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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Jan 27, 2012/ 3 Shevat, 5772
Is America in Decline?
By
Suzanne Fields
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
There's a debate just behind the Republican search for a winning candidate, just at the edges of President Obama's campaign for re-election, about whether America is finished. These debaters put it in the form of a polite academic question: Is America in decline?
The debate, as such intellectual exercises always are, is restricted so far to the small but influential magazines read by the chattering class. When New Criterion magazine called for a symposium on the subject last spring, the editors were surprised to find they had tapped into the "pulse of the zeitgeist." A headline in Foreign Affairs magazine asks bluntly, "Is America Over?" Both liberals and conservatives argue over how to stop what they perceive as the national slide.
This isn't the first time such a notion has been raised in such circles. During the Cold War, the pessimists, intimidated by Soviet superiority of arms buildup and the tight control of the countries behind the Iron Curtain, prophesied impending doom. This lasted right up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Jimmy Carter called it "malaise," and many Americans, frightened by the sight of America (or at least Jimmy Carter) held hostage by Iran, agreed with the president that America was beginning to slip and slide.
But the recognition of decline can enable a comeback. Ronald Reagan entered stage right, proclaiming that it was "morning in America." The sobered Iranians returned the hostages the minute the new president took the oath of office, and soon Americans saw themselves as residents once more in the shining city on the hill. We had been at risk of decline before. When the Soviets sent Sputnik into space and vaunted American technology was severely challenged, the nation was galvanized into getting its act together, and soon Americans were on their way to plant an American flag on the moon.
The threat today is both foreign and domestic, which might be summed up in a tweak of lyrics from the musical "Cabaret": "A lack of money, money, money." High unemployment, a collapsed housing market and astronomical debt contribute to the inability to live up to the nation's heritage. Abandoned cultural habits and attitudes, a loss of belief and pride in the very idea of America are enough to sow doubts in the heart of any patriot.
What's at risk, it seems to me, is confidence in what's special about us, that what the Founding Fathers gave us is unique. The social critic Andrew McCarthy calls it "our conceit that the key to human flourishing is the free individual — steeped in a tradition unapologetically built on Judeo-Christian principles of equality, justice, dignity and sacrifice, flavored with a distinctly American confidence, optimism and sense of adventure." This is what Abraham Lincoln called American exceptionalism.
It's a cliche that Barack Obama is happiest when he's apologizing for America being what it is, but he does more than apologize for the nation's flaws. He continues on a course to fundamentally transform the United States from a nation of limited government to a welfare society dependent on government whim. It's a recipe for decline.
As early as 2001, when not many of us were listening, Obama scorned the legacy of the Warren Supreme Court for, of all things, having flinched when it could have addressed the need for the redistribution of wealth. His State of the Union address this week ignored his responsibility for increasing the national debt and celebrated his vision of a different America. His speech, observed Yuval Levin, a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, "offered a vision of a profoundly technocratic and activist government, with its hands in every nook and cranny of the nation's economic life."
The president offered no recipe for reforming entitlements, with its accumulated debt of $15 trillion, projected to be $22 trillion within a decade. We'll soon run out of zeroes. This debt to entitlements will impoverish future generations and neither Obama — nor Congress — can man up with practical solutions. It's the political class that's in decline.
Entrepreneurial enterprise and ingenuity remain as the source of American vitality. A president who understands America and how it works, of what works and what fails, could silence the talk of decline. Mitt Romney, who says he is that man, is specific about identifying the economic regulations and taxes that make businesses reluctant to expand. He quotes Margaret Thatcher: "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana, in the Republican rebuttal to the president's State of the Union address, strikes a rebuttal as well to the faint-hearted disciples of decline. "There is nothing wrong with the state of our union that the American people, addressed as free-born, mature citizens, cannot set right." That sounds right to me.
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Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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