In Americas Expiration Date, Cal Thomas offers a sobering message: that the United States is on the downward slope to self-destruction. You may agree with his analysis or not (I do not), but in view of the fall of other great empires throughout history, Thomass injunction is well worth pondering.
Jay Winik, author, New York Times bestselling April 1865 and 1944
Cal Thomas brings a lifetime of working to save America and thinking deeply about what threatens us and what the lessons of history are. If we follow Cals advice, Americas expiration date will be put off for decades and decades.
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, US House of Representatives
I read Cal Thomas, always have, and have the utmost respect for the sincerity, depth, and insight of his work.
Peggy Noonan, columnist, Wall Street Journal
In his timely new book, Americas Expiration Date, my friend Cal Thomas shows clearly that unless we in America take seriously the grim lessons of previous empires, we are very soon doomed to follow in their footsteps. But by showing us just how those empires rose and fell, he makes our vital history lesson far easier and more fun that it might otherwise be. Bravo!
Eric Metaxas, author, New York Times bestselling Bonhoeffer; Martin Luther; and If You Can Keep It; nationally syndicated host, The Eric Metaxas Radio Show
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Americas Expiration Date
Copyright 2020 by Cal Thomas
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For Christie Jean (CJ),
who has put a new song in my heart
In the next several pages, I hope to offer a convincing argument that the nation that I love is in danger of losing its greatness. But first, an explanation. The late philosopher-theologian Dr. Francis Schaeffer taught me to always begin a discussion, debate, or argument by defining words I intend to use. Otherwise, he said, you might see people nodding as you talk, or in this case as they read, while some or all of them might have defined the words I am using in ways that give them a different meaning than what I intend.
Societies change. Technology changes. Modes of travel change. Hairstyles, clothing styles, and musical tastes change. Medicine changes. Only one thing has remained constant since the first humans walked the earth, and that is human nature.
One definition describes the inherent nature embedded in all of us: the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans.
Were all pretty much alike, especially when it comes to character. You can dress a human in animal skins or a toga or robes, suits, and dresses from various eras. You can put hats and boots on a person. The one thing you cannot change is what is inside any and every person: their human nature. My convictions, which have been shaped by the Bible, tell me this means all humans, while possessing tremendous potential for good, are predisposed to lust, greed, envy, gluttony, and the rest of what are called the seven deadly sins. Given the proliferation of modern sinsPaul said we invent ways of doing evil (Rom. 1:30)we may want to add more to the list.
We want to do what is right, but on our own we seem largely incapable of it, even if we can define right in an age of moral relativity.
Attempts over the centuries to change human nature have mostly addressed external expressions of our inner sins. Futile attempts to bring peace on earth and goodwill to men have long been a cause of mans frustrations, because of his inability to change himself. It is why every effort at ending war has failed. Recall that World War I was called the war to end all wars. The peace lasted only until World War II. Many wars and conflicts followed. Some wars have ended, but war itself seems never to end, and we are currently engaged in the longest-running war in our history: the War in Afghanistan.
On Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC, there is a large building that serves as the headquarters for the United States Institute of Peace. The world is no closer to peace now than before the building was erected. There are scores of wars, conflicts, armed resistances, and battles for independence occurring throughout the world. Some of these wars have been going on for decades, and no one seems to have the power or wisdom to end them.
These wars and conflicts are mostly over land or ideology or religion, or in some cases all three. The one thing they all have in common is that each side wants its own way and is willing to fight and even die to get it, though doing so brings misery to hundreds of millions of civilians, including children.
Human nature causes these wars, as do elements of that nature that can be found in Americas political conflicts. While not armed conflicts (yet), they consist of envy of what others have, greed for wanting what they have, and a sense of entitlement indicating we should be given what they have.
If you understand this patternand you have to look no farther than yourself to understand it, because we all possess the potential to behave like those we condemn, given the right circumstancesyou will have the key to understanding why empires rise and why some of the same qualities in human beings that cause them to rise have led to their demise.
In this book, I will explore the causes of the decline and fall of great empires and nation-states of the past and examine what we can learn that might ward off a similar fate for the United States. There is no guarantee that the US is any different from any other empire or great nation of the past, but one thing is certain. If we do not cease behaving as citizens in those other empires behaved, our country will suffer the same fate they suffered. We can blame all sorts of causes and forces that are diminishing the greatness of America, but until we look inside our own hearts, the decline will continue, until we finally reach our expiration date.
