Party's over, America!

Well I hope everyone enjoyed the 4th of July celebrations, because now the party is over. I don't just mean for the weekend, I am talking about the 60-year party we've been having since World War II. We've been top dog since 1945, and the idea of not being #1 any more is probably unthinkable to a lot of Americans. Sorry, but get over it. It's over. It's been 60 years, hope you enjoyed the ride...because now we're the very definition of complacent. Our education system and health care system is a travesty. Oil prices are at an all-time high. (You know, oil: the fossil fuel that is supplied by middle eastern nations that we're utterly dependent upon.) The dollar is tanking. The euro and pound are kicking ass.

Just a small example that made it all seem a bit more real to me: I went to buy some drum sticks. The kind of stick I like was almost completely out of stock. This was weird since they're American-made and I figured that the one thing that I could rely on in a drum shop is an abundance of sticks. (Well, that plus annoying salespeople and loud, terrible drumming.) I asked the clerk what the deal was with all the missing sticks. Apparently, because the dollar is so weak right now, drummers from Europe (especially the UK) are coming over here and buying as many sticks as they can - buying them in bulk. Then they take them all back and have a massive supply of sticks until the next time they fly over here. It's good for the UK drummer, it's good for the stick manufacturer, it's good for the drum shop, but I still need sticks, dammit!

Now, I am not saying that America is a bad place to live, not at all. I am just saying - get used to more and more things like that happening. Your Hummer SUV will be seeing its last days before too long.