Different Flavors of “Rot”

This from a reader:

The founder of Dubai, Sheik Rashid, was asked about the future of his country, and he replied, “My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I ride a Mercedes, my son rides a Land Rover, and my grandson is going to ride a Land Rover…but my great-grandson is going to have to ride a camel again. “Why is that, he was asked? 

And his reply was, “Hard times create strong men, strong men create easy times. Easy times create weak men, weak men create difficult times. Many will not understand it, but you have to raise warriors, not parasites.” 
  
And add to that the historical reality that all great empires…the Persians, the Trojans, the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, and in later years, the British…all rose and perished within 240 years. 
  
They were not conquered by external enemies; they rotted from within. 

America has now passed that 240-year mark, and the rot is starting to be visible and is accelerating. 

It’s interesting that both the right and the left in America would say, “The rot is starting to be visible and is accelerating.” Knowing this reader as I do, I’m sure by “rot” he’s referring to all the horrors we hear about on Fox News: socialism, gun control, environmental over-regulation, restriction of our freedoms, same-sex marriage, permissive parenting, critical race theory, universal health care, open borders, and so forth.

If he had asked me about “rot,” I’d have pointed to Trump’s coup attempt, the rise in white nationalism and hate crimes, and people dying of treatable diseases.

I’d also point out that being a thoughtful member of an organized society who would like to see human civilization on a sustainable path does not make me a “parasite.”