Joseph A. Arminio, Ph.D., Copyright 2007 by Intrepid Press
Introduction
I call this book The Decline And Fall Of The American Way because it traces the undoing of those very practices that had made America the preeminent nation on the earth. This story should cause no little unease in the reader. At the same time, it offers hope, for to comprehend the descent is to find the way back.
It is my belief this nation followed a distinct path to greatness. To be exact, ten great policies and one supreme intangible were central to our rise. Our story dwells upon the upending of these policies and requisite spirit. It marks those dramatic moments during the descent, when now this practice, now that one, were dismantled or let go of. How far, we shall see, the descent has progressed! It follows we cannot regain the peak of statecraft in one single rebound. By way of recovery, practical first steps are identified and recommended.
Herein the reader will not encounter a discourse on the Constitution and, the vital follow-on, Bill of Rights, nor did I feel the need to expound upon these two subjects that has been expounded upon by a great many others from every conceivable vantage point and every generation since the birth of the Republic. This little book is instead about the career of those fundamental, traditional practices of the government that were manifest after the Constitution and Bill of Rights were ratified and set in place. For example, one such practice involves our conduct of trade. The Constitution is silent whether we should have high tariffs, low tariffs or none at all.
Nonetheless a very definite trade policy became the norm; it was among the great contributing factors to our rise and unsurpassed success among the family of nations. Of late it has been taken apart. The farther we have moved away from this traditional trade policy, the worse our situation has become. And so it is with the devolution of the nine other great policies, and spirit.
The argument will be encountered in the pages to come that the American Way was personified by the words and deeds of Thomas Jefferson, and that the implementation of the American Way and, quite possibly, the enjoyment of liberty, reached its apogee somewhere in the years 1811 to 1836. It seems the prerequisite spirit of the American Way-we are talking about morality and love of country-went into decline thereafter. The ten great policies remained more or less intact until 1913, however. The hinge of fate of the ten policies was the period 1913 to 1934; terrible blows befell several of them in these fateful twenty-one years; the consequences for monetary policy and our court system were particularly grievous. For all that, the American Way held on, tattered but recognizable, even as recently as the days of the Kennedy Administration. The practices of the government of John Kennedy had something of Camelot about them, after all.
The devolution in the American Way passed from decline, to very rapid decline, in the period 1965 to 1982. Indeed, most of the ten great policies had been gutted by 1975. The upending of policies in these years corresponds with the deep malaise in the economy felt at the same time.
This brings us to Ronald Reagan, or, first of all, to the dream of the incoming president, in 1981. Reagan wanted, as a major interim goal, to restore an approximation of the policies of the John Kennedy years. He succeeded in part; he lowered taxes and his foreign policy, especially with regard to the Soviet Union, was a return to tradition and common sense. If only he had succeeded across a broader front! But the forces he battled were too strong. By the mid-1990s, nine of the ten great policies would be shattered or nearly so, and the assault upon the one policy not yet harmed would begin.
Where does that leave us now? There is, for one thing, this plan, as we shall read in the pages ahead, to rub out the country, altogether. Proponents of this plan--and they are powerful--call for a so-called North American Union of the United States, Mexico and Canada, after the fashion of the European Union. There is, on the other hand, this love of country that will not die. Thus the final chapter of this work exhorts us to pick up the banner that Reagan waved and to bring to fruition an elongated variation of the Reagan strategy, namely, take measured steps; and these steps are, first, resolve the much tougher predicament the present generation finds itself in, secondly, restore policies of the Kennedy type. Finally, make a complete restoration of the American Way, albeit under modern conditions.
Conclusion
The globalists are correct about one thing. We are in the throes of a gathering storm without equal. But the answer is certainly not more of their policies that have brought us into crisis. The Bernanke solution--the ongoing expansion of the money supply--would add debt to debt, until there is an explosion of the debt bubble. And what good would it do the great mass of Americans to train for high-technology jobs, when those jobs are being outsourced overseas? Nor is the answer the North American Union, let alone, an even bigger Union embracing the CAFTA countries and after that South America. The correct solution is not one of scale but ultimately of spirit!
The spirit of God, animating the American Way of economics, is the answer to our troubles. We remain blessed by abundant natural resources and enjoy the best geographic position of any country on the earth. We have but to resume the road we had once taken. The old landmarks, the maps, are there for our use again.
The empires of olden time were built upon the exploitation of vast territories and teeming populations. Even now, land and sheers numbers count, but technology has moved to the fore. To invent new technologies, then to harness matter and energy, as never before, requires genius and sweat and incentive. The American Way nurtures those crucial three ingredients, as no country ever has. What brought us greatness, can do so again. It is more than a little interesting that our traditional American patent system is the last great traditional policy to be assaulted. It is as if an evil force would squeeze the last drop of blood out of us --would allow us to continue to invent great marvels -- until there was no need for us at all. Our decline is far advanced. Do we still ignore the danger!
Some say it was long foretold in prophecy that a great power would emerge in the wilderness and begin "as a lamb." With hindsight, it appears early America was that lamb. Its important policies included what has been singled out as the American Way. But we have drifted off; we have forsaken common sense and successful practice alike. Worse, we have succumbed, at times, to dark imperial designs. And the faint echoes of the lament of Lincoln of 1865 can be heard again. "Woe unto us" who have brought offense to ourselves and the world.
The day of reckoning is fast approaching. Yet, there is still time, for sober, measured steps. The American Way is our best hope and sure path to safety, moreover, continued prosperity, and, most important of all, honor.
A Word About The Author
Joe Arminio has taken to heart the admonition to study history, for, as a wise leader once said, "... in history lie all the secrets of statecraft." He began his career in the field of foreign policy and defense, culling the past for lessons and applying them where he could. More recently, he has plunged into the realm of domestic policy. Wherever he has gone, history has been his surest guide. And what a practical endeavor this book is for the American reader!
This is the author's second book. His first book is entitled Precedent for Peace: The Grand Strategy of the Han Empire and A Plan for Peace at the Turn of the Century. This earlier book uncovers and applies the secrets of what may have been the most brilliant strategic statecraft in the history of the world. Those who endorsed the first book include Ambassador Henry F. Cooper, Former Director, Strategic Defense Initiative, Bush Senior Administration, Lt. General Clarence Mac' McKnight, former Director, C31, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Reagan Administration, and Dr. Chong-Pin Lin, former Deputy Defense Minister, Taiwan. Shorter works of the author include "The Dragon Looks Seaward" (introduction to the findings of a major conference on the build up of mainland Chinese military power), "Now More Than Ever The ABM Treaty Is A Deadly Sham," (revelations about the massive, grotesquely illegal Russian nation-wide missile defense, published by The Wall Street Journal), and "Superpower Strength Forsaken" (published by The National Coalition for Defense).
Di. Arminio has been engaged in American policy in a variety of ways, including, as Executive Director of the Manlio Brosio Center for European Strategic Studies, Adjunct Professor in Residence at The American University, consultant to the American Enterprise Institute, Special Advisor to High Frontier, and also in defense business development on behalf of Sprint Government Systems Division.
The author also co-founded and chaired a national defense advocacy group, based in Washington, D.C., and called The National Coalition for Defense. Its board numbered nearly fifty members, including members of Congress, such as Senator James Inhofe, retired individuals from each branch of military service, such as Admiral James 'Ace' Lyons, former CINCPACFLT, Reagan Administration, and a retired member of the intelligence community, Bill Lee, SES.
A great many groups along the East Coast, such as The Leadership Institute, along the West Coast, in England and Taiwan, have heard Aminio's presentations. He has participated as a defense or political expert on numerous television and radio broadcasts across the country, including with Brit Hume of FOX.
The Citizens' Monitor newspaper, based in the vicinity of Annapolis, Maryland, was established in 2003 and set out its maiden edition in early 2004. Arminio has been its publisher and a story contributor. This newspaper provided national, state and local coverage, and circulated among central, southern and eastern Maryland. it is curate to say that the paper laid the foundation for this book.
Joe Arminio was born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1955. The Johns Hopkins University awarded him the Bachelor of Arts in political science and will attest to his fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelors in mathematics. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology awarded him the Doctorate in national defense policy and international relations. He was a Rotary Foundation International Scholar, representing Rotary District 7630 (Maryland's Eastern Shore and Delaware), and thanks to this scholarship, audited the Masters Program in War Studies, King's College, London, England. He was awarded Runner-Up Small Business Journalist for 2004, by the Maryland Small Business Administration and Maryland Chambers of Commerce.