The Way America Was Supposed to Be

One of my favorite sites is that of James P. Hogan. In this article he quotes one of my favorite writers, Richard Maybury.

"According to the War Forecast Part One and Part Two (March 2004, reprinted from May and June 2002 respectively) posted in Richard Maybury's U.S. & World Early Warning Report, Washington has become the biggest loose cannon in history. It wasn't what those who shaped alliance of States that came into existence after 1776 wanted, and it didn't have to happen. What was a huge mistake will be undone, he says, and after a temporary period of confusion America will get back on track to being what it should have been in the first place."

The Constitutional Convention of 1787 threw out the original Articles of Confederation and created the federal government as a new layer of government above the States in what Maybury describes as a disguised military coup. Patrick Henry and the other anti-federalists feared that the central government would become too large and powerful to control. It took a while, but following the dismantling of restraints in earnest under Lincoln, the behemoth grew, attracting power-seekers, to the point where it has been interfering in the affairs of other countries for over 100 years. U.S . troops were sent into foreign conflicts no fewer than 188 times during the 20th century--more than for any other nation. When fear and distaste for a government reach global proportions, the overwhelming likelihood is that one way or another it will "follow into oblivion the thousands of other governments that have disappeared over the ages." Americans will return to the Articles of Confederation or something similar, realizing that they don't need a federal government and never did. The Agriculture Department produces no food, the Transportation Department transports nothing, and the Education Department never taught anybody anything. After Washington is gone, farmers will continue growing corn, Detroit and Boeing will produce cars and planes, and teachers will arrive at the schools each morning.

But who will defend the country? In Maybury's view, nobody would have the time or the resources to think seriously about invading it. The leaders of the 94 regimes currently run by US-supported crooks & tyrants will all be facing uprisings and civil wars and too preoccupied with survival. As for domestic issues, the European Central Bank provides a model of how the States between them would be quite capable of managing such obligations as bond repayments and Social Security -- although the initial panics could provide some excellent opportunities for investment.

The article comments: "When Rome transitioned from its Monarchist Period to its Republican Period, monarchists saw this as catastrophe. For them it was, but for the rest of the population, new freedoms brought great abundance and a level of technological advancement previously unheard of." An inspiring thought. What might the world have looked like today if America had continued into its period of industrial and scientific growth guided by the original political philosophy of friendship with all nations and entangling alliances with none? An empire of liberty expanding outward across the Solar System, perhaps. A great theme for the setting of an alternate history novel."