Consider the remarkably strategic developments that would emerge from the ashes of the Second World War:
– The Manhattan Project = technological and military supremacy
– The Marshall Plan = economic leverage, military franchisement
– Japanese Reconstruction = economic leverage, military franchisement
– The Bretton Woods Agreement = financial supremacy
– The United Nations = political leverage
– NATO = military leverage, military franchisement
– Creation of the FBI and CIA = intelligence dominance
– The Military Industrial Complex = military longevity and dominance
In the wake of the post-war economic boom, American corporate and banking sectors fostered a deeply ingrained belief that the “American way of life” would endure indefinitely. This era, spanning from the 1950s to the 1990s, saw promises (the American Dream) of prosperity where diligent work and investment in financial markets assured lifelong medical care and comfortable retirements. Instruments like long-term mortgages, lifetime warranties, pensions, and mutual funds symbolized the era’s optimistic outlook.
Concurrent with this economic confidence was a belief in the manageability of America’s potential decline. Bolstered by expanding military power, the Federal Reserve, the banking industry, and government think tanks, the narrative was that any decline would be gradual and manageable. The media, increasingly acting as a supportive arm (fifth column) rather than a critical watchdog (fourth pillar of democracy), reinforced this perspective, predicting a slow and steady decline rather than a sudden collapse.
This vision led to widespread acceptance of temporary measures such as social security, the abandonment of the gold standard (the end of Bretton Woods), and the ushering in of a debt-based, free-floating, fiat currency system. To ensure the US Dollar would remain the world’s reserve currency, the US worked out a deal with the head of OPEC (Saudi Arabia) to provide military aid to them (the seven kingdoms) so long as they sold all of their petroleum in US Dollars. Trust in the financial system was solid, with significant investments in real estate, pensions, and various securities, mirroring a belief in the enduring power of the ‘almighty dollar’. However, this faith blinded the nation to the cultural instabilities simmering beneath the surface.
With financial systems secured both domestically and internationally, American politicians, intelligence agencies, and military planners pursued global dominance, convinced they could anticipate and counter any future challenges. Yet, this reasoning, based on perceived omnipotence, ignored the underlying cultural and social fissures, leading to a fragile foundation that could not sustain the weight of unchecked ambition.
Ironically, at the peak of its cultural dominance, the U.S. began drifting from its Judeo-Christian roots towards humanism, which came disguised as academia, scientism, materialism, and hedonism. These ideals soon dominated public discourse, leading the nation increasingly further away from its foundational faith and into the murky waters of post-modernism and cultural relativism. As she drifted, America increasingly forgot the sacrifices made for its freedoms.
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