The Collapse Of America's Moment

After reading “What we have to lose” By Theodore Dalrymple, I can conclude that it is a defense of civilization from barbarism. Dalrymple puts forward his main arguments which many come from his own experience with details and examples. Also, the article helps convey to the reader that the greatest threat to our great society comes from within. Dalrymple's article helped enlighten me that today's society has grown so used to civilization that it seems impossible to conceive that it is actually a delicate thing. Dalrymple’s article gives us an important lesson that even though we have countless amount of resources and technology in today's world, society is not unconquerable, and it can vanish.

In the article, “The Future Is Now: It’s Heading Right at Us, But We Never See It Coming”, Joel Achenbach speculates that major advancements are not displayed in the media, discussed by important figures, nor anticipated by the general public; The events taking place are not acknowledged until they are actively making a difference in society. According to Achenbach, the majority of us are oblivious to science and technological advancement, two major development advocates, due to the discourse involved. Most of us have a generalized perception of what is behind major changes in society, and are intimidated by the intellectual process that occurs beforehand. Achenbach then explains how we overlooked a worldwide phenomenon such as the internet.

Jared Diamond is a world renowned scientist, author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and currently a geography professor at UCLA. Of his six books published, we will be looking at the last chapter of his fourth book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. In this book Diamond utilizes the comparative method to find resemblance in past societal collapses with our current society. In the chapter entitled, "The World as Polder: What Does it Mean to Us Today," Diamond points out that there are indeed many parallels between past and present societies and that our modern day society is currently on a path of self destruction , through examples such as globalization and the interdependency of each country.

Projections that have been made about how today’s society and culture will look in the coming years, decades, and centuries, all have yet to be seen in how valid they are. If you look in any sort of media: television, social media, or radio/music, you will see people giving their interpretations of what will become of our world down the road. Yet, few people look to see how our the current state of culture and society reflect the projections made by people in previous years, decades, and centuries. In looking at the visions of the future presented by both novelas, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, and The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster, each story presents aspects of society that prominently appear today. Written during the Industrial Revolution, a time where technology and human innovation was at one of its highest points in recent history, both stories explore the possible effects of the machinery that was becoming evermore present. Both authors present aspects such as omnipotent technology, decaying human independence, and destruction of real communication, to create the artistic statement that complacency is rising within the human race, and that complacency will eventually lead to the fall of mankind. In both stories, the authors speak against human complacency and deference to technology, warning that it will lead to the creation of weaker people and society that will ultimately destroy the human race, yet that complacency is present in today’s culture and due to the

In conclusion, America is losing superpower stature related to greed and over-consumption, bad politics and the need to remain in wars without ends. Americans need to unite as a political force and stop bickering like children between party lines. Instead of saying “no” to everything from the opposing party, be more constructive to find solutions. That shows strength instead of the weakness portrayed by arguing. American’s need to become a more industrial nation as we once were and stop sending the production to other countries to save on the bottom line. Also, a stop to borrowing for mere consumption needs to end. The borrowing should be put to advancing the country

John Mandel’s “Station Eleven” is a story about the undoing of modern civilization, but it also explores the genuine definition of civilization. By telling the story of the degradation of society and including depictions of life both before and after it, Mandel is able to explore society and culture through different perspectives. Mandel, however, gives us a glimmer of hope in her dystopian universe. “WHAT WAS LOST IN THE COLLAPSE: almost everything, almost everyone, but there is still such beauty” (Mandel 57). The novel deduces that while civilization has been created by humans, civilization itself is not what makes us human. In addition, during the collapse, many people can not accept that civilization has truly fallen. This can be shown in the novel’s quote:“‘Are we supposed to believe that civilization has just come to an end?’... ‘it was always a little fragile, wouldn’t you say?’” (Mandel 248). Finally, while we must not take technology and civilization itself for granted, we must also realize that real relationships and human interaction are more important than what is on our

Subject: Reflects how these collapse of historical societies features manifest themselves in American society to gain better idea of what our future holds.

The theory of degeneration sparked public discourse and fear of falling civilization. Julia Reid says the fin de siècle was

In his book, “A Short History of Progress”, Ronald Wright argues that the way things are progressing in society today very closely mimics the progress of our ancient ancestors. If we keep this up, we too will fail just as they did. Much like ancient civilizations, we have become victims to the ideology that we are making progress and have turned a blind eye to certain flaws; the irreparable damage with which this mentality threatens us will prevail in the end. Wright states that “if we see clearly what we are and what we have done, we can recognize human behavior that persists through many times and cultures…this can tell us what we are likely to do, where we are likely to go from here” (pg. 2). In other words, although we cannot foresee the

America is at the brink of becoming a third world country and anyone can see how it is through the American economy. Many Americans have low income jobs or are unemployed, and businesses are leaving the U.S. to continue their operations overseas (Roberts). The economy is a main foundation of America and if it is not doing well then the country as a whole is prosperous.

This essay will examine the rise of “modern America”, there were economic, religious, and aspect of life changes took place and it was greatly changed the Americans society’s perceptions, specifically, the north and the south. The rise of “modern America” was greatly motivated immigrants to come to the United States for economic opportunity, industrialization in the North after the civil war created new businesses and job regulations, and the demand for social changes; all of these factors shaped America socially, politically, and economically.

The word “collapse” has a number of connotations associated with it. Some view it exclusively the degradation of societies of the highest order. Others see it as the complete disintegration of economic prospects and commerce. Some even think of it political ruin with the demise of states and ruling factions that maintain order. The most general definition for collapse can includes elements from these three viewpoints. American anthropologist and historian Joseph A. Tainter is best known for his writings on societal collapses. In 1988 he published his most widely recognized work, The Collapse of Complex Societies.

Societies will always have problems that cause some sort of reaction from individuals who believe that their social stability is being endangered. There have been a number of moral panics which have captivated society in terror and more often than not, owing to unfamiliarity. This essay will discuss the perception of a moral panic and will look at the case of the September 11th Terrorist attack against the United States of America, which triggered a colossal conflict of morality within modern day society. This essay will also analyse terrorism as a perceived deviance, the role of the moral entrepreneur and folk devil, in order to develop a level of understanding to the causes of this particular moral panic and its effects on society.

In 2005, the three reports entitled Innovative America, Tapping America’s Potential, and Rising Above the Gathering Storm, argue that if the U.S. does not improve its science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education the standard of living in the U.S. may decrease and threaten the economy and national security. The reasoning that the proponents use is that with more innovation and technological advancements, exports will increase and benefit the economy, but if there is no innovation this will harm the economy. The three reports, according to the Congressional Research Service, argue that in order to prevent these issues, we must close the academic achievement gaps in STEM, improve the quality of teachers, increase STEM labor supply, improve on international ranking assessments, produce more STEM degrees, and increase the number of H-1B visas issued. One of the most controversial subjects of the STEM movement is that companies are using H1-B visas to employ foreigners at cheaper rates rather than U.S. citizens. However, critics of the STEM movement argue that this is a strategic idea called “Brain Drain” where the U.S. is “draining” the most talented and skilled workers from other countries in order to gain an advantage on a global stage. In order for the U.S. to remain a leader in innovation and STEM education, the issue of H1-B visas needs to be addressed.

I think this article is basically Rupert Murdoch glorifying the United States. He acts as if our country was a godsend to the rest of the world and without it, the world would be in complete ruin. I think its ridiculously ignorant to view our country this way and its actually that mindset that is detrimental to our country. Look at all the other societies that believed they were the most just, enlightened, and powerful people: the Romans, the British, the French, the Spanish. It doesn't last forever. I mean look at the United States's education, health care efficiency, national satisfaction, religious diversity, and peace rankings. The only thing we're #1 in is obesity, prisoners, and women Olympic figure skating gold medals. GO USA! One part