The US has begun the end of its imperial age. Like most empires in decline, it has vast resources and an enviable strategic position on the world stage, but it no longer has the competence, cohesion or the will to defend them. Other actors, internal and external, small and large, are using this opportunity to strip choice prizes from the US, or drive it to policies that cause itself harm.
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They want the pieces big and strong and dominant - the military, the oil industry, entertainment, tech, finance - because that's what makes them valuable. We're not at the stage yet that the US is weakened; it's just disjointed, without purpose.
Political leaders in the US on every level are aware of this dynamic and most are looking for opportunities to enrich themselves by enabling the firesale.
As an American, it's hard to see this happening. In some ways, I'm glad that the US might soon be unable to project its power in imperial wars, political pressure, or economic colonialism. But I'd rather that the US become what it has promoted itself as: equitable, democratic, nature-loving, multicultural, a defender of human rights.
We could use the power we still have to become the country we should be, and to set the world on a better course for this century. We may not lead it in the way we did the 1900s, but we could point towards a world that represents the best of our ideals.
There is probably a threshold point where that's no longer possible, though. We may have already passed it. I think we have to wake up to the possibility and ask ourselves what we want the post-American world to look like, and how we think we can get there.
