The ARMY Birthday

A week ago the ARMY reached it's 235th birthday.  They had a ball in Washington D.C. to celebrate this fact.  I was lucky enough to attend and it was actually a really great night.  I say actually because if you ask anyone that has served, ceremonies are usually pretty horrible in the ARMY.  They have a habit (one of which they are very good at by the way) of making things very painful and difficult.  Now I am relatively sure that anyone that had to prepare for and and rehearse for this event felt that pain.  Anyways, I am very glad I went and would look to attend such events in the future as well.

Americas history is relatively short compared to the rest of the world.  We say "235 years! That is great!" and we toast our champagne glasses.  It is great and I don't mean to take anything away from that fact, but it really isn't that long in the big scheme of things.  Now the question is how much longer will we go?  If we learn anything from history it is that empires come and go.  They reach the height of their power and then they topple.  Is it possible that this could happen to us?  Not very likely at this point in time but anything is possible.  Hopefully we will be the ones to break this chain of similarities in human history.  The Egyptian empire, the Roman empire, the Mongolian empire, all just words in history now.  While those people still remain, they lost the glory that they once held. 

America is not an empire but in some ways almost acts like one.  We step into the affairs of other countries, encourage other nations to adopt our ways, and maintain a strong foothold over the entire world, not just our own lands.  While some might say this is imperialistic type behavior, I would like to think that what we are doing is right.  We don't always have the best methods, we have corruption like everyone else, and some of us don't have the correct goals in mind.  I, however, would like to think that we mean well and future generations will be thankful.  Humans as a whole need to move forward together.  This is the only way for the human race to truly prosper and see progress.  Sure life is good for Americans, but when you look at the big picture, life is not good for humans.  We have the potential to reach unimaginable heights, but it has to be done as a world, the entire human race working together to achieve a goal. 

I don't know how we are going to accomplish this higher level of order, but I do know it needs to be done.  If not, it is possible that we will fail, like so many in the past eventually failed.  America is the back bone of the world.  If there ever comes a time that our nation falls, I believe we will be the last to do so.  If America ever dies, no one will be around to write about it.