Old Glory has flown proudly over the United States, in one form or another, since thirteen colonies joined together to form a republic. From that point forward, it has been the symbol of freedom and courage for much of the world. For the last 200 years, it has been a symbol of stability and leadership throughout the world. Today, July 6, 2016, two days after the 240th anniversary of the United States declaring its independence from England, some people feel the final decades of the United States of America are at hand.

OneOldCop would have scoffed at such alarmist claptrap in times past. The United States has survived far longer than anyone could have predicted. It seems the founders worked a near miracle. They successfully forged a system of government and founding documents which kept the country growing and leading the world for almost two and a half centuries. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more difficult to believe this trend will continue.

OneOldCop opined in Creeping Feudalism, Stuck in the Middle and Enabler in Chief that the country was headed in the wrong direction. Government is growing and doing its best to make the general population increasingly dependent on the U.S. version of the dole. In the few short years this blog has been in existence, the slide toward a country that few of the aptly named Greatest Generation would recognize seems to have accelerated.

Consider the development of the globalization movement. In a few short decades it has grown significantly. Originally it was touted as an economic interdependency philosophy which would keep global markets growing and prosperity spreading around the world. Now, it is clearly a political movement hoping to make the world one big happy, border-free paradise. You know, something like the oh so successful European Union, but worldwide.

Of course, simply having people in the United States push globalization will not make it a reality. There would need to be fundamental changes within the United States to make this country move in that direction. For instance, the U.S. would need to have some serious economic problems it could not deal with on its own. Since this is one of the richest countries in the world that is not likely to happen. Right?

Another problem is the pesky balance of power issue. The founders set up a system of different, but equal, governmental institutions to avoid the problem of royal decrees or presidential fiat. The Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch had different responsibilities, power and authority. The system includes checks and balances designed to keep the president from becoming a dictator. There would never be a situation where the president could simply pick and choose the laws he or she wished to enforce, pass laws unilaterally and impervious to congressional oversight. Of course not!

Beyond the economic and governmental concerns there is the matter of morality. The United States was founded on specific moral principals and beliefs. These were based on the concept that each person was endowed with certain unalienable rights that could not be taken away from them without due process of law. By that, given the circumstances under which the country was founded, everyone understood these rights were not subject to laws of other countries, the belief systems in other nations or the beliefs of other faith systems within the U. S. Freedom of religion was a basic right, and a major reason for the colonization of the area known today as the United States of America.

There was also the fact the country was founded by a group of independent constituencies that became known as states. The various states of these united states, retained the power and authority to govern their affairs without interference from the federal government. Of course, there were some powers that were granted to the federal government, but the states were designed to be self-governing entities. There would never come a time when the federal government told a state government what laws it must pass, and how it should run its affairs. No state would ever have to give up its sovereignty because the federal government wanted to control its citizens more closely.

Can you sense sarcasm? If OneOldCop’s sarcastic tone has not been clear, a good deal of the narrative above was tongue in cheek at best. The reality is that politicians will find a way to expand their power. Whether they do it through the law or by going around the law it will happen.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president who led the biggest shift in the governance of the United States. Under his administration and leadership, the country took its first steps toward a society susceptible to a world government. It is ironic that Roosevelt himself seemed to be an isolationist. Yet, he started the country down the slope toward full-blown dependency. From that point forward, it seems presidents became more and more focused on growing government and controlling the population. Even some so-called conservative leaders made decisions and polices leading the country closer to what seems is its ultimate fate.

President Eisenhower’s efforts to improve the country’s security and ability to survive an invasion led to more government control through a form of federal blackmail. President Johnson’s efforts to improve society and leave a legacy led the country even farther down the path to a society of dependence. Since that time, with few exceptions, presidents either led the way in moving the country closer to a position where it might be susceptible to a push for globalization, or they have done nothing to prevent this threat.

Today, the United States is many steps closer to a form of government that might lead the way to an E. U. style globalization effort.  The powers that be are pushing what one might call a form of democratic feudalism. In such a system, the populace votes for the leader they believe will give them what they want, and the leader then works to fulfill those desires with which he or she agrees.  The leader can almost unilaterally implement policies or changes he or she wants, because the voters supported them.

Today the United States of America stands on the edge of uncertainty. Many groups within the nation are frustrated by the slow progress being made on their agendas. The balance of powers protections are seen by these groups as an impediment to progress. To make matters worse, those who, at least technically, oppose the consolidation of power and influence looming on the political horizon seem determined to undermine the constituencies which have supported them in the past.

The title of this piece asked a question in a way. Has Old Glory and what it stands for faded, or have the people of this country lost the vision that led to the country’s independence? In this writer’s opinion, it is a lot of both. Whether by design, incompetency or both, the leadership in this country has dropped the ball that was passed to it by earlier generations.

For most of the 20th century, the country’s leadership continued to build a society and culture based on accountability, perseverance, honor and courage. Today, the country is producing a society based on instant gratification, personal preferences, relativism and victimhood. In years past, young people would have been challenged to do things for themselves, stand on their own two feet, and not expect everything to be cotton candy and roses.

In the modern world of the 21st century, young people are being taught their problems are the result of the evil people who invaded this country and then tore it away from the European rules who colonized it. Instead of courageous pioneers, the founders of this country are portrayed as bigoted, misogynistic criminals who raped and pillaged a pristine land and its innocent people.  Instead of courageous defenders of freedom worldwide, young people are being told their parents and grandparents were imperialistic dogs.

Those who are fighting so hard to discredit this country, its founders and its standing in the world are making a mistake. If their efforts are successful, it is almost certain the bigoted, misogynistic criminals who are currently raping and tearing apart the rest of  the world will focus more fully and directly upon the U. S. When they show up here in mass, who will have the courage to stand in their way?

© OneOldCop – 2016