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People and personal relationships are complex, and completely irrelevant to the topic in discussion.
Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
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Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#12Broken Clock is right twice a day.
A civilization declines? If I didn't read history, I'd be shocked.
Isnt America still number 1 in GDP and the only regional hedgemon?
"I predict that America will decline." Someone write an article, I will be correct at some point.
And on the comments about superstition... religion is at an all-time low... So, I suppose that isnt perfectly correct.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#13[flagged]
People and personal relationships are complex, and completely irrelevant to the topic in discussion.
I don't think they are completely irrelevant. I certainly hold in much higher esteem, people who have long lasting marriages, compared to people who keep switching partners.
At the same time, people are complex and nobody is without flaws.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#14Broken Clock is right twice a day. A civilization declines? If I didn't read history, I'd be shocked. Isnt America still number 1 in GDP and the only regional hedgemon? "I predict that America will decline." Someone write an article, I will be correct at some point. And on the comments about superstition... religion is at an all-time low... So, I suppose that isnt perfectly correct.
I feel using the GDP as a metric to assess how a country is doing, is unreasonable.
If you look at wealth distribution, housing, cost of living, future prospects for young people, actual policies, you get a better picture.
The picture the USA is showing looks like a horror show to me.
Carl Sagan was right and the Right understood him well. Buying up radio stations, media to mold the larger public into a state where you basically have inoculated them against any form of nuance or reason gains you the power to overthrow democracy.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#15Broken Clock is right twice a day. A civilization declines? If I didn't read history, I'd be shocked. Isnt America still number 1 in GDP and the only regional hedgemon? "I predict that America will decline." Someone write an article, I will be correct at some point. And on the comments about superstition... religion is at an all-time low... So, I suppose that isnt perfectly correct.
Superstition doesn't have to be religious; we live in a so-called "post-truth" era where everyone gets to pick and choose their reality of choice. The magical thinking is still alive, we just don't pray to the same churches anymore.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#16Broken Clock is right twice a day. A civilization declines? If I didn't read history, I'd be shocked. Isnt America still number 1 in GDP and the only regional hedgemon? "I predict that America will decline." Someone write an article, I will be correct at some point. And on the comments about superstition... religion is at an all-time low... So, I suppose that isnt perfectly correct.
> Isnt America still number 1 in GDP and the only regional hedgemon?
No, GDP has a few ways to measure it, China beats the US on some of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)
I think China is also as much of a *regional* hedgemon as the US.
Might argue the EU as well, the Brussels effect etc., but that's less clear. Even after Brexit, the GDP-PPP is very close to the USA, though it is also definitely behind the USA.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#17Broken Clock is right twice a day. A civilization declines? If I didn't read history, I'd be shocked. Isnt America still number 1 in GDP and the only regional hedgemon? "I predict that America will decline." Someone write an article, I will be correct at some point. And on the comments about superstition... religion is at an all-time low... So, I suppose that isnt perfectly correct.
Superstition doesn't have to be religious; we live in a so-called "post-truth" era where everyone gets to pick and choose their reality of choice. The magical thinking is still alive, we just don't pray to the same churches anymore.
Exactly.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#18From a geopolitical perspective, the real concern isn’t just whether America is in decline, but whether we are witnessing a broader cycle of decline across Western civilization, or even globally. While competition between nations is important, it isn’t enough on its own. What we truly need is a world where the average person has more viable options, economically, politically, and technologically. If our current systems are stagnating, the focus should be on creating new pathways for individual prosperity rather than just shifting power between competing states.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#19[flagged]
About as salient as the style of shoes he preferred.
Re: Carl Sagan Predicts the Decline of America (1995)
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
People and personal relationships are complex, and completely irrelevant to the topic in discussion.
I don't think they are completely irrelevant. I certainly hold in much higher esteem, people who have long lasting marriages, compared to people who keep switching partners. At the same time, people are complex and nobody is without flaws.
From the outside we can see longe marriages as cute, but that is only that.
Better switch partners and seek hapinness than to live in a bad marriage.
People change and so should relationships if the people in it don't find them suitable.
My views, which, again, all this discussion is not relevant to article.