Societies rise and fall. Civilizations come and go. Most contain seeds of their own destruction. Rarely do people understand what the seeds are or where they come from. They ignore the obvious in favor of their own sense of superiority and destiny and immediate success. The Greeks, Romans and British all fell into the same trap. America is at the tipping point right now. We know we were great but doubt is creeping in. All is not well. Doubt rots the edges of our vision. Nobody wants to talk or write about it. The old vision? - independence, open up the West, build the railways, tame the land, subdue the natives, plough the land, pump the oil, build a nation, create wealth has all been achieved. Americans fought and sacrificed and died for it. Now doubt has set in. Everything is not so simple. We are starting to argue with each other and contradict each other. Civil strife in on the rise. And there is nowhere else to go. We have to stew is our own juices and sort it out and we're not used to that. Like too many rats in a cage, we begin to gnaw each other's tails. We are being tested. How we react and the ideals we hold dear will determine the future. China is on the rise.