The clash of the trends in America

In the game of musical chairs some of us are left standing when the music ends. What happens when the music dies?

In the last five decades certain trends appear obvious. Said another way, our present state of affairs is not what things used to be. While change is constant and also inevitable, not all change is for the better. Our recent (in the last few decades) apparent poor political and religious leaders have led us to the state of clashing trends that don’t all work to our future national success, and even survival.

Here’s obvious trends:

1) Today’s politicians still maintain the promises of Social Security and Medicare benefits while spending all the tax money collected for it, today, and for other things. The demographics are making this financially untenable in the not to distant future, but today’s politicians still won’t address this issue in today’s times. It appears their egos and sense of politics, and personal time to mine our Country’s riches, trumps our National Interests in these matters. For the younger readers, one aspect of the trend is to pass the problem on to you, and your politicians.
2) Today’s politicians continue to promise and pander more and more benefits, now to even the middle class, the recent SCHIP efforts being a good recent federal example. Local and state politicians have even supported very lucrative medical and retirement benefits to both themselves and government unions (new in the last few decades), often above what we common citizens expect for ourselves. While the intent may be so noble and socialistic, the trend is the irresponsibility of promising and pandering all this without adequate long term and sustainable funding. Much of this has been funded to date by ever increasing taxes, supplemented by borrowing, and enhanced by the last few decades of ever increasing property values and the resulting increased property taxes. None of these sources can be considered long term and sustainable funding as the recent hint of hard financial times suggests.
3) Our governments, local, state, and federal, are trending towards giving priorities to the benefits part of the budget compared to the basic service part of the budget. This trend reflects budgets are being balanced, which is good. It also reflects government incomes from all sources are probably declining, and our basic government services will take the hit (vice the government benefits). All the stories of unsafe food, unsafe toys, falling bridges, criminal low life robbers committing murder who should have been locked up by judges in the prisons we should have built, and new diseases new to America like “fifth disease” and “West Nile Virus”, reflect the trends going on.
4) The main steam media (MSM) has taken a decidedly liberal socialistic bent. Most people recognize this trend as facts and opinions have homogenized to some untrustworthy milk. Mostly it is the unethical and often poorly educated behavior that bothers most fellow American citizens.
5) A relatively small percentage of Americans have become America bashers. While I am confident it feeds their egos, it is a poor way to improve things. But the trend goes on. And so many religious leaders have crossed the line into politics.
6) Americans have been very supportive in the last five decades with all the ideas to make things better in America. The trend is still there, but some expect some results, eventually. Where's the beef?
7) Multi-culturism is a failed idea, and so "old world" to boot. The melting pot idea still best reflects our "new world" heritage, with all the friction it brings.
8) All is not doom and gloom. One good trend is the altruistic nature of the American psyche…we practice charity and it is more so in the last five decades. Another good trend is that we can still vote. Another good trend is that many local and state communities have good leaders who will guide us in the next decade or so. A last trend, more like a perception, is that Americans are still interested in making things better, while less tolerant of do-gooders and self-appointed environmentalists. Making things happen for our good seems to be a developing trend.

Does hope spring eternal? Yes. And yes to voting for those new political leaders who are anything but part of our past.