The Guardian has this story:
China appears on track to forge a modern military by 2020, a rapid buildup that could be potentially destabilising to the Asia-Pacific region, the Pentagon has said.
So let me get this straight: a country that’s almost a decade away from being even “modern” is according to many already a threat to our national security; and competition (from our biggest trading partner, no less) to absolute U.S. dominance in far-flung seas is “destabilizing”.
I find it interesting that the U.S. government’s encroachment into foreign affairs, from France to Japan and Mexico to Chile, preceded its expansion into private, domestic matters. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson really started us down the path of global military dominance, even if their intentions were not so ignoble as the outcome. Yet it was not until a generation later that the federal government took more interest in domestic affairs that had until that point been left to local and state governments or – just imagine! – didn’t involve a government at all – things like business regulations and care for the elderly.
If we want the government out of our lives, we should start by stripping away our national leaders’ influence over world affairs. After all, how can a government that sees itself as the leader (or perhaps ruler) of the free world not feel it has the wisdom to direct our day-to-day lives?
This might not be the largest Country in the World, but I think it is the most impressive. One way you can measure the growth of somewhere is the measure it’s government. There is little doubt that this place blows other places away. I wouldn’t want to die there, but a year or two would be pretty cool.