Archive for February 26th, 2008
Is there hope for America? Aussies say yes
February 26, 2008Western Australia may be the world hot-spot this week for discussion of the health and viability of democracy in the United States.
Two guests of the Perth Writer’s Festival who present disturbing but dissimilar views of America in an election year have been prominently featured in the media across this nation.
One is Naomi Wolf, author of The End of America and other best-selling books, and the other is Cullen Murphy, author of The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America.
Wolf has outlined ten steps that have characterized fascist dictatorships in the past and says Bush, Chaney, and crew have led the country a long way down those steps and away from democracy.
Murphy, editor-at-large of “Vanity Fair” and former managing editor of “The Atlantic Monthly,” sees much to worry about in the country today: paranoia about immigration, excessive privatization of services traditionally provided by governments, arrogant foreign policy, an over-stretched military, and other facets of Rome before its fall.
He is, however, more optimistic than Wolf about America’s future, and it appears that most Australians are, too.
Any review of legal changes during the current administration offers Read the rest of this entry »