Decline

In the last fifteen years or so, I have found myself with a fairly constant worry (above and beyond the mundane worries of war, ecological disaster, etc.). I worried that I was living in an era of the decline of the United States as a viable and admirable political entity.

One could argue the merits of "admirable" a great deal, but I'm talking about being from elsewhere in the globe and taking a look at the U.S. and saying "Hey! Those guys are cool!"

In the '50's and '60's, that seemed to be the case. Maybe even in the '70's, though I guess that was more an era of less-influence.

What brought this maudlin thinking to the fore of my afternoon?

this.

Seriously. A cease-and-desist letter over fictional UNICORN MEAT.

I'm upset that it's a fictional product, sure, but really? Someone took the time to write a 12 pages on this to support a cease-and-desist letter on a MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE????

When did people get so mind-bogglingly stupid? Has it always been like this?

Was I naively clinging to the belief that there were more intelligent people out there than is actually the case?

When is that comet coming, anyway?