In that thread you never mentioned what book you were refering to. Man, at my age, it is tough keeping information straight. I KNOW I mentioned it here SOMEPLACE because KU said he was gonna read it just as soon as Haley's Comet returns. Perhaps it was in a thread in General Discussion entitled The Best Book I Have Read This Year or something like that.
In any event, it IS an excellent book, despite the fact that Rich cannot spell the poor man's name!
His thesis is pretty much summed up in the title:
1. We ARE the pre-eminent country, economy and society presently extant in the entire whole big world.
2. If we continue to act like arrogant assholes, we will absolutely sow the seeds of our own eventual destruction.
3. If we elect instead to be LEADERS rather than bullies, which implies treating other countries, other people and other cultures with dignity and respect and are willing to incorporate them into our global vision, we could continue our world position for quite some time to come.
It is fairly obvious which path the author thinks our country is pursuing at present.....
Having read what he has to say, I have to agree with him that poking really sharp sticks in the eyes of your friends and neighbors is NOT a good long term strategy. A modicum of leadership WOULD be a welcome change, imho.
