As my country continues its slide down the shitter, I've been thinking a lot lately about a 1987 TV miniseries called "Amerika," which I watched with morbid fascination back when I was a high schooler. "Amerika" came out a few years after "The Day After" did (1983); both were part of a subgenre of Soviet-dominated nightmare scenarios providing a dark vision of a seemingly plausible near future. (Remember the original "Red Dawn"?)
I looked "Amerika" up on Wikipedia to refresh my memory. The story begins with the Soviet Union (and a communist-dominated UN) having occupied the United States for ten years after a bloodless takeover that had more to do with America's own internal weaknesses than with the strength of the USSR. Kris Kristofferson plays a maverick former presidential candidate named Milford who is tossed in a camp and finally released. He eventually becomes a leading light in a resistance movement against the Soviets, while his old friend Peter Bradford, played by Robert Urich, has become a politician who tries to better his constituents' existence by collaborating actively with the Soviets.
While searching for this miniseries, I stumbled upon a pretty good article titled "Amerika: It Can't Happen Here—A Lesson from History." The article has several annoying typos, but its content is worth a read. It confirms my suspicion that the miniseries, taken as a text, was ahead of its time, which makes me think a re-watch is in order. Shoddy copies of "Amerika" are available for viewing on YouTube, but if I can locate a better-quality copy somewhere, I'd rather watch the show that way.
My country is indeed in danger of collapsing because of internal rot. Some people blithely go about their business as if nothing were wrong, or as if the left's policies weren't destructive. America is geographically very wide, so I can imagine how things that are happening (and it's mostly in the big cities) don't touch normal folks in the small towns and out in the country. I saw something similar when I was in France in 2018; where my buddy Dominique lives (Le Vanneau-Irleau), France is still the France I remember. But travel to a big French city, and the evidence of rot is everywhere. Is this really how the West ends? In decay, thanks to a lack of pride and fighting spirit? There are times I think it's good I'm in Korea; I'm not sure, any longer, that I want to be in the States when the Jenga tower finally falls.
1 comment:
Yes, indeed. We are doing to ourselves what no outside power could ever accomplish. I think we are running out of time, and if the American people don't wake up to the danger in next year's elections, I think the American dream will be over.
I'm so thankful I don't have to be there to witness the internal destruction up close and personal. But the reality is there is no escape. Without a viable US deterrent, China will be unleashed. In that scenario, I predict the Philippines will officially become a Chinese province. Hell, Duterte already jokes about it. President Moon will achieve his dream of a unified Korea, but it will be China's bitch too (as it has been throughout most of history).
I guess old age is a blessing. I won't have to live through most of the destruction.
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