tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) writes:
The U.S. is not likely to find itself relegated to third world status over this issue. Rhetorically, I wish it were so, but it just ain't. This issue--like the McCarthy hearings in the 1950s, the race issue in the '60s, the Vietnam war in the '60s and '70s, to name a few cases, _sounds_ really serious. And it is, as those cases were, but predicting the imminent collapse of American civilization is usually a lose.
In all those cases, the critics were right. You just think "imminent" means "in the next year or two". Look at at the signs, man -- literacy and child mortality rates, an imprisoned populace, massive government debt, etc. The US is slipping into the second world as we speak, with no signs of a turnaround ahead. Only the sheer size of the economy keeps people from believing it. The critics _were_ right. (Incidentally, the race issue certainly spans more than a mere decade. The race-related violent demonstrations certainly peaked in the 60s, but the deleterious effects of forced immigration and slavery have been a blight on society every day for almost three centuries.) Go right ahead, fed, ban strong crypto. The coffin only needs a few more nails.