World News – by Dallas Darling
The “too big to fail” premise has become a popular slogan in U.S. political and economic theories. According to proponents, the theory ascertains that some institutions are so large and important and vital that they must be supported at all costs. However, from corporations and financial institutions to government bureaucracies and social programs, over-taxation, cronyism, inefficiency and moral ineptitude is causing many to question and challenge such a preposterous notion. In reality, universal truths and historical cycles reveal just the opposite. What some perceive to be as too big to fail always becomes “too big not to fail.” And bailouts create more problems and cause more hard hardships.
The U.S.‘s too big to fail illusions are collapsing on two major fronts today, foreign and domestic. Both foreign nations and stateless groups are challenging U.S. militarism, corporatism and its global homogenization of the world. China, Russia, Syria, Iran, Pakistan and African and Latin American political and economic blocs are defying U.S. geopolitical and national interests, as can be observed in Ukraine, Pacific regions, Asia, Venezuela and North Africa. At the same time, a myriad of stateless organizations are on the rise, even battling and reversing U.S. military and corporate aims in Iraq, Syria, Libya and parts of the Pacific and South America.
Domestically, a drastic decline in the U.S.’s standard of living, working wages and middle-class salaries, coupled with an upswing of unemployment, has left many questioning U.S. financial, corporate and government institutions. It is rapidly declining in manufacturing and innovative technologies. With expenditures increasing in education, goods, services and healthcare, some have resigned their civic duties and responsibilities. Others try to escape and make reality disappear by pursing extreme entertainment venues or by experimenting with abusive drugs. Still, some have utterly fled the U.S.
All around the globe the impression that the U.S. is number-one is slipping away. American Exceptionalism is becoming American Ordinaryism. Forces are pummeling it to the extent that even the U.S. military is becoming helpless, losing its power to combat let alone dominate. Long tested alliances have vanished too. In the past when nations or empires floundered in their illusions, perceptions grew more foggy. Policies became more fatalistic. This is why many feel a deep seated uneasiness and are dissatisfied. It is the reason presidential approval ratings for domestic and foreign policies since World War II have plunged. Especially during second-terms and after Vietnam and Watergate.
In some animal species where a leader gradually emerges but can no longer maintain their preeminence, when challenged by other upcoming creatures of the same group they avert their eyes and try ignoring or wishing such challengers will disappear. The U.S. is now at this crucial stage. But America‘s too big to fail illusions regarding militarism, corporatism and governance is being challenged from many sides and from many groups of peoples, externally and internally. This is why thePentagon has already prepared contingency plans to be used against its own citizens. But even the Pentagon has for some time transformed itself into a too big not to fail reality, just like the U.S. Empire.
Dallas Darling (darling@wn.com)
(Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John‘s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, andPeace. He is a correspondent for www.worldnews.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.)
http://article.wn.com/view/2014/06/24/Is_US_Stuck_in_Too_Big_To_Fail_Illusions/