Over the past decade, I have begun to feel apprehension about the future of America.
I feel as I did in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 1943 while heading to the war zone in Europe; a wolf pack of submarines secreted under turbulent seas, Stuka dive bombers and German 88 anti-tank guns ringing the coastline of countries where I was heading.
My training had been shooting at sleeves being towed behind slow-moving aircraft. I was as prepared as basic training could prepare me. I felt uneasy while on duty scanning the towering waves for the source of possible death.
Soaked by frigid spray and shivering, I tried hard to remember the warmth of the potbellied stove on the farm back home. It failed.
I do the same thing today as I sense crumbling confidence in America: economic chaos, societal fractures, diminishing morals, obsequiousness to golden idols, over-crowded jails, rampant fraud and looters pillaging exhausted victims of natural disasters.
To distract people from reality, we are being fed a menu of superficiality: reality shows and nonsensical talk shows on television, glitzy award banquets, screaming musicians, X-rated movies, humorless comedians, bleeped filth on TV and commercials produced for simian minds. Pickpockets use similar tactics while emptying your pockets.
I often awaken late at night thinking about the callousness of soulless killers, the extreme disparities between haves and have-nots, the desperation of the jobless and the extravagance of the wealthy.
I think of the ostrich with its head in the sand while a hungry lion pride is approaching. And I wonder what my grandchildren will face in the future. It is a different world, fragmenting and unpredictable.
At one time, I had confidence in government. I have become disillusioned with the stagnation in Washington, the mind-numbing tax burden, the incredible extravagance of officials and their fractious dissension.
I long for the time when there were family-oriented programs on television, when the test pattern appeared at midnight, when intellectually stimulating commercials and shows were programmed instead of contemporary blight.
Having read history, I am aware of the ancient societies that emerged, thrived and died because of overpopulation, debilitating aggression, greed, corruption and apathy. Remember that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Living in luxury, Marie Antoinette had contempt for impoverished people, leading to the French Revolution. She was guillotined.
While millions suffer in poverty and homeless roam city streets, I see Lamborghini and Bugatti luxury cars in gated communities. I see golden logging chains around the necks of sports millionaires. I see ostentatious mansions and freezing hobo-jungles.
I see desperate people doing desperate things to survive during troubled times. I sense our nation is losing control of its destiny. And late at night, I worry about America’s permanence.
Bill York lives in Stone Mountain. Reach him at Sioux2222@gmail.com
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