What will America be like in 2050?
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. Ronald Reagan(1)
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What will America be like in 2050 - less than 40 years from now? First lets examine how America has changed since 1964 - just over 40 years ago.
In 1964, despite problems, we were a united country. We were proud of our history and the social and economic advancements we had made since 1789. We had heroes who had accomplished great things. We didn’t have to monitor TV for our kids. Our cities were safe. We remained a law abiding people during the depression years. We didn’t riot and burn down our neighborhoods. Our educational system worked. Nearly everyone could read, write and do basic math. American education turned out world class scientists in all fields. America was a world leader in inventions and scientific breakthroughs. Our economy and industrial might was the envy of the world. Our military might was unsurpassed. July 4th was a special day for a special country. Millions flocked to our country because they wanted to be proud Americans. When immigrants came, they learned English and waved the American flag. We were the guardian of the free world against the tyranny of Communism. We saved the world in World War 1 and 2 and stoped the communist advance in Korea. Despite running up a huge national debt from WW2, taxpayers spent billions rebuilding war torn countries. We saved Berlin with the Berlin airlift in the late 1940s. We stood behind Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis when the US Navy stoped a Soviet ship trying to enter Cuba. When President Kennedy announced that we would land men on the moon before the end of the 1960s, we just knew we would figure out how to do it - and we did.
That was the America of 1964.
The trends for the future are not promising. By 2050, some people believe the US will be a second rate economic and military power. Less optimistic people believe that the US will be a country falling apart, as squabbling minorities and special interest groups constantly jockey for more power - much like the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. America will be a country divided by many languages and cultures. That would be very bad for world peace and for the American people. All the sacrifices made by men and women for over 200 years would have been for nothing. Books have already been written speculating what the world might be like with America a second rate economic and military power.
If the US continues its slow disintegration, historians a hundred years from now will wonder in amazement how a nation that had it all, destroyed it all. This can not be allowed to happen. How people vote will determine the future of the country and educating voters will result in election of good people. YOU can make a difference.