But - I am spending more than a fleeting moment these days wondering how long it's gonna be till kids add *America* to the list of fallen empires that are studied in school.

I've thought about that regularly throughout my life (64 years), and it always seemed that there was no end in sight to the reign of the USA as the supreme world power. Until now. And it has come way faster than I ever dreamed it could.

That's because I never imagined we would self-destruct. Our divisiveness, with some well-executed nudges from Russia, have torn us apart. The anonymity of the internet and technology that allows people to create false images are proving to be tall hurdles to overcome and maintain some sense of cohesion as a country. Hatred is so easily expressed, rumors so easily spread. You can find someone saying anything you want to find.

It's hard to know what and who to believe any more, but I think you can still generally come close if you look hard enough. Education and science matter, but our support of them is dwindling as they become political footballs.

This is not final. I feel things can NOT course correct totally anymore as punishment is gonna be structural. But i do feel the worst case scenario can be reversed *if* course correction begins within 5-10 years from now. After that, it's over.

I think 5 to 10 years is too long on the path we're heading down now, given the acceleration of the demise of faith in our formerly trusted institutions. Who would lead us out of this mess? It would have to start with civil discourse, and I don't see that happening any time soon.