Every story has an ending.
Here's the thing: The United States, this great republic, will one day have an ending. Even the universe itself will end, at some point. But this Independence Day, I find myself more optimistic than I was a year ago today. I'm feeling a lot better about the odds of my grandchildren having a country to grow up in.
Of course, Democrats, ever failing at the wonderful Senator John Kennedy's admonishment to not suck, are predicting the horrendous collapse of America, the global economy, the environment, and probably the collapse of the sun into a white dwarf because of Thursday's passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill (Get lost, Chuck Schumer, we'll always call it that.)
Democrats always suck. They are anti-American pic.twitter.com/ewbaZKw7K0
— • Angry Frog ™ • (@angrifrog) July 4, 2025
So, when I stumbled across this piece at RealClearPolitics, musing about the chances that America's 250th anniversary may be the beginning of the end, I noted the author's four points that have, historically, led to the collapse of empires. I don't think we are there; not on all four, anyway. Let's have a look.
Despite recent culture and political shifts, I’m more concerned than ever about the future of our country. Can the United States of America endure beyond 250 years?
There’s a claim floating around the Internet that empires begin to decline at the 250-year mark. Out of curiosity, I looked into it. While Google says the claim is more myth than fact, it did surface some chilling warnings that historically precede the collapse of empires:
- Economic instability: overextension, inflation, and resource depletion
- Cultural decay: internal strife, religious divisions, and declining morale
- Environmental threats: resource scarcity and natural disasters
- Political unraveling: corruption, rebellions, and ineffective leadership
Are we there yet? (Yes, that’s a bad joke.) But seriously – if we’re not there already, is there still time to turn this car around?
I don't think we are there yet. A year ago, I may have answered differently, but that was then, and this is now.
Economic instability: We are definitely overextended as far as the national debt, now $37 trillion and climbing. There seems to be a plan in place to try to grow the economy and thus boost federal spending out of the constant deficits that lead to debt. We'll have to see how that works out, but inflation? Under control. And resources? President Trump has sworn to make America energy-independent, and his administration is already making concrete plans to exploit, among other things, Alaska's energy and mineral wealth.
Cultural decay: This is a problem, and not just in our major cities. There is a disturbing trend for people to identify themselves as what President Theodore Roosevelt described as "hyphenate-Americans," not to mention the crime problems that do seem to be predominantly an urban problem. Of the four, this item is the hardest one to reverse, especially when many younger people on the political left seem to think that an unhinged rant delivered into an iPhone from a purple-haired freak sitting in their car is an acceptable method of political discourse.
Environmental threats: Our nation's air, lands, and waters are cleaner than they have been since before the Industrial Revolution. Our nation has ample arable land to feed the citizenry and still be a net food exporter.
Political unraveling: Here's the main place that the "one year ago" caveat comes in. A year ago, yes, we had not only ineffective leadership but incompetent leadership. That much has changed, but we still have elected officials growing mysteriously rich on relatively modest salaries, we still have "peaceful protests," by which I mean riots, exploding in our major cities at the drop of a Democrat talking point.
So, are we on the edge of collapse? No. Might we be in 10 years? 25? 50? Maybe, but I think the odds are lower now than one year ago.
See Also: July 4, 2025—What Could Have Been
Promises Kept: Trump Goes to Iowa, Teases What to Expect for America 250
There's a common thread to all the problems noted above:
Democrats.
I'm old enough to remember when the Democratic Party was saner. Democrats went to 4th of July celebrations, honored the flag, honored our service men and women, and for the most part, observed the decencies. Those days are gone. If there is to be another 250 years of American glory, that's the root cause that has to be addressed, one way or another. That's why, as I am continually writing and saying, the midterms are critical. We saw on Thursday a step ahead; the One Big Beautiful Bill (Stuff it, Chuck) isn't perfect; there's a lot I would have like to have seen done and some things I would have rather left out. The only way we will continue to move the agenda forward is to increase the GOP margins in the House and Senate. If we have learned nothing from the nail-biter progress of the OBBB, we have learned that.
The midterms will be here before we know it. Every vote will count. If we have to crawl on our hands and knees to the polls, that's what we should do. This is no time to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Politics is the art of the possible; in the OBBB, we got what was possible, and we have to use that as a launch pad to get to the next possible thing.
If we are to last another 250 years, that's how we will do it. The alternative is unthinkable.
