America is changing

Northwestern University reports that, during the past 20 years, 3,200 print newspapers have closed. That is a savage blow to our nation. The traffic and the advertising money moved to social media. Traditional newspapers are edited for accuracy and truth. Social media are not edited, and anyone can publish their own agenda on social media. Foreign countries that are enemies of the United States can post on social media using fake identities. Community newspapers provide social stability, what economists call a public “good.” Social media is an unedited avenue for dissension.

Business has shifted to “chain” stores. Medical service is shifting to hospital chains. Our food is produced by “industrial” farms and delivered to chain grocery stores and chain restaurants. Those chain restaurants increasingly utilize microwave chefs and cater to drive through customers. Passenger airline service is competitive only on a few major routes. Three investment firms have some ownership and some influence on many of America’s corporations: “Black Rock, State Street, and Vanguard. America is consolidating business and centralizing wealth, and wealth is clearly influencing our democracy.

America is tolerating threats to school officials, election workers, and politicians. Course, vulgar language is now common in public forums. Are we losing our civility?

We are rapidly becoming a predominantly urban society. Rural and urban life differs and eventually leads to different thoughts about the problems we face.  Jobs for people with advanced college educations are often located in urban areas, and those jobs are often at the high end of the earnings scale. That further amplifies our rural and urban differences of opinion.

Our internal migration, urban or not, is taking us to areas that are especially vulnerable to hurricanes, wildfires, and shortages of fresh water. This type of migration constitutes acquired vulnerability. The damage caused by hurricanes and wildfires is largely attributable to large concentrations of people living in structures that are not designed for those conditions. The western and midwestern states face shortages of fresh water. About 70 percent of the freshwater in those areas is used for farm irrigation.

Since World War One, the “war to end all wars,” we engaged in World War Two, the Korean War, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans, some minor operations in Africa, and now Ukraine and the Middle East. But we are now shifting our military focus to China and the South China Sea. Do we have a vital interest in diminishing China?  If so, what price are we willing to pay?

Jack Stevenson is a retired infantry officer, civil service and private corporation employee who now reads history, follows issues important to Americans, and writes commentary from his home in Pensacola, Florida.