Solemn thoughts from America, the sick giant of the West:
Oh how I long to go back just a few years to the 90s. I had international admiration and significant growth.
I am not sure how things have been going since then. For most of the 2000s, my eyes have been in the Middle East.
From what my sensory neurons have informed me, things haven’t been going so well.
There was a sharp pain from the Gulf Coast region in 2005— something about a storm.
In 2008, I discovered that most of my growth had been due to steroids and I have felt weak since.
A few of my cells are doing OK. Unfortunately, they have little interest in paying this massive debt. They would rather hand that job to the younger cells.
I am not so well-respected by the world anymore. I suppose going to war on unsubstantiated grounds and torturing unconvicted persons damages a reputation.
My decline is not inconspicuous to those who pay attention. My fellow giants of China and Russia have noticed and are becoming more assertive, frightening some of my allies and threatening stability.
What can I do? I would love to rejuvenate without the side-effects of steroids, investing in my future vitality and healthy growth, but that would take some serious exertion.
Besides, I am ambivalent on how to go about this revival process. My right side is so adamant about going one way and my left side so adamant about going the other.
Another contributing factor to my demise is that most of me has no idea what is going on.
A few individual cells cry out, “look at our steady decline. We must be aware of it, be humiliated by it and be stimulated into action towards our rejuvenation and better global engagement. Our fate is ours to choose.”
Most of the other cells could not bother to raise an eyebrow. They are too busy doing incredibly important things like watching Miley Cyrus videos, debating whether the week has felt fast or slow, giggling at cat photos and shooting animated-depictions of walking corpses in make-believe worlds.
And here I sit, the sick giant of the West, in the dark depths of fatalism and indecision, waiting for a sun that will not rise on its own.
If only my cells could muster their collective will, it could be hoisted up in the name of peace and stability for the entire world to enjoy.
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