adopt freedom and capitalism, so I don’t feel sorry for them…

Maybe the US won’t fall. But let’s look at those empires that did fall:We have the Egyptian Empire, the Babylonian, Empire, the Assyrian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Ptolmeic Empire, the Parthian Empire, the Seleucid Empire, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire(First German Reich). The Spanish Empire, the Portuguese Empire, the Russian Empire, the French Empire, the Aztec Empire, the German Empire (Second German Reich), the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, the Third Reich, and the Japanese Empire.

Look and examine what did this empires in, you will see US practically holds none of these major disadvantages. In most cases, the fall of one Empire, through conquest, led to the creation of another. But in those times, the World was a much smaller place and frankly undiscovered. There was no United Nations or whatnot.

America will fall, but don’t be so sure that it will be anytime soon…

Again I ask for evidence (and the not papers on the rants of Pat Buchanan)… so far none has been provided… :-?

@Deviant:Scripter:

It’s only ignorance depending on which direction you’re viewing it from. Did it ever occur to you that maybe they’re the ones who are ignorant? :roll: Have you ever stopped to think that they’re ignorant when it comes to living peaceful and meaningful lives? :-?

Who are oyu talking of exactly, DS?
And for the direction of viewing… you must have travelled far… ;)

We live in the most just and fair country on this planet.

lol rofl lmao ….
“the”… and i bet there are still people out there who wouldn’t call that ignorant or arrogant, right?

If we’re going to speak of ignorance, look at the entire picture. EVERYBODY IS IGNORANT is some aspect of their thinking. I get tired of hearing people throw out fallacious comments that Americans are ignorant. What the hell are we so ignorant about, that it’s going to destroy our country eventually??

Your first statement is true, unfortunately for the world and mankind.
The second one: You are ignorant about the rest of the world.
You say “lat’s bomb Canada” (see the other thread), call it a joke and presumably would wonder when they are pissed at you. You press hard against one country which defied the UN, and support another one who did the same and is just a few kms away from the first…. there is so much more to list, which you wouldn’t think that it appears arrogant or ignorant to the rest of the world, but it still is there.