Fall of the U.S.?

[blindraven]

ahahahaa...haa...ahh, ok done reading and laughing.

Quite simply this isn't going to happen. His forecasts seem entirely bent on saying our economy goes utterly down the drain, and as a result our hatred of different ethnic groups will emerge, people will be fed up, the states will stand up to the federal government, and the people of each state will want to secede. Needless to say he is heavily stringing events along as he pleases.

One thing you have to consider is the mindset and will of the people. Is the majority of the US truly harboring deep ethnic hatreds that we want to act on? will we be so fed up with being 'American' that we demand that our state leaves so we can become something else? Do people truly want to rise up in arms and start a civil war? Do people out there(non terrorist) really want to see the United States utterly fragment, and the aftermath thereof? and who the heck would the US military answer to at such a time, as it isn't organized at a state level.

In the end, I don't see it happening, and I always view myself as an American before viewing myself as a Washingtonian.

 

[Klepa]

Eh, according to him I'm going to be Canadian in a couple weeks.

Quick, what do I do?!?!

I don't even know how to make an Igloo!

There's no time to waste! I have devised you a plan!

1. Start working on ridiculous accent.
2. Brush up on bear wrestling.
3. Invest on a flannel shirt, suspenders, and an axe.
4. Replace all meals with maple syrup and flapjacks.
5. Learn how to ride, and buy a silly hat.

This should prepare you for the canadian lifestyle, and make you qualified in both the jobs Canada has to offer. Namely Lumberjack, and Horse Police Person.

 

[blalien]

I lived in San Antonio for a year, and I loved it. The people were some of the nicest I've ever met. They also didn't believe in evolution, were completely ignorant of the world outside the south, and kept trying to save my Jewish ass. And they've elected some terrible governors. I'm not saying my personal experience is indicative of the entire Texan population, but I'm not just speaking from ignorance here.

So you are being willfully ignorant? Don't get me wrong, I am not a super patriot ready to stomp on every negative comment about the US or Texas, but I also do not enjoy reading malicious blanket statements about the place I call home.

Also, it sounds like you would probably get along just fine in Austin. Its pretty liberal, while still maintaining an air of Texas conservatism, and there are some pretty amazing Mexican restaurants here to boot.

If it makes you feel any better, I am from Illinois. I'm originally from Chicago but currently live in Cornland. So if you want to make a blanket malicious statement about Illinois, it would be totally justified. For example, you could take a stab at our corrupt politics, our rising crime rate, or how our expressways are always under construction.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

America will fall eventually. Every empire has, and every empire will. Frankly, I'd be happy to see it "fall" in the British sense- loosing its military imperialism and simply maintaining the homeland. Not so much in the Roman sense of having the whole place taken over by others (unless we can get conquered by Canada). That might not turn out so well.

The United States will not fall. Many Americans remember we only have 2 years left with a awful leader. Once we reelect a ACTUAL leader we should do fine.

I don't really think any significant problems we have now as a nation can responsibly be attributed directly to Obama. I don't say this because he has done a lot of good things, but because he has done very little at all, and what he has done has not yet even come into effect (referring to the health care bill of course). Perhaps his inaction in a time like this is making the problems worse, but inaction alone doesn't cause problems.

I think much greater problems are caused by the people who can't discern the difference between neo-liberalism and socialism who start pointing fingers and screaming like apes. I have literally heard someone call Obama a "liberal socialist", not realizing how throughly that statement betrayed their ignorance. Most of these individuals also seem to believe that socialism is a form of fascism, leading them to ask me such ridiculous questions as "what's wrong with Democracy?" when Socialism is simply a different form of democracy than is practiced in the United States. These people are polarizing the nation, attempting to categorize everyone into one of two categories: "people who hate freedom" and "people who hate Obama".

I personally am exceedingly indifferent to Obama, but as long as the "grass roots", highly nationally organized and funded by multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch, Tea Party campaign continues I feel it is my duty as an American to defend anything they hate and hate anything they defend. Of course, I suppose that makes me part of the problem of polarizing the nation as well.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

I'm more worried about the US defaulting than falling apart.

350 million firearms/armoured vehicles/jets/missiles/etc being sold to make ends meet =/= a pretty world. Much less 1.2 million ex-military personnel out of a job when the US Gov't finally says "We have to cut expenditure".

That being said 2010 is an awfully short deadline ... I'd be more inclined to say 2020-30.

The Us could suffer thesame ramifications of having so many firearms and ex-military personnel like what happened during the Civil War ... you had a whole lot of former soldiers going rogue, take up thieving, banditry and open piracy.

 

[dex-dex]

there is a better chance of Quebec actually separating from Canada before that happens or when pigs fly which ever but when we kill them for there meat would they be pork wings?

 

[Pimppeter2]

Eh, according to him I'm going to be Canadian in a couple weeks.

Quick, what do I do?!?!

I don't even know how to make an Igloo!

There's no time to waste! I have devised you a plan!

1. Start working on ridiculous accent.
2. Brush up on bear wrestling.
3. Invest on a flannel shirt, suspenders, and an axe.
4. Replace all meals with maple syrup and flapjacks.
5. Learn how to ride, and buy a silly hat.

This should prepare you for the canadian lifestyle, and make you qualified in both the jobs Canada has to offer. Namely Lumberjack, and Horse Police Person.

Thank you thank you thank you.

I didn't know where to start. I mean, could you believe I was trying to wrestle a bear without a ridiculous accent?

I'm so culturally illiterate!

 

[KingCross]

If the U.S. were about to fragment in a month, it'd probably be because we(in this alternate time period, apparently) sent too much shit everywhere to try and patch together things we don't have the resources to patch up.

I suppose that, given the right circumstances, it could happen. But those circumstances aren't in place, and couldn't be put in place in the next month. Except, perhaps, if North Korea decides to go Rambo and start shooting at everything. Some sort of..weird..domino.. fuck it. No. It can't happen, not right now. Assuming Obama isn't actually this psuedo-terrorist / terrifying doom creature some people are convinced he is, we'll be fine for a good, long while.

That's my two cents. Also, in the words of my Thief addled brain, that Russian 'scientist' is a TAFFER!
Also, according to the map I'm an E.U. citizen in a month. Neat.

 

[Vitor Goncalves]

9/11 showed us that we may have varying opinions and beliefs but we still are a very unified nation.

There is nothing better for patriotism then a big disaster like that happening, it makes the people scared and more likely to follow the goverment whatever they plan on doing. If anything patriotism went up 1000% after 9/11, united against what perceived threats (you even had a go at the french at one point for not supporting your war, renaming french fries, etc).

Otherwise im not american, so have no clue, but im under the impression UK is far more likely to be broken up then USA, scots want to break off and if they succeed, wales and northern ireland might get similar ideas.

Yah, but we got too lazy to care for the name change, and went back to calling the regular names.

I would think Ireland would be the first to go IMO

I guess the fact they have/had a separatist terrorist group would give a hint about it.

 

[asinann]

Not a native USAmerican, but I do remember information noting that Texas is one of the few states that would actually survive without the USA, and even do better off, due to a positive federal tax thing, or something or other, whereas most states have a negative tax rate.

Texas only has a positive tax rate because it can trade freely with the other 49 states, it secedes and all trade from the other 49 dries up real fast. Texas has only one thing the rest of the US wants and we can get it higher quality elsewhere cheaper. They would also lose most of the troops stationed there or just a ton of land that is owned by the federal government (like all the military base reservations, almost the entire city of El Paso is on land owned by the US government.)

 

[recoverytwo]

So while browsing another forum, I came across this [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html] basically predicts the United States would break apart by the end of 2010.

Personally, I do not believe this for two reasons:

Less serious 1: We're too lazy to break apart. Would be too much effort for us.

More serious 2: Yes, we have internal problems, but not enough to "break apart".

It should also be noted this was predicted by a Russian. So yah. Take it as you will.

There are more fucked up countries than us who are still together.

 

[ottenni]

Im going to take this with a few handfulls of salt i think.

I mean really, what the hell is that. Why the hell would the entire western coast succeed to China??? Would Canada really want or need all that extra space? Red Alert makes more sense than that.

After all, we all know that crab people will rule once their puppet President finally passes his new communist slavery bill.

 

[Miumaru]

If the US goes down, so will the world. We are too set in and invovled in the world to just collapse. Plus it would have to be by invasion of the US, or the end of the world altogether.

As for Texas supposedly seceding, good. That means they wont have any say in voting, and one less red state is a good thing if it means equal rights will be a real thing.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

If the US goes down, so will the world. We are too set in and invovled in the world to just collapse. Plus it would have to be by invasion of the US, or the end of the world altogether.

As for Texas supposedly seceding, good. That means they wont have any say in voting, and one less red state is a good thing if it means equal rights will be a real thing.

Civilizations rise and fall all the time x.x the world would adapt ... it wouldn't be a very nice for a century or two, but neither was the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

 

[Klepa]

Thank you thank you thank you.

I didn't know where to start. I mean, could you believe I was trying to wrestle a bear without a ridiculous accent?

I'm so culturally illiterate!

Wrestling a normal bear without a ridiculous accent, while hard, is doable. However, don't you ever wrestle a polar bear without one! Canada only has polar bears, obviously, and they cannot be wrestled down with ordinary accents.
It was Jacques Ca'nada, bear wrestler, french guy, and founder of Canada, who in 1542 devised the Canadian accent, in order to help him wrestle polar bears.

 

[Koeryn]

OI im from Texas and we are not the backwash kind of state you people saying we are so FORK YOOOOOOOOUUU t(^^t)

Sigh. You are not helping our cause here. Go watch football or NASCAR or something.

On Topic: Dang! That map looks NOTHING like the Shadowrun map. I'm greatly disappointed in our (apparent) future Overlords* for their lack of vision.

On Politicians: They all suck, whatever their face looks like.

On Leadership: Donald Trump for President! 2012 PEOPLE! REAL LEADERSHIP! And if you don't like that? HE'LL FIRE YOU. Ba-dum-tish!

On Obama: Puppet Theatre.

On Texas: We've got guns, we've got red necks, and commies bleed red. I think we might have forgotten something, but who cares? Where's my horse^? It's AMAZING.

On Sleep: I should do that.

On Y'all: I lof yous guys.

That's all sleeptimes.


*who will be replaced during the Robot uprising**

**That will be beaten back by the Zombie Menace***

***That will end when the Large Hadron Collider, left without supervision, creates a miniature black hole that will crush the planet from the inside out.

^(changed from ****, it looked like I was wondering about horse shit.) - I do not own, nor know how to ride a horse. It's on my to-do list, I swear! I'M A REAL TEXAN DAGNUMMIT.

 

[Miumaru]

If the US goes down, so will the world. We are too set in and invovled in the world to just collapse. Plus it would have to be by invasion of the US, or the end of the world altogether.

As for Texas supposedly seceding, good. That means they wont have any say in voting, and one less red state is a good thing if it means equal rights will be a real thing.

Civilizations rise and fall all the time x.x the world would adapt ... it wouldn't be a very nice for a century or two, but neither was the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

Well, one, the US is not Rome, and one main thing is Rome was worse placed than we are since we have less countries and less hostility in our immediate area. Also war was even more commonplace then, and we are not ruled by a dictator/monarch, and our senate is less powerful and hopefully less corrupt than the Roman one.
We dont live in a time of rise and fall like Rome had been. Could the US "fall" without taking out the whole world too? Yes. Within a bit more than half a year? No.

 

[shaboinkin]

Just for kicks and giggles, if this were to happen, I highly doubt that florida will be in that mix of the south. We got our rednecks but no where like it is in other southern states

I call bullshit. Northern Florida is the redneck epicenter of the universe.

I'll give you northern Florida, only because its borders are with Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. From Orlando on down and parts of tally however is a different story

 

[Sikachu]

Nice to know that the Russians are still batshit insane.

I can't be the only one to find this comment incredibly offensive. Reported.

OT:
2010 seems outrageously soon for any such break up to happen, but the social, political, and cultural divides in the USA are enormous. I think that he has also probably underestimated the effect of propaganda such as flag worship and repetition of the pledge of allegience in schools, or the national anthem being played before any sports events etc. That kind of constant reinforcement is very powerful at creating thoughts along the lines of 'I just feel like an American'. I also suspect that he is over-stating the case for foreign control of areas - I think this would be much more economic dependence rather than direct control, and I can see some areas flourishing under a break-up. The theory certainly is interesting, and there are more and more indicators that the US Empire is past its zenith and into the 'overspend in a doomed attempt to maintain its status' part of the global influence curve. I very much doubt that the USA will still be the biggest power in the world by the end of most of our lifetimes - on whether that will also include disintegration of the union I couldn't offer a very useful opinion.

 

[geldonyetich]

The important part of that article is right here:

A former KGB analyst

Of course the dude predicts the fall of the U.S. Predicting the fall of the U.S. used to be his job back when he worked for the KGB.

Granted, our national debt sucks and we can't seem to get our people to work. That's about as much as precursor to societal collapse as any. However, aside from the national debt, we had things worse during the Great Depressions.