The End Game

Mark Steyn is one of the few American writers to see the stakes in the game currently being played out in U.S. government.

The Obama/Democratic Socialists/Progressive Caucus/Communist Party, Institute for Policy Studies agenda, if allowed to play out, will not only bankrupt the United States, it will gravely imperil Western Civilization and individual liberty in every corner of the globe.

Will Russia, China, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea and the more than half of the world under socialist and or militant Islamic control sit on their backside while the US economy and military might sinks into a "black hole"?

The Soviet Union's biggest regret was not acting more aggressively when the US was mired in the Great Depression of the 1930s.

America's numerous enemies will not make the same mistake twice.

Here's how Mark Steyn puts it;

If Barack Obama does nothing else in his term in office, this will make him one of the most consequential presidents in history. It's a huge transformative event in Americans' view of themselves and of the role of government. You can say, oh, well, the polls show most people opposed to it, but, if that mattered, the Dems wouldn't be doing what they're doing. Their bet is that it can't be undone, and that over time, as I've been saying for years now, governmentalized health care not only changes the relationship of the citizen to the state but the very character of the people. As I wrote in NR recently, there's plenty of evidence to support that from Britain, Canada, and elsewhere.

More prosaically, it's also unaffordable. That's why one of the first things that middle-rank powers abandon once they go down this road is a global military capability. If you take the view that the U.S. is an imperialist aggressor, congratulations: You can cease worrying. But, if you think that America has been the ultimate guarantor of the post-war global order, it's less cheery. Five years from now, just as in Canada and Europe two generations ago, we'll be getting used to announcements of defense cuts to prop up the unsustainable costs of big government at home. And, as the superpower retrenches, America's enemies will be quick to scent opportunity.

The rest of rest of us should ponder our fate, should the U.S. no longer be the world's dominant military power.

That's why we all have a stake in this game.