Americans Grow Despondent - With Good Reason

Americans are sullen, gloomy, despondent, morose [pick your favorite adjective] and with very good reason. April's polls show 81% of Americans believe we are headed in the wrong direction, and they are absolutely right. And their fears and anxieties are not based on our political direction, they go much deeper then that. Overwhelmingly, people do not believe any President or other government body can help this country "turn things around", and I say it's about time that they realized that fact. America was not made a country and people to emulate, by our politicians, but rather the people and industries that make up the basis of our real power.

Faced with the rapidly rising prices and the loss of personal wealth (reported to be in the trillions of dollars), everything else that is happening to America and the rest of the world is amplified significantly. For the first time since in more then 30 years, a large and significant number of Americans are faced with a diminished life style. There is no question, 10's of millions of Americans are facing a reduction in the quality of life they are accustomed to.

It is not just those facts, those personal things that are making Americans gloomy. They see a changing world in which past the accomplishments and the associated status of those accomplishments has been disrupted, and in many cases they sense America is not leading the way.

America itself is suffering a loss of status as a world leader in the eyes of many people around the world. Although this is a perception, brought on by biased reporting of a liberally slanted media, it is a reality to those that perceive it to be. Once looked upon with by people from other countries as the leader of everything imaginable, they now turn to dozens of other countries as being the best, the most, the biggest, the tallest, the brightest, in almost every category. We are just not what we once were, and we will not be for some time to come.

America no longer has the world's tallest building, the largest publicly traded company, the biggest oil refineries, the largest airliner is not built here any longer. We no longer have the worlds largest casino, the biggest movie industry, the largest ferris wheel and even this long time standing American icon has been usurped, the world's largest shopping mall.

While my list is somewhat arbitrary, it reflects the shift that has taken place in the world. A relatively short time ago, 10 years or so, we would have led in all of those categories. Many would argue that these things don't really matter; or do they? I think they do. The reflect several things, the most important of which is attitude.

Now I'll move on to things that seem to matter more to some, but no more important then those previously listed. Of the 25 companies poised to to become multi-national stars, none are in the United States, and only two are from China. The countries with majority of these emerging companies are Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan and South Korea. The rest of the world is growing at an enormous rate, 124 other economies grew more then 4% for the past two years.

These facts, at first glance, appear to be the basis of our perceived power, when in fact they not. We are still the world leader in many areas, most importantly our military, but also in money markets, human rights, the list is very long. America is still looked to by the worlds leaders and emulated by most of the worlds governments. The UK, Germany, France, Eastern Europe and even India have elected leaders that are far more Americanized then their predecessors. Could this emulation be the reason they are beginning to take on more of a leadership role in the world?

A shift in power is taking place, whether we like it or not, and we will no longer be considered the overall number one power in the world. It is this loss of American dominance of the world that is troubling most Americans, perhaps they only realize it unconsciously, but that feeling is real.

Our news outlets shout it out everyday, publishing lists of the best of this or that. The one that I find most striking, personally, is that only 2 of the worlds richest individuals are Americans. While we all think it's the worlds oil barons, it is not just them.

However, it's not all doom and gloom for America. We are a land of resilient people, smart people, and hard working people. When we get fed up with our slide into oblivion, we'll pull up our socks, roll up our sleeves and get back to what it is we do best, live well and prosper.

We will soon get fed up with do nothing politicians, rising oil prices, limiting factors from extremist groups, a starving world. We will once again take control of our destinies, and instead of demanding our government do something, we Americans will do it. We will do whatever it takes to make it happen. We will regain our prominence in wealth, technology, industry and supply. This country is built on those cornerstones, they are still there and they still hold us tall. We need a new house, and we will rebuild it from the ground up, upon those very same cornerstones laid down by our founding fathers.

No matter what you think, no matter how you feel, the election in November will have little to do with our return to world power, because it will take longer then any one President's term and it will be done by everyday Americans, not a politician.