We're Obsolete?

Great think piece at this link: http://www.salon.com/news/us_economy/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/07/27/american_people_obsolete

The author makes some valid points. He could have made an even stronger case by linking the current situation with the tottering Roman Empire. When they were no longer fighting for survival of their country, but mere expansion of empire, as our country is doing now, the Roman citizens rightfully wondered why they should serve in the Legions, to go off and die for nothing in a foreign land that treated them as the invaders and occupiers they were. Far better to hire mercenaries to do the bleeding and dying for you. The US now uses its own brand of mercenaries (contractors) in our empire occupations, and apparently, cannot run without them. Hmmm. We should rethink this, or go the way of the Roman Empire.

The patriotic men and women who serve in our armed forces see the mercenaries get better equipment, pay, and protection than they do. Our troops get injured (physically and psychologically) and then shafted when they don't receive the care they should. And given the numerous Arlington Cemetery scandals, they don't even get proper burial honors. Disgusting treatment from a government that expects them to offer themselves as sacrifices, with no return.

And all we get as news of the occupation are lies. The latest Wikileaks affair reveals thousands of official documents showing the unending insane cluster**** that is our "mission" there. Our troops dying, their civilians dying, an unending cycle of misery and death and waste, all for nothing. This is utter madness.

And then we hear of our "allies" in Pakistan using the money we give them to fund the Taliban. Your tax dollars are paying for our troops to be killed. Wonder if the Tea Partiers will ever protest that little fact? No, they're too busy fighting against overrides to make their local schools better.

As in the Roman Empire, when the rich got super-rich and the poor got progressively poorer, the whole structure was in trouble, and began to fall. We need to take a good hard look at our actions and make changes now, before we become the next empire to fall. When a nation no longer has anyone in charge but the oligarchs, we are doomed. Right now, the super-rich are ruining the nation, and waging war on the middle class. They are sowing the seeds of destruction for us all.